MANILA — Pasay slammed the door on Biñan City’s last gasp for a playoff spot in the MPBL Lakan Season after a 68-57 win at the Bataan People’s Center in Balanga on Friday night.
The Voyagers stifled the Heroes in the third quarter, holding them to just nine points in the period, before breaking away for good in the fourth.
The win, however, was very important for Pasay (15-12) as it now established a one-game lead over Caloocan (14-13) for the eighth seed in the Northern Division.
“Yun nga sabi ko. Kailangan naming mag stack up ng wins. Kasi yung Caloocan, they still have three games pa. Baka mamaya, hindi kami makapag-pile up ng wins at makahabol sila (As I said, we need to stack up wins. Caloocan still has three games left and if we don’t pile up our wins, they can catch up,” Head Coach Marlon Martin said after the victory.
Axel Iñigo led the Voyagers with 13 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
Jason Opiso added 11 points and six rebounds while former Hero Raymund Ilagan had 10 markers and eight boards.
Jed Mendoza had 11 markers, seven caroms, and four dimes for Biñan City (12-16), which lost for the second straight time after a six-game winning streak that brought the team back in playoff contention.
In the second game, Zamboanga moved up in the standings after a 75-63 rout of Muntinlupa.
Zamboanga outscored Muntinlupa, 26-8, in the second quarter to pull away for good.
Still, Coach Britt Reroma rued his team’s endgame, in which Zamboanga still let Muntinlupa come to within 11 points late in the fourth.
“We take it as a win but hindi kami naka-finish nang strong sa game (but we did not finish strong in the game),” Reroma said.
Alvin Pasaol scored 23 points on 8-for-12 shooting including five triples for Zamboanga, which is now in fifth place in the Southern Division at 17-11, a half-game behind the GenSan Warriors for the third seed.
Biboy Enguio had 19 markers and seven boards for Muntinlupa, which slipped to 7-21. (PNA)
