MANILA — Zamboanga pulled off a 69-64 win over reigning Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) champion San Juan to tighten the race for the third seed in the Southern Division Playoffs at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay on Friday night.
Zamboanga shut San Juan down in the second quarter, holding its opponent to just 10 points to open a 36-27 halftime lead.
“Our defense really clicked today on a low-scoring game. Yun lang kasi ang chance namin to beat San Juan (That was our only chance to beat San Juan),” Zamboanga head coach Britt Reroma said.
San Juan tried to come back and was just down by three, 64-67, with 23.4 seconds left, but free throws from Alvin Pasaol and Robin Rono sealed the win for Zamboanga.
“It is a morale-boosting win kasi (because) we won against the defending champions,” Reroma added.
Anton Asistio scored 15 points and two assists off the bench to lead Zamboanga, which tied Iloilo for fourth place in the South standings at 18-11.
Zamboanga also moved to within a half-game of Basilan, which was playing Pasay as of posting, for the third seed.
John Wilson and Jhonard Clarito each scored 18 markers for San Juan, whose loss dropped the team to 24-4, now only a half-game ahead of Manila for the top seed in the Northern Division.
In the first game, Pasig boosted its chance for a better playoff seeding with a 90-72 rout of
Valenzuela.
The Realtors quickly raced to a double-digit lead, 25-14, at the end of the first quarter.
Although the Classic slowed them down a bit in the second quarter, the Realtors recovered by dropping 31 points in the third to reopen a 71-57 cushion at the end of the period.
“Ang maganda, na-counter namin sila, yung runs nila. Naibalik din namin kaagad by our own runs (What was good was that we were able to counter their runs. We were able to recover by our own runs),” Pasig head coach Bong dela Cruz said.
Josan Nimes made 28 points, six rebounds, three assists, and one steal, while Jeric Teng added 21 points, nine rebounds, and two assists for the Realtors, who moved up to 18-11, a game behind the Bulacan Kuyas of sixth place in the North.
Pasig is now 1.5 games behind Bataan and Pampanga for the fourth and fifth spots.
Ford Ruaya had 15 markers, 16 rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal for Valenzuela, which fell to 11-18. (PNA)
MANILA — Zamboanga pulled off a 69-64 win over reigning Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) champion San Juan to tighten the race for the third seed in the Southern Division Playoffs at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay on Friday night.
Zamboanga shut San Juan down in the second quarter, holding its opponent to just 10 points to open a 36-27 halftime lead.
“Our defense really clicked today on a low-scoring game. Yun lang kasi ang chance namin to beat San Juan (That was our only chance to beat San Juan),” Zamboanga head coach Britt Reroma said.
San Juan tried to come back and was just down by three, 64-67, with 23.4 seconds left, but free throws from Alvin Pasaol and Robin Rono sealed the win for Zamboanga.
“It is a morale-boosting win kasi (because) we won against the defending champions,” Reroma added.
Anton Asistio scored 15 points and two assists off the bench to lead Zamboanga, which tied Iloilo for fourth place in the South standings at 18-11.
Zamboanga also moved to within a half-game of Basilan, which was playing Pasay as of posting, for the third seed.
John Wilson and Jhonard Clarito each scored 18 markers for San Juan, whose loss dropped the team to 24-4, now only a half-game ahead of Manila for the top seed in the Northern Division.
In the first game, Pasig boosted its chance for a better playoff seeding with a 90-72 rout of
Valenzuela.
The Realtors quickly raced to a double-digit lead, 25-14, at the end of the first quarter.
Although the Classic slowed them down a bit in the second quarter, the Realtors recovered by dropping 31 points in the third to reopen a 71-57 cushion at the end of the period.
“Ang maganda, na-counter namin sila, yung runs nila. Naibalik din namin kaagad by our own runs (What was good was that we were able to counter their runs. We were able to recover by our own runs),” Pasig head coach Bong dela Cruz said.
Josan Nimes made 28 points, six rebounds, three assists, and one steal, while Jeric Teng added 21 points, nine rebounds, and two assists for the Realtors, who moved up to 18-11, a game behind the Bulacan Kuyas of sixth place in the North.
Pasig is now 1.5 games behind Bataan and Pampanga for the fourth and fifth spots.
Ford Ruaya had 15 markers, 16 rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal for Valenzuela, which fell to 11-18. (PNA)
