Batangas rips Davao, nears South semis

Batangas struck from afar and subdued Davao, 76-66, to move within a win of the South Division semifinal round in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) playoffs at the Batangas City Coliseum.

Levi Hernandez drilled in seven triples while Cedric Ablaza added two of the Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters’ total of 12 that swamped the Davao Occidental Tigers’ pool of five, proving to be decisive in Game 1 of their best-of-three quarterfinal playoffs.

Adding five rebounds to his game-high 21 points in just 19 minutes and 56 seconds of play, Hernandez emerged the Daily Fantasy best player over Ablaza, who posted 12 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

Philip Paniamogan contributed 12 points, including two treys, plus five assists and three rebounds, while Jong Baloria chipped in nine points and three rebounds for Batangas, which duplicated its 71-59 conquest of Davao in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 29-team tournament.

The Rum Masters, the only MPBL team to advance to the playoffs in each season, could end the series on Thursday at the Alonte Arena in Biñan, Laguna.

Batangas led by as far as 67-48 following a layup by Jeckster Apinan greeting the fourth quarter.

Davao, which bested Batangas in the South finals in 2019, got 14 points from Keith Agovida, 12 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals from Arthur dela Cruz, 12 points plus four assists from Mark Tallo and 10 points, seven rebounds, four assists from Bonbon Custodio.

Earlier, Mark Cruz stung the meanest as South Cotabato rallied to beat Biñan Tatak Gel, 85-82, and close in on a semifinal slot.

The 5-foot-6 Cruz, the smallest guy on the floor, went perfect on his field goals and pumped in 20 of his 24 points in the second half, highlighted by an 8-point cluster in the fourth quarter, to push the Warriors past the Laurens’, who led for over 36 minutes only to crumble in the wake of the Warriors’ spirited comeback from a 41-53 deficit.