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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider San Juan turns back Imus; Pasay, Rizal triumph

San Juan turns back Imus; Pasay, Rizal triumph

Published May 1, 2025 05:01 am

At A Glance

  • Showing why he's the league's 3-point king, Wamar poured a record 22 points, spiked by six triples, in the fourth quarter as the Knights rallied to beat the Imus Braderhood, 89-83, and raise their record to 7-0 in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team tournament.

Orlan Wamar turned hot when San Juan's win streak in the MPBL 2025 Season was at stake on Wednesday, April 30.

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Orlan Wamar rescues the San Juan Knights from disaster. (MPBL)

Showing why he's the league's 3-point king, Wamar poured a record 22 points, spiked by six triples, in the fourth quarter as the Knights rallied to beat the Imus Braderhood, 89-83, and raise their record to 7-0 in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team tournament.

The 5-foot-6 Wamar, last year's Mythical Team member and current top playmaker, wound up with 28 points, nine assists, six rebounds, three steals and one block to earn best player honors and push San Juan closer to pacesetter Nueva Ecija (8-0) in the race for playoff spots.

The Pasay Voyagers thwarted the Basilan Viva Portmasters, 78-74, in the nightcap to climb to 7-3.

Trailing by 11 heading to the last four minutes, the Portmasters clustered 9 points, sparked by Gab Dagangon's free throw and a triple, and capped by Sherwin Concepcion's triple, to threaten at 74-76 with 52.2 seconds to go.

The Voyagers, however, held the fort through split charities by Warren Bonifacio and Cyrus Tabi to notch their fourth straight win at their homecourt and pull down the Portmasters to 3-6.

Pasay was led by AJ Coronel, who went a perfect 7 of 7 on his field goal attempts en route to 17 points plus 6 rebounds; Laurenz Victoria with 14 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds; Bonifacio with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists; and Tabi with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.

Basilan got 16 points and 6 rebounds from Dagangon, 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists from Alex Cabagnot; 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists from Concepcion; and 8 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds from Enzo Navarro.

Michael Calisaan supported Wamar with 15 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals and so did AC Soberano with 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals.

San Juan trailed the Jayjay Caspe-led Imus, 74-60, early in the final period, until Wamar drilled in five triples and drove in once to knot the count at 81 with 2 minutes and 32 seconds left.

Caspe put Imus back on top with a layup, but the Braderhood went silent the rest of the way while the Knights dropped eight points, capped by Wamar's sixth triple and two free throws with 42.2 seconds to go.

Wamar, who holds the MPBL record of 12 triples, eclipsed the 19 points for a quarter set by Jeff Viernes, then with the Sarangani Marlins, on June 3, 2023.

Imus absorbed its third straight loss and tumbled to 4-5 despite Caspe's 27-point, 6-rebound, 5-assist, 2-steal, 2-block effort; Jaypee Belencion's 19 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists; and Mark Anthony Doligon's 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

The Rizal Xentromall Golden Coolers pulled away in the second quarter and never wavered to beat the Quezon City Galeries Taipans, 77-67, in the opener.

Rizal clustered 12 points and held Quezon City scoreless in the last four minutes of that period for a 38-18 spread that snapped the Golden Coolers' three-game skid and raised their record to 6-3.

John Apacible and Michael Canete presided over that pivotal run and sustained their drive in the second half, where the Taipans resisted through Vincent Cunanan and Franz Diaz.

Apacible wound up with 19 points and 7 rebounds and was named the game's best player over Canete, who posted 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists.

Samboy De Leon provided support with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists and so did Keanu Caballero with 9 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

The MPBL returns to the Olivarez College Gym on Thursday with games pitting Marikina against Mindoro at 4 p.m., Manila against Muntinlupa at 6 p.m., and host Paranaque against Cebu at 8 p.m.

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