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| Jielo Razon celebrates after scoring a three. MPBL |
LAS PINAS--The Parañaque Patriots surged ahead in the second quarter then weathered a fiery comeback by Manila SV Batang Sampaloc to prevail, 82-78, on Tuesday in the MPBL Sixth Season at the Villar Coliseum.
Riding the hot hands of Jielo Razon and the all-around play of veteran Mark Yee, Parañaque erected a 52-29 spread which buffered the Patriots from the Batang Sampaloc's fiery fourth-quarter rally.
Tagged the underdog, Paranaque drew inspiration from Rizal XentroMall which toppled defending national champion Pampanga, 78-71, earlier.
Razon fired 25 points, spiced by five triples, and grabbed 8 rebounds, while Yee, rejuvenated by the three-month break, tallied 18 points, including two triples, snagged 18 rebounds, and blocked two attempts for the Patriots of Coach Michael Saguiguit.
John Rey Villanueva also shone for Paranaque with 15 points and 6 rebounds and so did Paul Sarao with 8 points and 4 rebounds, John Uduba with 7 points and 8 rebounds, and Philip Manalang with 11 assists and two points.
Manila rallied in the fourth quarter behind Carl Bryan Cruz but fell short as Razon and Sarao joined forces to quell the uprising.
Cruz, Fil-Am DJ Mitchell, and Ahmad Didat Hanapi scored 13 each for Manila, which also got 10 points from Pao Javelona.
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