Biñan Tatak Gel found its mark everywhere and pounded Nueva Ecija, 99-82, in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) Sixth Season at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna on Tuesday.
Lifted by Niño Cañaleta’s perfect 5-of-5 shooting from afar, Biñan canned 11-of-21 triple tries for a high 52.4 percent conversion rate, 18 of 21 free throws (85.7 percent), and 24 of 42 (55.8 percent) from the floor en route to its 14th win against 8 losses in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team tournament.
Meanwhile, the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo erected a 20-point spread (50-30) early in the third quarter and used it as a buffer to trip the Pasay Voyagers, 77-71, and rise to 12-8.
The Parañaque Patriots took the same route to subdue the Marikina Shoemasters, 88-78, and catch up with the Voyagers at 14-9.
Biñan greeted the third quarter with a 10-point cluster, the last seven by Jonathan Grey, to pull away, 62-39, from which Nueva Ecija couldn’t recover and suffered its third defeat in 21 starts, trailing Pampanga (22-1) and San Juan (21-1) in the overall standings.
Cañaleta, a many-time slam dunk king before finding he has the soft touch, posted 23 points, including 10 in the first quarter, and four rebounds to clinch the Daily Fantasy best player honors.
Jeric James Pido provided support with 19 points, five assists plus four rebounds, and so did Grey with 15 points plus four rebounds, and Pamboy Raymundo with 12 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Veteran Marc Pingris also struck for Biñan with eight points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.
Nueva Ecija, the 2022 MPBL titlist, got 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists from JB Bahio, 15 points and three assists from JC Cullar, and 10 points plus five assists from Chris Bitoon.
So overpowering was Biñan that the Lagunenses allowed the Rice Vanguards to lead only for 46 seconds (7-6) before seizing control.
Other games saw Caloocan and Parañaque trounce their opponents.