The Batangas City Embassy Chill Athletics and the Bacoor Strikers disposed of their rivals on Monday and caught up with the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Fifth Season leaders at the Batangas City Coliseum.
Batangas clamped down on the Iloilo United Royals in the fourth quarter for a runaway 78-55 victory in the nightcap, while Bacoor quelled Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc.’s final rally to prevail, 76-68, in the triple-bill opener.
Pasig City MCW Sports routed a listless Imus SV Squad, 79-60, behind Kenny Roger Rocacurva in the other game to rise to 2-1 and pull down its victim to 1-1.
Rocacurva posted a game-high 18 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, to earn best player honors for Pasig, which also drew 15 points from Shane Menina, 14 from Robbie Manalang, and 11 points plus 8 rebounds from Michael Maestre.
Both Batangas, the 2018 MPBL Rajah Cup champion, and Bacoor, which finally broke its winless spell at the venue, climbed to 3-0 and joined idle Nueva Ecija, Bulacan and Quezon Province at the helm of the 29-team tournament.
The Batanguenos held the Ilonggos to just five points while unloading 20 of their own in the last 10 minutes to zoom away after a slow start that saw them trail at 16-19.
New acquisition Rhaffy Octobre led Batangas with 14 points, followed by MJ Dela Virgen with 13, including 8 in the last quarter; and Jeckster Apinan with 10 plus 13 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 assists.
Only Genmar Bragais was able to score in twin digits for Iloilo, which paraded Fil-Canadian Noah Korovesi, with 11. The 6-foot-3 Korovesi finished with 5 points and 6 rebounds in Iloilo’s third straight defeat.
The MPBL goes to the Cuneta Astrodome on Tuesday with Manila battling Sarangani at 4 p.m., Caloocan tackling Bulacan at 6 p.m. and Marikina tangling with Pasay at 8 p.m.
