The Pasay Voyagers continued their upward journey with a 95-89 victory over the Marikina Shoemasters on Wednesday in Manny Pacquiao Presents MPBL 2025 Season at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
With six Voyagers piling double digits, Pasay thwarted Marikina’s comeback from a 20-point hole (21-41) to notch their ninth straight win and rise to 19-8 in the North Division of the 30-team tournament,
Pasay trails Abra (24-1), San Juan (25-2) and Nueva Ecija (25-2), all of which are assured of landing in the top four in the round-robin elimination phase.
In other games, Rizal Xentromall fended off Muntinlupa’s tough stand to prevail, 89-84, while Sarangani beat Paranaque, 103-89, and improved to 10-18.
Voyagers Christian Fajarito, Marc Daniel Sangco and Jasper Salenga scored 14 points each, followed by Jopet Soriano and Damian Lasco with 12 each, and Cyrus Tabi with 10 points plus 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals.
Pasay bunched 9 points, the last five by Lasco, to pull anew at 87-72 with 3 minutes and 47 seconds to go before Marikina made its final assault to bridge the gap, 87-92.
Also-ran Marikina slid to 4-23, putting to waste Do Timajo’s 23 points and 6 rebounds, Jethro Escoto’s 13 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds, and Jacob Ubaldo’s 13 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.
The Muntinlupa Cagers were ahead, 84-83, with 43.6 seconds left, but the Golden Coolers scored the game’s last six points through Eric Camson, Marco Balagtas and Robin Julian Nayve to improve to 18-8.
The Golden Coolers trail only the Quezon Huskers (23-4) and the Batangas City Tanduay Rum Makers (19-9), but are ahead of the Zamboanga Sikat (17-10), Binan Tatak Gel (16-11), Basilan Portmasters (16-11) and Gensan Wariors (16-11) in the jostling for playoff spots in the South Division.
The top four finishers in the North and South will have the homecourt edge in the playoffs, where the fifth and sixth finishers also advance outright. The seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth placers will have to go through the play-in.
Balagtas, who also bunched six points to give Rizal control, 80-76, wound up with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists; Camson with 18 points and 12 rebounds; and Alwyn Alday 15 points.
