The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards extended their hot streak with an 88-52 drubbing of the Marikina Shoemasters on Saturday in Manny Pacquiao presents 1xBet-MPBL 2025 Season at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
Led by Robby Celiz and Will McAloney, all but one of the 15 players fielded by Coach Don Dulay scored as the Rice Vanguards cruised to win No. 12 in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team tournament.
Nueva Ecija is ahead of Abra (11-1), San Juan (10-1), and second and fellow winners Quezon Province (10-2) and Muntinlupa (10-2) in the race for playoff berths.
The Quezon Huskers battered the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys from the start before coasting to a 96-78 victory in the nightcap, while the Muntinlupa Cagers subdued the Quezon City Galeries Taipan, 75-68, in the second game.
Way ahead, 68-40, the Huskers sealed the Cowboys’ seventh loss in 13 starts with four straight triples, the first by local idol Topeng Lagrama, second and third by Emman Tagle and the last by Jason Opiso, against a triple by Ilagan’s Allen Mina, and an 80-43 buffer after three quarters.
Judel Fuentes, despite getting ejected with Ilagan’s Allan Santos following a double disqualifying foul midway through the second quarter, scored 17 and handed 2 assists for Quezon, which got 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists from JP Sarao and 11 points plus 4 rebounds from Ximone Sandagon.
Opiso posed 9 points and 6 rebounds while Tagle, also a homegrown talent, added 9 points and 2 assists.
The Cowboys, missing the services of injured Top Gun Arth Dela Cruz, drew 12 points, 9 assists, 4 steals and 3 rebounds from Philip Manalang, 11 points from Mina, and 10 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists from Joshua Guiab.
Muntinlupa continued its strong showing behind Mart James Barrera’s 21 points and 2 rebounds, Dom Matillano’s 14 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists, Kurt Lojera’s 9 points and 5 rebounds, and Marvin Hayes’ 8 points plus 6 rebounds.
Quezon City slumped to 3-9 despite Jonjon Gabriel’s 23 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals, Vincent Cunanan’s 16 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds, and Franz Diaz’s 11 points plus 4 rebounds.
Celiz chalked up 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, while McAloney tallied 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists for Nueva Ecija, which led by as far as 85-47 before completing the wire-to-wire triumph.
Ryan Paule Costelo contributed 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, Jammer Jamito 8 points and 7 rebounds, and homegrown Pierce Tyron Chan 8 points for the Rice Vanguards, who are bidding to reclaim the MPBL crown they won in 2022.
Marikina, which fell to 2-11, got 12 points and 4 rebounds from Karl Penano, 11 points and 3 rebounds from Raymond Casajeros, and 10 points plus 3 rebounds from Nem Dela Cruz.
The Rice Vanguards dominated the boards, 53-30, and parlayed this advantage to 48 points in the paint against 22 for the Shoemasters.
The MPBL goes to the San Andres Sports Complex on Monday with games pitting Valenzuela against San Juan at 4 p.m., Pangasinan against Davao at 6 p.m., and Pasig against Batangas at 8 p.m.
