ZAMBOANGA Family's Brand Sardines routed Pasig, 98-71, on Saturday and shared top spot in the OKbet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 4th Season presented by Xtreme at the Santa Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
Led by twins Jaycee and Jayvee Marcelino, Zamboanga flaunted its depth and strength in posting its fifth win in as many starts while halting Pasig's 3-game run in the 22-team, 2-division tournament.
Jaycee wound up with 20 points, including 3 triples,6 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals to clinch best player honors, while Jayvee finished with 17 points and 5 rebounds for Zamboanga, which matched the 5-0 cards of fellow South division bets Batangas and Sarangani and North division pacesetter Nueva Ecija.
Hardly missing its big men, Zamboanga zoomed to a 30-point spread, 98-68, with only 37 seconds left and pulled down Pasig's record to 3-2 in the single round-robin eliminations.
Pampanga, San Juan emerge victorious
Mon Mabayo accounted for 17 points and 7 rebounds, while Chris Dumapig snagged 10 rebounds as Zamboanga ruled the boards, 51-29, despite the absence of ailing 6-foot-5 centers Jhaymo Eguilos and Jayson Grimaldo.
With the game under control, Zamboanga coach Vic Ycasiano had the luxury of shuffling 15 players, all of whom managed to score 2 points or more.
Pasig, which got 19 points each from Jason Melano and Carlo Lastimosa, only has 9 scorers.
Other games saw Pampanga thwart Quezon City, 107-103, in overtime and San Juan get back on track with a 78-68 conquest of Laguna in the nightcap.
Pampanga posted its second straight win and leveled its slate at 3-3. Mitchelle Maynes tallied 24 points and 15 rebounds, while Archie Concepcion added 22 points before fouling out at the end of regulation play.
It was Jayson Apolonio, however, who stood out with 11 points in overtime.
San Juan improved to 2-3 behind Michael Calisaan's 16 points, Orlan Wamar's 15 and Judel Fuentes' 14.
Laguna, which fell to 1-3, got 13 points from Virgilio Serios, 12 from King Astrero and 10 from Jopet Soriano.
The MPBL goes to the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Monday with a doubleheader pitting Bataan (1-1) against Caloocan (1-2) at 7 p.m. and Bacoor (1-1) against home team Rizal (2-2) at 9 p.m.
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