 |
| Rob Celiz powers Nueva Ecija's romp over Manila. MPBL |
MANILA--Nueva Ecija crushed Manila Batang Quiapo, 113-83, on Thursday and cruised to the top spot of the Manny Pacquiao presents 1Xbet-MPBL 2025 Season at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Flaunting the depth and firepower of their roster, the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards zoomed to a 31-13 spread and were never threatened en route to their third straight win in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team tournament.
All but one of 15 Rice Vanguards fielded by Coach Don Dulay managed to score, with Rob Celiz spearheading he assault with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks.
Jammer Jamito contributed 15 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block, Jaycee Marcelino notched 13 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds, Ryan Paule Costelo 11 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds, and John Byron Villarias 10 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists for Nueva Ecija, the 2022 national champion.
With Celiz at the helm, the Rice Vanguards erected an 84-48 spread late in the third quarter, pulling down Manila to 1-2 despite Richard Albo's 20-point, 4-rebound output.
Homegrown Johnrey Chongpico added 11 points to Manila's futile stand, followed by Algin Andaya, Yvan Ludovice and John Derico Lopez with 10 each.
Basilan Viva rallied to force overtime and nipped Valenzuela, 82-80, earlier. The Portmasters halted their slide and tied their victims at 1-2.
Behind 67-60, Basilan poured 10 points and held Valenzuela to just two in the last 3 minutes and 21 seconds to knot the count at 69.
The Portmasters could have won outright, but veteran Alex Cabagnot missed his second free throw after making the first with 1.9 seconds left, giving Valenzuela a reprieve.
Gab Dagangon made seven points in the extension as Basilan turned back Valenzuela, which leaned on Jan Fomento's 10 points, all from charities.
Jeff Viernes scored 16 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and provided 4 assists for Basilan, but Dagangon earned best player honors with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal.
Basilan also got 14 points and 8 rebounds from Rabeh Al-Hussaini and 13 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists.
The Bataan Risers woke up in the third quarter and bested the Cebu Classic, 79-69, in the opener.
Powered by Jeff Santos and Yves Sazon, Bataan poured 28 points in that period, matching its first-half output, to seize control, 56-50, and keep it till the end to tie its victim at 1-2.
Sazon wound up with 12 points and 2 assists and was chosen best player over Santos, who posted 12 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal.
Robbi Darang backed them with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, and so did Jamil Gabawan with 9 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.
Ahead by six after three quarters, the Risers clustered 11 points, six by Darang, greeting the fourth to pull away, 67-50, with 8 minutes and 6 seconds to go.
Cebu drew 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists from Jeco Bancale, 11 points and 5 rebounds from Dennis Santos and 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals from homegrown Mark Meneses.
With Bancale firing 9 points, Cebu led at the half, 31-28.
Follow the site on X: @DugoutPH
.jpg)
