San Juan handed Nueva Ecija its first loss of the season, 79-72, on Friday in the opener of their North division championship series in the OKbet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 4th Season Presented by Xtreme at the jampacked Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Palayan City.
The San Juan Knights banked on a seven-point cluster in the last four minutes to stun the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards, whose winning run stopped at 25, and move closer to another National Finals stint in the country’s top regional basketball league.
The Knights, who took control at 73-68, seek to complete the season’s biggest shocker when they host Game 2 of the best-of-three title series on Monday at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
Michael Calisaan presided over the Knights’ offense with 19 points and 13 rebounds and earned best player honors. He was supported by Judel Fuentes with 17 points and seven rebounds and Dexter Maiquez with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Other Knights who contributed were Joseph Marquez with seven points, Egie Boy Mojica with five points, all in the fourth quarter, and Orlan Wamar with five points and nine assists.
The loss spoiled Will Mcaloney’s entry to the MPBL 1000-point club, where he became the 12th member following a 17-point, 11-rebound output. Michael Juico added 13 points and Byron Villarias with 12 points.
The game was tight with 10 lead changes and seven deadlocks although San Juan led by many as 10 points in the first half.
Zamboanga Family’s Brand Sardines and Batangas start their South division final series at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Vitaliano Agan Coliseum in Zamboanga City.
The Zamboanguenos are tagged the slight favorites, mainly because they will be getting hometown support.
