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| Jayvee Marcelino took over for Zamboanga in Jaycee's MVP coronation. MPBL |
PASIG—On a night when Jaycee Marcelino was formally handed the MPBL regular season MVP award, his twin brother stole the show to keep Zamboanga in the championship series.
Jayvee Marcelino came alive when Zamboanga needed the most as the team got one win back in the MPBL National Finals, beating Nueva Ecija, 75-65, in Game 3 of their best-of-five series on Friday night at the Vitaliano Agan Coliseum in Zamboanga City.
With Terrafirma import Lester Prosper in attendance, Jayvee played as if he was still with Lyceum, dropping 22 points, 14 in the first half, to lead Zamboanga along with seven rebounds, three assists, and one steal off the bench.
However, the home team still had to grind it out as Nueva Ecija crawled back from 16 points down to cut the lead down to two, 60-58, with 5:57 left in the game.
Zamboanga eventually pulled away after going on a 15-5 run capped by Jhaps Bautista's dagger three with 1:01 to play as Nueva Ecija suddenly fizzled in the end.
Toci Tansingco made a surprise start for Zamboanga and added 15 points, two rebounds, and one steal, while Jaycee still flirted with a triple-double after tallying nine points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists as the team stretched the series to a Game 4 on Monday night at its own turf.
Michael Mabulac put up 15 points and eight rebounds for Nueva Ecija, which was denied a sweep of the championship series and would need to try again on Monday night to finally claim the national title, losing for just the second time this season.
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