Quezon, Pampanga keep MPBL top spots

Quezon Province and Pampanga posted contrasting wins to keep their 1-2 spots in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Sixth Season on Tuesday at the Caloocan Sports Complex.

Shrugging off a long lackluster performance, the Huskers prevailed over Quezon City TODA Aksyon, 70-59, while the Giant Lanterns leaned on Justine Baltazar and Archie Concepcion to trounce Caloocan Batang Kankaloo, 76-60, in the nightcap.

It was the Huskers’ 15th straight win in as many games, matching the Giant Lanterns’ 15-win streak after an initial loss in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team tournament.

Caught napping, the Huskers trailed 0-14 and needed to play catch-up until the last seven minutes before seizing control at 57-55 and sealing the outcome with a 13-point cluster, 70-56, with 30.9 seconds to go.

Judel Fuentes and Jason Opiso poured 10 points each in that crippling 22-1 spurt that pulled Quezon City down to 8-9.

Opiso wound up with 24 points, nine rebounds and two steals, followed by LJ Gonzales with 13 points, four rebounds, four assists plus three steals, and Fuentes with 12 points, four assists, three steals and two rebounds.

Quezon City, which led for 33:28, got 12 points, four assists and three rebounds from Hubert Cani, 10 points, nine rebounds plus two blocks from Rhinwill Yambing and 11 points plus five rebounds from Andrew Estrella.

While the Huskers struggled for the most part, the Giant Lanterns sparkled nearly throughout.

Baltazar, the reigning Most Valuable Player, posted 12 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists, plus three steals for his fourth triple-double this year while Concepcion notched 21 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals for the defending champion.