MANILA, Philippines – Valenzuela snapped Manila's winning run and revved up its drive in the OKbet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 4th Season presented by Xtreme at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga on Tuesday.
Propelled by a 24-5 scoring spurt, Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. coasted to a 79-70 victory that levelled its slate at 6-6 in the single round-robin elimination phase of the 22-team tournament.
Powered by Jhaymar Gimpayan and back-to-back triples from Jess Quilatan and Patrick Cabahug, Valenzuela pulled away at 28-9 ending the first quarter and held the reins till the end.
Manila entered the game with a 4-game run only to be pulled back to the lower half of the standings with a 5-6 card.
Gimpayan wound up with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals and was supported by Cabahug with 14, including three triples, and Allan Santos with 10 points plus seven rebounds.
The Manila Stars got 13 points, six rebounds and three steals from Dan Sara, 12 points from Marvin Lee, 11 points from Gary David, who drilled in three triples, and 10 points from Joaquin Mariano.
Quezon City MG Cars also pulled away early before cruising to a 60-56 victory over Imus in the second game of a triple-bill.
James Martinez presided over Quezon City's 33-11 surge and finished with 17 points and four assists to complement the 11-point, eight-rebound, three-assist and three-steal effort of Kentoy Segura.
Imus dropped its fourth in a row and slipped further back in the standings at 2-7 despite the 15-point, nine-rebound effort of Leo Najorda and the 11-point, eight-rebound, three-assist and three-steal output of Genmar Bragais.
Bacolod, led by veteran Mark Yee, subdued Mindoro, 94-68, in the opener to get back on track at 6-4.
Yee scored 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to become the first member of the MPBL 1,000-rebound club as Bacolod snapped a three-game slide.
Homegrown John Lemuel Pastias supported Yee with 14 points, followed by Alwyn Alday with 10.
Mindoro, which got 17 points from Khen Osicos, 16 from Drake Santos and 13 from Oliver Santos, tumbled to 1-11 and shared the cellar with Makati.