Nueva Ecija leaned on its tight defense in the second half to subdue Batangas, 66-58, on Wednesday and regain its foothold in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan, Laguna.
The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards, the 2022 champion, held the Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters, the 2018 inaugural titlist, to 15 points in the third quarter and just 12 in the fourth while coming through with a 35-point total to recover from an 82-99 beating handed them by Binan on August 20 and climb to 19-3 in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team tournament.
Veteran John Wilson fired 13 points, all in the second half, and grabbed 5 rebounds to clinch the Daily Fantasy Best Player honors. Robby Celiz provided support with 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists, and so did Will McAloney with 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
Batangas skidded to 17-8 as only Levi Hernandez and MJ Dela Virgen struck back with 15 and 11 points, respectively.
Paranaque, with all its 15 players scoring, trounced Negros, 110-83, in the opener to rise to 15-9.
Joshua Gallano posted 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists, while John Uduba had a triple-double of 10 points, 10 assists, and 20 rebounds for the Patriots, who ruled the boards, 74-35, and relegated the Muscovados to 12-14.
Other Patriots who delivered were John Anthony Umali with 14 points plus 5 rebounds, Kristan Hernandez with 12 points plus 9 rebounds, Jielo Razon with 11 points, 6 rebounds plus 4 assists, and JR Olegario and Paolo Castro with 10 points each.
The MPBL goes to the Paco Arena in Manila on Thursday with games pitting Mindoro against Muntinlupa at 4 p.m., Iloilo against Pangasinan at 6 p.m., and Valenzuela against Quezon City at 8 p.m.
