Pampanga further bolstered its firepower and routed Pasig, 81-66, in the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Fifth Season on Thursday at the crammed Bren Guiao Convention Center in the provincial capital San Fernando City.
Already deadly with Justine Baltazar at the helm, Pampanga paraded prized acquisitions Encho Serrano, John Lloyd Clemente and Allen Bryant Liwag, who did their share in pushing the Giant Lanterns to their 13th straight win in the elimination round of the 29-team tournament.
Earlier games saw Caloocan and Rizal overcome the tough resistance from Manila and Bicol, respectively.
The Caloocan Batang Kankaloo wasted an 18-point spread, but recovered in time to subdue the Manila Stars, 79-75, while the Rizal XentroMall Golden Coolers extend the woes of the Bicol Volcanoes, 82-78.
While the 6foot-8 Baltazar remained the fulcrum of Pampanga’s plays and wound up with 16 points and 12 rebounds, Serrano, who nixed a contract extension with Phoenix Super LPG to play for his home province, made an instant impact with 15 points, 6 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds to earn best player honors.
The 6-foot-6 Liwag, formerly of Emilio Aguinaldo College and Mindoro in the MPBL, contributed 8 points and 7 rebounds, while the 6-foot-3 Clemente, a former star of the high school and varsity teams of National University, chipped in 6 points.
Archie Concepcion also did his share for the Giant Lanterns being coached by Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda with 10 points.
Pasig, which trailed by as far as 51-76 skidded to 9-6, despite the 17 points it got from Ryan Paule Costelo and 13 from Robbie Manalang.
Led by veterans Gabby Espinas and Reil Cervantes, Caloocan surged ahead at 58-40 but got complacent and even allowed Manila to wrest control at 73-69, midway through the fourth quarter.
