Bacoor and Nueva Ecija trounced their opponents, while Iloilo stunned Zamboanga in the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Fifth Season on Tuesday at the Bacoor Strike Gym in Cavite.
The Bacoor Strikers clobbered the Paranaque Patriots, 83-58, to keep pace with the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards, who dumped the Oriental Mindoro Disiplinados, 84-69, in the round-robin elimination phase.
While the easy victories of Bacoor and Nueva Ecija that pushed their records to 16-2 were expected, Iloilo’s triumph over Zamboanga Family’s Brand Sardines was a surprise.
With their roster depleted, the Iloilo United Royals relied on homegrown Omar Larupay, and Lorenzo Navarro, especially in the fourth quarter, to improve to 8-11 and rev up their drive for a playoff spot in the 29-team tournament.
A 6-foot-2 high-flyer from the University of the East and Lyceum, Larupay scored 19 points, including the insurance free throws with 13 seconds left, and grabbed 17 rebounds to earn best player honors.
Navarro, formerly of San Sebastian College and Lyceum, wound up with 14 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals as the United Royals completed their climb from a 32-45 hole in the second quarter.
Shaquille Imperial added 14 points and JR Sumido, another homegrown, contributed 13 points for Iloilo, which also drew 8 points and 12 rebounds from CJ Catapusan and 9 points plus 6 rebounds from Joshua Flores.
Zamboanga, the 2023 MPBL Invitation Preseason champion, slid to 14-4 despite the 23-point, 12-rebound effort of Dexter Maiquez and the 14-point, 10-rebound output of Judel Fuentes.
