Playoffs-bound Imus, Muntinlupa tally MPBL wins

MANILA, Philippines – Imus and Muntinlupa posted contrasting victories in the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Fifth Season elimination round at the people-packed Marikina Sports Center on Tuesday.

The Imus SV Squad battered the Marikina Shoemasters, 103-89, while the Muntinlupa Cagers weathered the San Juan Knights' final onslaught to prevail, 91-90.

Already assured of slots in the playoffs phase, Muntinlupa and Imus raised their win-loss records to 15-10 and 13-12, respectively, keeping the sixth and seventh spots in the South division of the 29-team tournament.

Carlo Lastimosa fired 24 points while Hubert Cani added 12, all in the third quarter, as Imus pulled away, 77-51, late in that period.

Nino Canaleta added 11 points and Jimboy Estrada recorded eight points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals for Imus, which notched its third straight win.

Marikina skidded to 14-12 despite the 25-point explosion, 20 in the fourth quarter, of RR Casajeros, the 16-point output of Felipe Chavez and the 10-point contribution of Joe Gomez de Liano.

Muntinlupa banked on free throw accuracy to stun San Juan.

Unable to make a field goal in the last four minutes, Muntinlupa compensated by making 11-of-12 charities, with Dave Moralde going 9-of-10 and Ian Melencio hitting 2-of-2 in the last four seconds, which enabled the Cagers to withstand the San Juan Knights' rally from as many as 17 points down, 58-77, early in the fourth quarter.

Michael Calisaan poured 11 points and Marwin Taywan added eight, including the go-ahead layup for San Juan with 11 seconds left.

Muntinlupa drew a game-high 19 points from John Amores, but it was Moralde and Melencio who got the job done in the second half with 17 points and 14 points, respectively. Melencio added 11 assists as the Cagers raised their record to 15-10.

San Juan tumbled to 19-6 despite the 15-point, 10-rebound effort of Calisaan, the 15-point, six-rebound, four-steal output of Adrian Nocum and the 14-point, eight-assist, seven-rebound, six-steal contribution of Orlan Wamar.

The Cagers made 21-of-24 free throw attempts for a lofty 87.5%, which proved to be pivotal as the Knights could only convert 21-of-38 tries for 55.3%.

Earlier, the Manila Stars bested the Bulacan Kuyas, 72-68, in a battle of also-rans.

Jay Yutuc presided over Manila's offense with 17 points, 11 in the third quarter where the Stars surged ahead, 62-44, en route to their fourth win in 26 games.

Bulacan dropped to 6-20 despite getting 16 points from Rence Alcoriza and 13 points each from Bernson Sebastian and Jeremy Cruz.

The MPBL goes to the Wes Arena in Valenzuela on Wednesday with Rizal battling Caloocan at 4 p.m., Bacoor tackling Negros at 6 p.m., and Valenzuela clashing with Paranaque at 8 p.m.