Quezon City reasserted its mastery of defeating Makati, 91-85, late Tuesday night in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) Lakan Season at the Blue Eagle Gym in Ateneo.
The Capitals got a big lift from Joco Tayongtong, who scored 12 of his 20 points in the last five minutes to lead his team in snapping the Super Crunch’s four-game winning streak and dealt the same team it ousted in last season’s quarterfinal round its first loss of the tournament.
Also providing the spark for Quezon City was Dahrell Caranguian, who also tallied 20 markers.
Joco Tayongtong of Quezon City breezes past his man while driving to the basket. (MPBL photo)
Down the stretch, it was Tayongtong who took over as he helped the Capitals in overcoming a 10-point deficit in the last five minutes of the match.
Tayongtong, one of the few holdovers from the original squad, had 12 in a 19-3 run by the Capitals. He drilled in a trey that knotted the game for the last time at 84-all, stole the ball from Rudy Lingganay and completed the heist with a fastbreak basket as Quezon City started to gain momentum.
Quezon City’s defense also held Makati without a field goal in the last five minutes as its 1-3-1 half court zone baffled the Super Crunch.
Earlier, Davao Occidental and Muntinlupa carved out contrasting victories.
The Tigers got another big game from Mark Yee, who registered his 23rd double-double performance in the MPBL to power the Cocolife-backed Davao Occidental squad to an 86-55 beat down of Rizal Golden Coolers-Xentro Mall.
Muntinlupa, on the other hand, bucked the ejection of head coach Ritchie Melencio to turn back the Parañaque Patriots-Yabo Sports, 87-78.
Meanwhile, the MPBL cancelled the scheduled triple header on Wednesday set at the People’s Center in Bataan due to a disturbing weather condition.
Bulacan was supposed to face winless Marikina in the first game at 4 p.m. while expansion teams Mindoro and Nueva Ecija were scheduled to face each other at 6:30 p.m. The main game features Bataan against Navotas at 8:30 p.m.
Tags: Dahrell Caranguian , Davao Occidental , Joco Tayongtong , Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League , Makati , Mark Yee , MPBL , Parañaque Patriots , Quezon City , Rudy Lingganay
