At A Glance
- The Manila Stars weathered the Sarangani Marlins' final rally to tally a 90-87 victory on Monday, May 6, in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the Orion Sports Complex in Bataan.
The Manila Stars weathered the Sarangani Marlins' final rally to tally a 90-87 victory on Monday, May 6, in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the Orion Sports Complex in Bataan.
With the score tied at 84, Enzo Navarro, Ira Bataller and Pao Javelona canned a basket each against three charities by the Marlins to shove Manila SV Batang Sampaloc to a 4-2 record in the elimination round of the 29-team tournament.
The trios' joint effort preserved the game-long brilliance of teammate Carl Bryan Cruz, who posted 25 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists to earn best player honors.
Fil-Am CJ Mitchell and veteran big man Rabel Al-Hussaini, who got ejected for a disqualifying foul in the third quarter, contributed 14 points each for Manila Coach Gabby Severino. Ahmad Hanapi also delivered with 10 points.
Bataller backed Cruz underneath with 11 rebounds as Manila dominated the boards, 61-36.
Sarangani dropped to a 1-5 slate despite getting 17 points each from lanky Coy Alves and Ryan Isaac Sual.
The Marlins also drew 12 points from Megan Galang and 10 from Felix John Villarente.
The MPBL returns to the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga for another triple bill on Tuesday. The games pit Nueva Ecija against Imus at 4 p.m., Binan against Valenzuela at 6 p.m., and Pampanga against Muntinlupa at 8 p.m.