Quezon Province and Abra Solid North trounced their opponents on Friday and stayed close to the Manny Pacquiao presents MPBL 2025 Season pacesetters at the Robert Estrella Sr. Memorial Gymnasium in Rosales, Pangasinan.
Pounding the boards, the Quezon Huskers battered the Pangasinan Heatwaves, 92-74, while the Abra Weavers swamped the Bataan Risers, 96-74, to raise their records to 8-1 and share third spot in the round-robin elimination phase.
Unbeaten Nueva Ecija (8-0) and San Juan (7-0) pace the race for playoff slots in the 30-team tournament split into North and South divisions.
The Davao Occidental Tigers pounced on the Bacolod Tubo Slashers late in the third quarter and prevailed, 95-79, in the opener.
The Huskers, last year’s South champion, collared 65 rebounds against the Heatwaves’ 45 and converted this to a decisive 33-7 edge in second chance points.
LJ Gonzales powered Quezon, which bowed to Pampanga in the 2024 National Finals, with 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 blocks and 2 assists.
Judel Fuentes provided support with 12 points and 6 rebounds, JP Sarao with 11 points and 6 rebounds, Ximone Sandagon with 9 points and 7 rebounds, RJ Minerva with 8 points and 6 rebounds, and Vince Magbuhos with a game-high 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 points and 2 steals.
With Vic Manuel at the helm, Pangasinan moved to within 71-78, only to be neutralized by a 10-1 blast, the last six by Gonzales, by Quezon.
