PAMPANGA hit full throttle as San Juan conked out late Tuesday, enabling the Giant Lanterns to clinch the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) North Division crown with a tense 86-82 victory in Game 2 at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
The Giant Lanterns poured 25 points while the Knights managed only six in the fourth quarter where Encho Serrano outscored the entire Knights’ squad with 11 to cut short their best-of-three title series and advance to the National Finals against the winner of the South Division Finals between Bacoor and Batangas.
Trailing throughout the first three quarters, the Giant Lanterns greeted the final canto with a crippling 22-3 run, fueled by Serrano’s 8 points, John Lloyd Clemente’s two triples, MJ Garcia’s basket and capped by Justine Baltazar’s two free throws to seize control at 79-73 going to the last minute.
Although San Juan’s Marwin Taywan drilled in a triple, the Knights could not convert after that while the Giant Lanterns finished the job with two charities by Serrano, following a split by Garcia.
Serrano wound up with 16 points, 7 assists and 3 rebounds to earn best player honors over Baltazar, who tallied 14 points, 19 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals and Garcia with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Gov. Dennis Pineda, also the head coach of the Giant Lanterns, lauded his players for trusting each other and thanked the Pampanguenos for their all-out support.
