Nueva Ecija, Batangas clobber rivals

Nueva Ecija and Batangas handily won while Davao Occidental bested Cebu in the Manny Pacquiao presents 1xBet-Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) 2025 Season at the Batangas City Coliseum on Monday.

The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards routed the Quezon City Galeries Taipan, 94-38, while the Batangas City Rum Masters trounced the Bulacan Kuyas, 81-69, in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team, two-division tournament.

On the other hand, Davao Occidental rips Cebu, 64-59, to round out the explosive triple-header.

The Rice Vanguards cruised to their 25th win against two losses, tying the San Juan Knights and inching closer to the Abra Solid North Weavers (24-1) in the North Division as well as the overall standings of the 30-team, two-division tournament.

Despite resting their key players, the Rum Masters climbed to 19-9 in the South Division, behind only the Quezon Huskers (23-4) in the jostling for playoff positions.

In a do-or-die situation, Davao held Cebu scoreless in the last 1:57 while coming through with eight points, five by Joseph Terso, to climb to 10-15 and overtake Cebu (10-18) in the chase for the last play-in slot in the South.

Jeff Comia led Davao with 23 points plus 13 rebounds, followed by homegrown Joseph Salubre with 10 points plus five rebounds, and Terso with 10 points plus three rebounds.