MPBL: Pampanga repels Abra; Batangas, Valenzuela win

MANILA, Philippines – Pampanga flaunted its depth in thwarting Abra, 88-79, on Tuesday in the 6th MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Season at the FPJ Arena in San Jose, Batangas.

Shrugging off the exits of Justine Baltazar in the last 6:24 and Archie Concepcion with 2:06 left, the Giant Lanterns leaned on homegrowns MJ Garcia and Raymond Binuya to raise their record to 25-2 in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team tournament.

Binuya drove in while Garcia made a two-handed slam to punctuate Pampanga's victory that pushed them closer to North Division and overall pacesetter San Juan (24-1).

Batangas City Tanduay Rum cruised to a wire-to-wire 92-77 victory over also-ran Marikina in the nightcap to boost its drive in the South Division.

RJ Ramirez led five Rum Masters in double figures with 15 points as they lifted Batangas to an 18-8 slate, good for the third spot in the South Division being led by Quezon Province (20-5) and Zamboanga Master Sardines (19-6).

With Ramirez getting support from Philip Paniamogan with 14 points and Levi Hernandez, Cedric Ablaza and Jeckster Apinan with 11 each, Batangas led by as far as 83-57 in pulling down Marikina to 7-17.

Baltazar, the reigning MPBL Most Valuable Player, fouled out after posting a triple-double of 11 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to go with four blocks. Concepcion, on the other hand, contributed 18 points and six assists.

Lervin Flores also shone for Pampanga with 16 points — all in the second half — and eight rebounds and clinched the Daily Fantasy Best Player honors. Garcia finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Abra, which dropped to 15-9, got 18 points, spiked by five triples, and five rebounds from Mike Yee; 12 points and three rebounds from John Lloyd Clemente; and 10 points plus seven rebounds from Ryan Batino.

Earlier, Valenzuela nipped Mindoro, 64-63, to rise to 12-13 and stay in the race for a playoff seat.

Bannered by 6-foot-9 Ladies Lepalam, Paolo Hubalde and Mark Montuano, the Valenzuela Classic led by as many as 56-42 early in the fourth quarter, but the Tamaraws rallied behind Joseph Mark Marquez and Jayvee Dela Cruz.

Mindoro even had the chance to