MPBL: Zamboanga stretches win streak to seven; Pampanga, Caloocan down foes

MANILA, Philippines -- Zamboanga SiKat overpowered Davao Occidental, 88-66, on Thursday to rev up its drive in the Manny Pacquiao presents 1xBet-MPBL 2025 Season ladder at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay.

With 13 of its 15 players scoring, Zamboanga quelled Davao's final rally at 57-63 by pounding the boards and posting its biggest spread at the final buzzer.

Zamboanga thus notched its seventh straight win and climbed to 12-2 in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team tournament.

Nueva Ecija paces the chase for playoff berths with a 12-0 slate, followed by Abra (11-1) and San Juan (11-1).

Reigning back-to-back titlist Pampanga halted its slide with an 86-78 victory over Pasay in the nightcap of a triple-bill.

In control throughout the second half, the Giant Lanterns pulled away at 73-53 and fended off the Voyagers' late rally to recover from back-to-back losses and improve to 9-3.

Top Gun Archie Concepcion posted 18 points, eight assists and five rebounds, while big man Larry Muyang tallied 17 points and six rebounds for Pampanga.

Other Giant Lanterns who shone were Raymond Binuya with 12 points, two rebounds and two assists; Chris Lalata with nine points and three rebounds; John Lloyd Clemente with six points, eight rebounds and five assists; and Jhaymo Eguilos with six points and eight rebounds.

Pasay fell to 8-6 despite Laurenz Victoria's 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds; Warren Bonifacio's 12 points, five rebounds and four assists; and Cyrus Tabi's 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.

John Arthur Calisay led Zamboanga with 15 points, spiked by four triples, five rebounds and three assists; followed by Reggz Gabat with 13 points, including three triples, three rebounds and three assists; JP Cauilan with 12 points, all from triples, and eight rebounds; and James Paul Una with 11 points and eight rebounds.

Davao suffered its fifth straight loss and dropped to 3-7, putting to waste Jeff Comia's 19 points, three rebounds and two assists; Justin Alano's 16 points, six rebounds and two assists; and Valandre Chauca's 12 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Caloocan found its rhythm in the second half and trounced Quezon City Galeries Taipan, 84-71, in the opener.

Trailing, 37-38, at halftime, the Batang Kankaloo banked on Rommel Calahat to seize control after the third quarter and proceed to their fourth straight win for a 10-4 card.

Calahat poured 18 of his game-high 22 points in the third quarter, eclipsing the entire Taipans' 11 points and towing the Batang Kankaloo to a 66-49 spread.

The 6-foot-2 Calahat, former star of San Sebastian College-Recoletos, added six rebounds and three assists to earn Best Player honors over Jeff Manday, who fired 17 points, laced by four triples, and grabbed five rebounds; and Paul Sanga with 11 points and two rebounds.

Quezon City tasted its third straight defeat and dropped to 3-10. The Taipans drew 12 points on four triples and three assists from Ry Aijer De La Rosa, and 11 points plus six rebounds from Jason Strait.

The Batang Kankaloo controlled the boards, 44-27, and translated this to more second-chance points, 17-9, in the game that saw 19 lead changes and 6 deadlocks.

The MPBL goes to the University of Bangued Gymnasium on Saturday with games pitting Imus against Marikina at 4 p.m., Nueva Ecija against Batangas at 6 p.m., and host Abra against Quezon Province at 8 p.m.