MANILA, Philippines – Batangas and Gensan cruised to victories on Tuesday and moved closer to the semifinal round of the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Fifth Season playoffs at the Batangas City Coliseum.
The Batangas City Embassy Chill Athletics pounded the Imus SV Squad, 78-71, while the GenSan Warriors subdued the Muntinlupa Cagers, 79-70, in the South division quarterfinals.
The final scores did not reflect how the games really went as Batangas and GenSan dictated the tempo and had their lower-ranked opponents in check throughout.
The Athletics, powered by Jong Baloria, Levi Hernandez and Jeckster Apinan, led from the start and pulled away by 21 points (44-23) before halftime.
The Warriors, on the other hand, stormed ahead by 28 points (54-28) behind Jervy Cruz, John Wilson and Nico Elorde, in the third quarter.
Baloria chalked 17 points, five rebounds, two steals, two assists and one block to earn best player honors over Hernandez, who had 13 points and two rebounds, and Apinan, who posted 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals for Batangas coach Cholo Villanueva.
Cruz tallied 16 points and five assists and was chosen best player ahead of Wilson, who registered 13 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Elorde contributed 10 points, four rebounds and four assists for GenSan coach Rich Alvarez.
To the credit of Imus and Muntinlupa, they never surrendered until the final buzzer.
With Val Acuna bunching three charities and a triple, Muntinlupa narrowed the gap, 76-70, with 26 seconds left, before Elorde canned three of four free throws to seal the outcome.
Although Batangas moved out of reach, 76-60, Imus, behind Carlo Lastimosa dropped a closing 11-2 run to avoid a double-digit deficit.
Villanueva said for the Athletics to cut short the best-of-three series, they must step up defensively, work on their offensive rebounding and execute their plays down the stretch.
For his part, Alvarez said his Warriors must be ready for another physical game and keep their composure and focus in Game Two.
The MPBL visits the Caloocan Sports Complex on Friday with Pampanga and Caloocan gunning for semifinal round spots. Pampanga tackles Marikina at 6 p.m., while Caloocan battles Pasay at 8 p.m.