Streaking Biñan Tatak Gel swamped Marikina, 97-59, on Monday to secure a top four spot in the South Division of the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the Paco Arena in Manila.
Biñan cruised to its eighth straight win and climbed to 19-8, sharing third and fourth places with Batangas and moving beyond reach of Paranaque (16-10) in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team tournament.
Playoffs-bound Caloocan trounced Bulacan, 91-71, in the opener to climb to 16-9 and secure a spot in the North Division playoffs while Iloilo stunned Bataan, 104-100, in overtime in the second game between also-ran teams.
Powered by Pierce Tyron Chan, Pamboy Raymundo, Joseph Penaredondo and Jaymar Gimpayan, Binan led by as far as 71-31 late in the third quarter before easing up on also-ran Marikina, which slumped to 7-18 following its fourth straight defeat.
Raymundo posted 13 points, including three triples, and 5 assists to clinch the Daily Fantasy best player honors over Chan, who tallied 14 points, spiked by four triples, and 5 rebounds. Penaredondo contributed 11 points while Gimpayan wound up with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists.
Hardly missing Marc Pingris, Binan ruled the boards, 51-40, and buried Marikina with 48 points inside the paint to gain the homecourt advantage in the three-game playoffs like division leaders Quezon Province and Zamboanga, both with 20-6 slates.
Led by Chan and Raymundo, Binan drilled in 12 triples while Marikina could only convert five.
Led by Joshua Flores with 14 points and 6 rebounds and Reil Cervantes with 10 points and 3 rebounds, the Batang Kankaloo improved to 16-9, with the Abra Weavers (15-10), Rizal Golden Coolers (14-12), Quezon City Capitals (13-13) and Valenzuela Classics (13-13) disputing the last two playoff seats in the division being lorded over by overall leaders San Juan (25-1), Pampanga (26-2) and Nueva Ecija (22-3). Manila (18-8) and Pasay (17-10) have also qualified for the three-game quarterfinal round.
