Janine Pontejos and Diane Pedregosa delivered in the clutch to help San Juan-DN Steel escape New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas, 74-72, in the 2025 Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League regular season presented by Akari, Sunday at the Batangas City Coliseum.
With the Lady Knights trailing by three, Chack Cabinbin found Pontejos on the left wing where she drilled a pressure-packed three-pointer over the arms of Charmine Torres to tie the game at 72-all with 13.3 seconds remaining in the game.
Pontejos then came up with a crucial steal on Snow Peñaranda and quickly dished a go-ahead pass to Cabinbin, who drove fearlessly into the lane, spun past her defender, and drew help before finding a wide-open Pedregosa for the game-winning bucket with 1.5 ticks remaining.
Pedregosa missed her free throw that could have extended the lead to three, but it didn’t matter as the clock expired, allowing San Juan-DN Steel to snap its two-game skid and get back on track in the tournament supported by Uratex, Black Mamba, Red Dynasty, Aktive Balls, and Pocari Sweat.
(C) WMPBL
“Talagang kailangan kasi naming mag-bounce back coming from back-to-back losses. So it’s a big game for us, talagang hinanap namin kung ano ‘yung mali. Lahat kami masama ‘yung pakiramdam namin, ako ilang araw na akong tinatrangkaso,” said Lady Knights head coach Ai Lebornio.
“Pero ‘yung sacrifices, nandun. Thank you kay Lord. Sobrang thank you sa sacrifices ng mga bata, ‘yung commitment nila. Kumbaga nahanap namin ‘yung mali eh, na bakit nangyari ‘yung ganun,” she added.
The win allowed San Juan DN-Steel to sweep its regular-season series against the Valkyries and forge a tie at the top of the standings, with both teams holding identical 4-2 records.
Pontejos finished with a team-high 19 points to go along with seven rebounds, two assists, and three steals for the Lady Knights, while Sthefanie Ventura, who fouled out late in the fourth, tallied a double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds.
Cabinbin, who also played a pivotal role in the end game, only had six points but had her fingerprints all over the offense with a game-high 15 assists.
(C) WMPBL
On the other hand, Peñaranda carried the scoring load for New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas in the absence of star Afril Bernardino, who is currently with Gilas 3×3 in the FIBA Women’s Series in Sabail.
She led all scorers with 20 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds, though she committed 11 turnovers in 28 minutes of action.
No other Valkyries player reached double figures, with Queenie Aquino contributing nine points and 15 rebounds, while Torres added eight points and six boards.
The Scores:
San Juan-DN Steel 74 – Pontejos 19, Ventura 15, Mendaros 8, Adlawan 8, Cabinbin 6, Talas 5, Tolentino 5, Panti 4, Pedregosa 4, Paras 0
New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas 72 – Peñaranda 20, Aquino 9, Torres 8, Fabruada 6, Villamor 6, Bariquit 5, Manzanares 5, Sanchez 4, Claro 4, Castillo 3, Arciga 1, Lozada 1, Tongco 0, Calang 0
Quarterscores: 17-20, 37-39, 49-60, 74-72
