MPBL: Pampanga clobbers Imus; GenSan, Pasay book wins

MANILA, Philippines – Pampanga had a smooth ride while GenSan and Pasay took the bumpy road toward victories in the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Fifth Season at the Cuneta Astrodome on Thursday.

The Pampanga Giant Lanterns banked on the hot hands of Jayson Castro Apolonio and the imposing presence of Justine Baltazar to dump the Imus SV Squad, 93-72, and climb to 2-0 in the elimination round of the 29-team tournament.

In contrast, the General Santos Warriors thwarted the Rizal Xentromall Golden Coolers, 80-78, while the Pasay Voyagers held their ground to foil the Muntinlupa Cagers, 72-71 in the nightcap.

Apolonio poured 17 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter, while Bautista compiled 15 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks to assert Pampanga's dominance.

Pampanga coach Gov. Dennis Pineda also leaned on homegrown icon Archie Concepcion and Michael John Garcia for the Giant Lanterns to seal the outcome, 91-63, before the final buzzer.

Concepcion wound up with 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals while Garcia added 13 points and seven rebounds for Pampanga, which will be reinforced by veterans Arwind Santos and Alex Cabagnot and rising star Encho Serrano once their playing contracts end.

Imus, which dropped to 2-3, got 14 points from Mark Cardona, 13 from Marvin Hayes and 12 from Carlo Lastimosa.

Muntinlupa's Ian Melencio made three straight free throws and had ball possession with 5.3 seconds left, but the Cagers were unable to launch a shot and suffered their first loss in six games.

The Voyagers leaned on Laurenz Victoria to seize the lead, 57-53, and kept their poise to notch their third straight win after a 0-2 start.

Victoria fired all of his 26 points in the second and third quarters, while Tricky Dyn Peromingan added 13 points and eight rebounds.

Muntinlupa, which surged ahead at 46-36, got 18 points, four rebounds and four assists from Melencio, and 12 points and four rebounds from John Amores.

The Warriors stretched their win-run to four behind the 14 points from Jervy Cruz, 12 points and nine rebounds from John Wilson, and 10 points from Mark Cruz.

Rizal tumbled to 1-5 despite the 22-point, 8-rebound, 4-assist, 2-steal, 2-block effort of Troy Mallillin.

The MPBL returns to the Ynares Sports Arena on Friday with Negros and Bataan battling at 4 p.m., Nueva Ecija and Paranaque clashing at 6 p.m. and Quezon and Pasig colliding at 8 p.m.