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| Tucker Molina soared for the breakaway slam. MPBL |
MANILA—Abra pulled off a domination for the ages as the defending MPBL champion crushed Bacolod 129-45 in their Monday night clash at the One Arena in Cainta.
The 84-point final margin set a new league record for the largest blowout win in its eight-year run, breaking the 82-point victory by San Juan against Mindoro in 2022.
The Weavers quickly pulled away from the Masskara Warriors after opening a 30-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Abra continued pummeling Bacolod for the rest of the way, and Dave Ildefonso broke the MPBL record with a three-pointer with 39.4 seconds remaining.
Ildefonso, the reigning MVP, nearly outscored the Masskara Warriors by himself as he led the Weavers, back on top of the North Division standings at 15-1, with a career-high 40 points on 14 of 26 shooting, eight rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
Raven Gonzales flirted with a 20-20 after tallying 20 boards and 19 markers on a perfect 6-for-6 field goals and 7-for-7 free throws alongside two assists and two blocks.
Desmond Price tallied 12 points, two rebounds, and one steal for Bacolod, but he went 5-for-21 from the field.
Rafael Go tallied a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds with one assist, but he finished with a minus-67 in the plus-minus meter, which is also an all-time worst.
Despite dropping to 3-18, the team remains in contention for a play-in game spot as it is just 1.5 games behind Sarangani (3-15) for 10th place in the South Division.
Earlier in the day, Valenzuela clobbered Imus, 129-97, behind 22 points on 9 of 16 field goals with four threes, nine rebounds, nine assists, three steals, and three blocks from Geremy Robinson.
Jay Collado added 20 points on 8-for-11 field goals, including 3-of-5 on threes, four rebounds, four assists, and one steal for Valenzuela, who remain in contention for an outright playoff spot at 9-10, two games behind Pasig (9-6) for sixth place in the North.
Joseph Marquez scored 28 points on 10-for-18 shooting and 6-for-11 on threes with seven rebounds, one assist, and one block for the Yankees, who fell to 2-16, but just like the Masskara Warriors, they are still in postseason contention.
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