Afril Bernardino delivered a monster triple-double to propel New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas to a furious 72-68 comeback win over Discovery-Rizal, securing an outright semifinals berth in the 2025 Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League playoffs presented by Akari, Saturday at the Enderun Gym.
Trailing by 10 points with less than five minutes remaining, Andrea Tongco, Bernardino, Pringle Fabruada, and Mary Grace Calang orchestrated a blistering 16-2 finishing run, denying the Perlas a spot in the top two of the tournament, which is backed by Uratex, Black Mamba, Red Dynasty, Aktive Balls, and Pocari Sweat.
Bernardino finished with 19 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 steals, anchoring New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas to the No. 1 seed with an 8-2 record.
(C) WMPBL
The victory also dropped Perlas to third at 6-4 and cleared the path for San Juan-DN Steel to claim the No. 2 spot with a 7-3 slate.
“It’s a character win for us. We were down the whole game, but the championship mentality of our players came out, so we refused to lose this game. That’s why we came out with a win,” said Valkyries head coach Cholo Villanueva.
Alyssa Villamor added 10 points, while Tongco and Calang chipped in eight points apiece to support Bernardino, as New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas closed the regular season with four straight wins.
Despite the loss, Discovery-Rizal retained a twice-to-beat incentive and will face struggling RK Hoops-Quezon City in the quarterfinals.
(C) WMPBL
Tantoy Ferrer led the Perlas with 18 points and 16 rebounds, while Allana Lim contributed 16 points and nine boards.
Angel Anies added 15 points and four rebounds, and Raiza Palmera-Dy finished with 11 points, five rebounds, and four steals.
The Scores:
New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas 72 – Bernardino 19, Villamor 10, Tongco 8, Calang 8, Fabruada 6, Aquino 5, Peñaranda 4, Castillo 3, Claro 3, Lozada 2, Manzanares 2, Bariquit 2, Torres 0
Discovery-Rizal 68 – Ferrer 18, Lim 16, Anies 15, Palmera-Dy 11, Galicia 4, Sambile 2, Candelario 2, Tacatac 0, Sison 0
Quarterscores: 18-14, 35-32, 55-48, 72-68
