Nueva Ecija takes 1–0 lead vs Pasay

MANILA, Philippines — Buoyed by a roaring homecrowd, Nueva Ecija essayed a stellar 85-81 comeback win in Game 1 of its quarterfinals matchup with Pasay to boost its title defense in the MPBL last Monday at the Nueva Ecija Coliseum.

The Rice Vanguards erased a 15-point deficit in the third quarter behind the heroics of captain Chris Bitoon for a 1-0 slate in the quick best-of-three series in the North Division.

Bitoon finished with 18 points spiced by two triples, four assists and three steals in only 22 minutes of play to lead four players in double digits for the No. 2 seed Nueva Ecija.

His eruption featured 12 points in Nueva Ecija’s crippling 30-5 rally bridging the third and fourth quarters to flip a 44-59 deficit into a 74-64 before holding off Pasay’s retaliation en route to victory.

The lefty ace drew solid support from bruising anchor Michael Mabulac with 16 points and 15 rebounds as Renz Palma and Byron Villarias chipped in 14 and 10 points, respectively.

“I just told them we need to play much harder. We need to play aggressive defense. We need to move the ball and plan our offense,” said head coach Jerson Cabiltes as Nueva Ecija nearly succumbed to the pesky Pasay defense.

“Sinunod lang namin ‘yung sistema ni coach. Nagalit siya sa dugout kasi kaming mga point guards, walang nae-execute na play. Nag usap-usap lang kami para sa tamang play,” added Bitoon.

And the Rice Vanguards did.

After a gridlock at 40-all at the turn, Nueva Ecija allowed a searing 19-4 rally Pasay capped by Dhon Reverente’s triple to stare at a sudden 15-point hole at home for a possible quick series deficit only to wake up and stage an uprising.

Bitoon ignited the rally with a buzzer-beating tip-in to push Nueva Ecija to within 61-62.