Pampanga greeted the fourth quarter with an 11-point cluster and proceeded to beat Zamboanga’s Family’s Brand Sardines, 77-71, on Thursday, tightening its grip on the top spot in the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Fifth Season at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.
That spurt, capped by Archie Concepcion’s four-point play, pushed the Giant Lanterns ahead, 67-61, en route to their 22nd win in 25 starts in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 29-team tournament.
The Giant Lanterns paced the North division, towing the defending champion Nueva Ecija Vanguards (21-4) and the San Juan Knights (19-5).
Nueva Ecija kept in step with Pampanga by dumping Bicol, 129-86, in the opener, while Caloocan bested Bacolod, 67-62, and climbed to 18-8 in the North division.
Pampanga drew 16 points from Encho Serrano and 14 from Concepcion, who earned best player honors, as they complemented the 11-point, 14-rebound effort of MVP race leader Justine Baltazar, who also had two steals.
Louie Sangalang was the other Giant Lantern in twin digits with 12 to go with 5 rebounds.
Zamboanga, the 2023 MPBL Preseason Invitational titlist, fell to the fifth spot in the South division with a 17-8 slate.
