Pilipinas Aguilas used a late fourth-quarter surge to edge New Zealand-Bluefire, 66-55, for a winning debut at the Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (WMPBL) at the New Era Central Recreation and Fitness Center last Wednesday.

Chack Cabinbin, Melody Cac, Cheska Apag and Mar Prado led the Aguilas in the fourth quarter, orchestrating a 12-1 run that broke a 54-all deadlock and secured the hard-fought victory.

The Pilipinas Aguilas tightened their defense, limiting the Valkyries to just seven points in the final frame and holding them scoreless in the last five minutes of the game.

“We’re still trying to get there.. We were just lucky in the endgame because we were composed but it’s more on sticking with the system that we are trying to build,” said Aguilas head coach Ryan Monteclaro after the win.

“For us, this is still part of the learning curve. No guarantees. Even if we won our first game, it doesn’t make us a strong team. It’s a collective effort as you can see,” he added.

Prado, a former Adamson Lady Falcon who was part of the 30th Southeast Asian Games gold medal winning team, posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Aguilas, while skipper Cabinbin tallied 12 points, nine assists, five rebounds and five steals.

Cac added nine points, Apag had seven points — four of which came in the pivotal fourth-quarter rally — and six rebounds, while Kem Adeshina chipped in six points and four rebounds.

On the other side, Camille Claro and Snow Peñaranda each tallied nine points to pace New Zealand-Bluefire, who dropped to a 1-1 record.