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MANILA – San Juan succeeded in its first home stand for the 6th Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) season, scoring a blowout 106-78 win over Iloilo at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City on Thursday night.
Exactly a week after opening their MPBL campaign with a rout of the Marikina Shoemasters in Caloocan, the Knights did the same to the United Royals, quickly stamping their dominance from the get-go.
Orlan Wamar came close to a triple-double as he led San Juan, now 2-0, with 24 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists with four steals.
His last triple earned him his 1,000th career point in the regional basketball league.
AC Soberano added 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, one rebound, three assists, and one steal off the bench.
CJ Cansino led Iloilo, which dropped to 1-3, with 19 points, five rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
Earlier, Pasay stretched its winning streak with a 65-64 victory over Batangas City, thanks to a game-winner of Laurenz Victoria with less than a second left.
After his team forced a turnover with 7.5 seconds left, Victoria went for a pull-up jumper that swished through the net with only 0.6 seconds remaining to give Pasay the lead.
Jeckster Apinan tried to steal the win for Batangas City, but his three-point attempt hit the backboard as time expired.
Patrick Sleat led the Voyagers, who dropped their season opener against the Negros Muscovados, with 15 points, three rebounds, and one steal.
Warren Bonifacio added 14 points, eight rebounds and one block.
Ced Ablaza made 18 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and two steals for the Rum Masters, who suffered their first loss of the season after a 3-0 start.
In the curtainraiser, Rizal banked on a blistering start to take down South Cotabato, 92-81.
The Golden Coolers outscored the Warriors, 31-11, in the first quarter and never looked back, even extending their lead to 24 before the Warriors cut the lead to a respectable one in the second half.
Rizal, which remained undefeated at 4-0, leaned on Alwyn Alday who produced 22 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block.
Kraniel Villoria flirted with a triple-double with 19 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists with one steal and one block.
Val Acuna scored 19 points, two rebounds, three assists, and five steals for South Cotabato, which fell to 2-2.
The scores:
First Game
RIZAL 92 – Alday 22, Villoria 19, Apacible 12, Balagtas 11, Agovida 9, Alonzo 8, Serrano 5, Argente 3, Casino 3, Bernardo 0, Jimenez 0, Timajo 0, Davis 0, Pingoy 0, Lao 0.
SOUTH COTABATO 81 –Acuna 19, M. Cruz 14, Wilson 12, Tolentino 10, Dionisio 7, Elorde 6, Mahaling 4, Sorela 3, Rodriguez 2, Joson 2, J. Cruz 2, Cosip 0, Dumapig 0, Lantaya 0, Apreku 0.
Quarters: 31-11, 52-31, 73-56, 92-81
Second Game
PASAY 65 – Sleat 15, Bonifacio 14, Victoria 12, Reverente 7, Caballero 6, Inigo 5, Ramirez 3, Aguirre 2, Coronel 1, Sienes 0, Salenga 0, Chan 0, Tabi 0, Hillario 0, Lustina 0.
BATANGAS CITY 64 – Ablaza 18, Hernandez 10, Dela Virgen 8, Apinan 7, Baloria 6, Cruz 5, Ramirez 4, Porter 4, Ochea 2, Isit 0, Oliva 0, Lunor 0, Arim 0, Alarcon 0, Importante 0.
Quarters: 13-17, 28-26, 34-47, 65-64
Third Game
SAN JUAN 106 – Wamar 24, Soberano 13, Huang 12, Maiquez 11, Taywan 11, Hugnatan 11, Galinato 6, Miranda 5, Malonzo 4, Soriano 4, Mojica 3, Ando 2, Gamboa 0, Panganiban 0, Ubalde 0,
ILOILO 78 – Casino 19, De La Rosa 11, Doliguez 10, Jeruta 8, Rangel 7, Imperial 6, Catapusan 6, Ongteco 6, Nonoy 3, Larupay 2, Gomez 0, Etrata 0, Madrigal 0, Beltran 0, Diaz 0.
Quarters: 28-17, 50-37, 80-60, 106-78 (PNA)
