Robin Rono tallied seven points in overtime, including the marginal basket, to lift Quezon Province past Nueva Ecija, 87-86, in an OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Fifth Season thriller on Thursday at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
Known for his long-range bombing, Rono pulled off a surprise drive and drew a foul with two seconds left. Rono intentionally missed the accompanying free throw, giving Quezon its 15th win against six losses as time ran out on Nueva Ecija, the reigning national champion.
It was also a Rono show in regulation as the former National University Bulldog buried a triple to push the Quezon Huskers ahead, 77-74, with seven seconds left.
Nueva Ecija’s Jay Collado, however, countered with a triple from deep corner to force the extension, only for the Rice Vanguards to absorb their second straight loss and drop to 18-4 in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team tournament.
The Bataan Risers routed the Paranaque Patriots, 92-56, in the opener, while the Rizal XentroMall Golden Coolers foiled the Laguna Krah Asia Heroes, 75-71, in the second game.
Rono wound up with 19 points, laced with five triples, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals to earn best player honors. He drew support from RJ Minerva with 16 points and 13 rebounds, Raffy Verano with 12 points, Alfrancis Tamsi with 11, including a clutch triple in overtime, and Jason Opiso with 11 points, 7 rebounds plus 2 steals.
Bataan climbed to 10-12 through the efforts of Yves Sazon with 16 points and Robbi Darang, James Castro, Dominick Vera and Arvie Bringas with 10 each.
Paranaque, which skidded to 9-14, got 14 points from Keith Pido and 11 from James Abugan.
