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| Before he leaves for Nagoya to join the Gilas 3x3 squad, Nic Cabañero pulled off a 5-on-5 performance that many will remember for a long time. LA Arcin |
PASAY—Nic Cabañero had to skip the send-off event for the Asian Games-bound athletes at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila as he had a game to play in the MPBL.
However, right before he returns to national team duties, Cabañero delivered a performance never before seen in the pro league.
The Gilas Pilipinas 3x3 member did not just break the MPBL record for most points by a player in a single game but also posted a very rare all-around performance to lead Biñan to a 121-79 home win against Pasig on Thursday night at the Alonte Sports Arena.
Cabañero joined Jeff Viernes as the only players to drop a 50 in one MPBL game, but the former University of Santo Tomas standout, who replaced Jhun Dela Rama in the Gilas 3x3 roster for the Asian Games, broke the MPBL record with a right corner three with 5:41 left for 53 points.
Cabañero then went for a crazier stat line.
Already with 19 rebounds when he hit his 53rd point, he grabbed another board off Jerome Garcia's missed free throw with 3:31 to go to complete a 50-20.
After grabbing another rebound, his 21st for the night, Cabañero dished an outlet pass to Ryan Sual for a layup with 2:56 to play, completing a triple-double in the process.
Cabañero would complete his rare 50-20-10 performance with another carom to finish with 22 rebounds even as he went 23 of 33 from the field, 18 of 21 on twos with five triples, for his 53-point explosion.
Sual added 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting with one rebound and two assists as Biñan finished the regular season on top of the South Division at 21-4.
The Tatak Gel are now on a waiting game if they will keep the top seed in the South as the Quezon Huskers (18-4) still have three games to play against the Imus Bandera, Zamboanga Sikat, and Rizal Golden Coolers.
Quezon holds the tiebreaker over Biñan due to a 66-59 win in the former's season opener.
Michael Lambino led Pasig, whose bid to make the playoff outright hit a snag after dropping to 11-12, with 17 points, eight rebounds, and one assist.
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