Dave Ildefonso showed why he’s the MVP (Most Valuable Player) on Tuesday, Dec. 16, leading the Abra Solid North Weavers past the Quezon Huskers, 94-85, in overtime and into the 747. LIVE presents Manny Pacquiao MPBL 2025 Season national title at the full-packed Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
Just hours after being named the league’s best player, Ildefonso pumped in seven points in a closing 15-5 run that gave the Weavers their third straight win over the Huskers in the best-of-five series.
Encho Serrano added six points and Jason Brickman two points for Abra, the North Division champion, in that decisive stretch as the Weavers finished the MPBL Seventh Season with a record 36 straight wins, including an 81-80 overtime nipping of Quezon in Game One and a come-from-behind 62-58 victory in Game Two.
Ildefonso posted 23 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, followed by Brickman, adjudged the Finals MVP, with 22 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds; and Serrano with 21 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.
Other Weavers who delivered were Mike Ayonayon with 9 points and 3 rebounds, and John Uduba with 6 points and 10 rebounds.
Quezon opened the third quarter with 11 straight points, 7 points by Judel Fuentes, and 4 by Joseph Gabayni to pull ahead at 66-56.
The Weavers clustered nine points, capped by a triple by Ildefonso to knot the count at 70.
Quezon was still ahead, 75-73, but John Uduba got open inside and knotted the count with 16.1 seconds left.
Gab Banal then missed a potential decider at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime at 75.
The Huskers drew 15 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assists from Fuentes, who missed the first two games due to an ankle injury; Ximone Sandagon with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals, Alfrancis Tamsi with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists, and Joshua Yerro with 10 points and 2 rebounds.
After the final buzzer, the Weavers, led by team owner Cong. JB Bernos, head coach Yong Garcia and team manager Chris Conwi erupted in celebration.
Abra dropped an 8-1 run, capped by a Brickman triple, to pull ahead, 38-29.
Quezon, however, countered behind back-to-back triples by Fuentes and Banal to narrow the gap, 38-35, at the break.
Brickman scored nine points in the second quarter for a 13 total in the first 20 minutes.
Pasay handed Abra its lone loss, 70-60, on March 19, 2025, after which the Weavers went on a 35-game winning spree, including a 2-0 sweep of Ilagan Isabela in the quarterfinal round, a 2-0 sweep of Caloocan in the semifinals, and a 3-0 sweep of Pangasinan in the North Finals.
Abra, which reached the quarterfinal playoffs in its maiden stint last year, joined Batangas (2018), San Juan (2019), Davao Occidental (2021), Nueva Ecija (2022),
and Pampanga (2023-2024) in the MPBL champions list.
