Pampanga makes North finals

MANILA, Philippines — Defending champion Pampanga went through overtime to nip Nueva Ecija, 83-80, late Wednesday and forge a dream North Division title tussle with San Juan in the MPBL Sixth Season at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.

Homegrown stars MJ Garcia and Encho Serrano canned two free throws each to negate MJ Ayaay’s two charities in the dying seconds, enabling the Giant Lanterns to cut short their best-of-three semifinal series, 2-0, before an overflow crowd.

Serrano’s two free throws with 11.5 seconds left gave Pampanga an 83-80 lead and Nueva Ecija failed to further extend the game  following a turnover by JC Cullar with 3.4 ticks left.

Nueva Ecija, the 2022 MPBL titlist, forced extra time on a triple by Ayaay, 70-70, with only 2.4 seconds to go.

The Giant Lanterns won’t be denied, however, as Archie Concepcion and reigning MVP Justine Baltazar joined forces with Garcia and Serrano to suppress the Rice Vanguards in the five-minute extension.

Bucking an aching knee, Serrano wound up with 23 points, five rebounds and three assists.