Pampanga nears crown

DUBAI – The Pampanga Giant Lanterns once again asserted their superiority over the Quezon Huskers and closed in on the MPBL crown with a  79-60 win Tuesday, completing a two-game sweep of their Dubai swing at the Al Nasr Sports Club’s Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall here.

North Division champion Pampanga, which also dominated Game 1, 88-71, moved within a win of sweeping South Division champion Quezon and becoming the league’s first back-to-back national titlist.

Kurt Reyson presided over the Giant Lanterns offense with 20 points, spiked by six triples, to go with seven assists, five rebounds and two steals to clinch the Daily Fantasy Best Player honors.

Justine Baltazar had another MVP-like performance with 13 points, 19 rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocks, followed by Raymond Binuya with 12 points, including three triples, four assists and two rebounds.

The Giant Lanterns go for the clincher on Saturday at the Bren Z. Guiao Sports Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.

Asked whether the Giant Lanterns would end the best-of-five series in Game 3, Pampanga coach Gov. Dennis Pineda replied, “Sana (hopefully).”