The San Juan Knights trounced the Abra Weavers, 95-82, on Thursday to grab the solo lead in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan.
Powered by Zach Huang and Arvin Gamboa, the Knights pulled away, 85-60, before cruising to their fifth straight win in as many starts in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team tournament.
Other games saw Iloilo edge Bacolod, 75-73, and Quezon City subdue Mindoro, 78-71.
Huang fired 17 points, while Gamboa, a former star of the Mapua Cardinals, posted 16 points plus 3 rebounds to earn best player honors.
The Knights, the MPBL Datu Cup champion now being coached by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, also got the push from Orlan Wamar, who tallied 12 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds, AC Soberano with 12 points and Michael Calisaan with 10.
The Weavers showed up with Top Gun Mark Tallo, but still couldn’t match the Knights’ firepower and fell to the lower half of the standings at 3-4.
Tallo wound up with 18 points like Felipe Chavez, while NCAA Season 99 MVP Clint Escamis scored 10 for Abra.
The Iloilo United Royals banked on CJ Cansino and Mark Nonoy to erase a 56-61 deficit and tally their second win against 5 losses.
Cansino fired 18 points, 9 in the last five minutes, while Nonoy added 13 points, including 6 in the homestretch, as Iloilo dealt Bacolod its seventh straight defeat.
CJ Catapusan also delivered for Iloilo with 10 points plus 4 rebounds and so did Ry Aijer De La Rosa with 10.
Bacolod got 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists from John Edcel Rojas and 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists from Ralph Jeffrey Deles.
Quezon City TODA Aksyon leaned on high-flyer Rhinwill Yambing’s 20 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists, to break a three-game skid and level its slate at 3-3.
With Paeng Are and Jonathan Gesalem backing Yambing Quezon City led by as many as 53-39 before proceeding to deal the Mindoro Tamaraws their fifth loss in seven starts.
Are tallied 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals while Gesalem contributed 11 points and 5 assists.
Chino Mosqueda and Jonas Tibayan added 8 points each for Quezon City Coach Egay Macaraya.
Mindoro got 20 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists from Tey Teodoro, 16 points,6
