Streaking Quezon Province subdued Zamboanga SiKat, 64-54, on Saturday to assert its dominance in the South Division of Manny Pacquiao Presents MPBL 2025 Season at the Robert Estrella Sr. Memorial Gymnasium in Rosales, Pangasinan.
With Judel Fuentes at the helm, the Quezon Huskers pulled away at 54-42 and held the fort en route to their eighth straight win and a 24-4 record, way ahead of the Batangas City Rum Masters (19-9) and the Rizal XentroMall Golden Coolers, who bowed to the Pangasinan Heatwaves, 67-75, in the nightcap.
Fuentes posted 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals for the Huskers, the reigning South champion and losing national finalist to the Pampanga Giant Lanterns.
Alfrancis Tamsi supported Fuentes with 9 points, followed by Diego Dario and LJ Gonzales with 7 points each.
Zamboanga fell to joint fourth with Gensan at 17-11 and must beat Caloocan in its last game in the round-robin elimination phase to gain the homecourt edge in the playoffs.
Zamboanga drew 15 points, 4 rebounds from Michael Are and Chino Mosqueda with 9 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists.
Egged on by the hometown crowd, the Heatwaves greeted the third quarter with a 9-point cluster and surged ahead, 46-29, before cruising to their 19th win against 8 losses in the North Division, the same as the Giant Lanterns.
Pangasinan drew 19 points and 11 rebounds from Vic Manuel, 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists from Allyn Bulanadi, 8 points plus 8 rebounds from Jorey Napoles, and 8 points plus 4 rebounds from Lervin Flores.
Rizal skidded to 18-9 despite Michael Canete’s 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, and Samboy De Leon’s 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks.
The Pasay Voyagers extended their upward trip with an 87-50 drubbing of Imus Grumpy Joe in the opener.
Pasay’s 10th straight win pushed the Voyagers’ record to 20-8 and the fourth spot in the North Division.
The Voyagers trail playoff qualifiers Abra Solid North Weavers (25-1), Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards (26-2) and San Juan Knights (25-3).
Cyrus Tabi posted 14 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists and clinched best player honors for the Voyagers.
Also-ran Imus suffered its sixth straight defeat and tumbled to 9-19.
The MPBL plays at the MRB Compound in QC District 2 for the first time on Monday, with games pitting Pasig against Abra at 4 p.m., Bacolod against Cebu at 6 p.m., and Quezon City against Binan at 8 p.m.
Caption: Vic Manuel turns hot for the Pangasinan Heatwaves.
