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San Juan continued to impress while Valenzuela pulled off a surprise on Wednesday in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season elimination round at the Olivarez College Gym in Paranaque.
The San Juan Knights trounced the Sarangani Marlins, 80-65, for their third straight win in as many starts, even as the Valenzuela Classics banked on Orin Catacutan to snap Paranaque’s four-win run, 70-68, in the nightcap of a triple bill.
Bataan scored the game’s last six points in the opener to stun Bulacan, 92-90. Catacutan canned a turnaround jumper with 6.3 seconds left to push Valenzuela into the upper half of the standings with a 3-2 record.
Paranaque’s Jielo Razon then missed a probable game-winning triple at the buzzer, to the disappointment of the overflow home crowd.
With Paranaque behind, 55-63, the Patriots dropped a 12-3 salvo behind Razon and Mark Yee to seize control at 67-66 with 1 minute and 7 seconds left. Lanky Dennis Santos, however, scored on a lay-up to shove Valenzuela ahead, 68-67, before Keith Pido knotted the count at 68.
Valenzuela sued for time and devised plays designed for Catacutan, who delivered without fear. Catacutan wound up with 13 points, seven rebounds, and two steals, while Fil-Am CJ Payawal came through with 13 and 11 rebounds.
Santos finished with 10 points and six rebounds.
Paranaque drew 14 points, 17 rebounds, five assists, four steals from Razon, and 14 points plus six assists from Robbie Manalang. Yee finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while JP Sarao chalked 13 and 5 rebounds.
Unlike Valenzuela, San Juan was dominant throughout, leading by as far as 53-29 behind the guns of AC Soberano, Zach Huang, Michael Malonzo, and John Galinato.
Soberano scored 20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and two assists, while Huang tallied 13 points and 7 rebounds. Malonzo and Galinato contributed 11 points each for the Knights, which are coached by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
Sarangani, which slumped to 1-4, drew 13 points each from Coy Alves and Felix John Villarente and ten from Yukihiro Kawamura.
Trailing 86-90, the Bataan Risers found saviors in Mitchelle Maynes, Yves Sazon, and Jeff Santos to climb to 3-2.
Maaynes split his two charities; Sazon banged in a triple, while Santos stole off a bad pass to deliver the clincher for Bataan, which bucked the 29-point, 11-assist, 5-rebound, 2-steal effort of Bulacan’s Paolo Hubalde.
Maynes scored 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals for the Risers, while Robbi Darang scored 16 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
The MPBL will play at the Batangas City Coliseum on Wednesday, May 1. At 4 p.m., Muntinlupa will face Davao, Binan will face Imus at 6 p.m., and Rizal will face Batangas at 8 p.m.
Photo: Zach Huang shines for San Juan.
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