Laguna Krah Asia suffered a defeat in their first game of the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) against Bataan on Tuesday due to a vehicular mishap causing their late arrival.
While en route to the Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Palayan City, the Heroes’ bus got stuck on a bridge, resulting in a significant delay.
The Heroes stepped onto the court 45 minutes after the scheduled tipoff at 4 p.m., leading Crew Chief Jovet Ocfemia to declare them losers without a single shot being taken.
Laguna became the first MPBL team to experience such a fate.
According to the league’s House Rules, competing teams must be present at the venue 15 minutes before the game’s commencement. A team missing this deadline is granted a 15-minute grace period, after which forfeiture is imposed.
Consequently, Bataan secured its 11th win against 12 defeats and maintained their playoff contention. On the other hand, Laguna, already out of contention, slipped to a 3-21 record.
Meanwhile, Nueva Ecija launched into the fourth quarter with a 15-point surge, while Quezon closed the quarter with a similar scoring spree, leading both teams to victory.
Trailing 43-54, the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards mounted a comeback led by Roi Sumang, Michael Juico, and Michael Mabulac. They seized control and held on to secure a 69-65 victory over Pasig City MCW Sports in the nightcap.
The Quezon Huskers also faced a deficit of 74-75 before Robin Rono initiated a 15-point surge that buried the Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. team with an 89-77 score earlier.
Although trailing Valenzuela 56-62 after three quarters, Quezon caught up midway through the fourth quarter (70-70). Rono contributed 10 of his team-high 16 points in the last 3 minutes and 10 seconds, propelling the Huskers to their 16th win against six losses in the round-robin elimination phase of the 29-team tournament.
With Michael Angelo Macion contributing five points, Valenzuela briefly led at 75-74 before losing momentum, resulting in their 20th loss in 23 games.
Jason Opiso provided support for Rono with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while JK Casino contributed 11 points and Raffy Verano and RJ Minerva each scored 10 points.
Valenzuela obtained 18 points from Macion and 17 from Darell Manliguez.
Despite struggling with poor shooting, the Rice Vanguards played catch-up for over 30 minutes before shifting into high gear and halting the Pasiguenos.
The MPBL will visit the Bren Guiao Convention Center on Thursday, featuring a triple-header: Bulacan against Oriental Mindoro at 4 p.m., Quezon City against Caloocan at 6 p.m., and Paranaque against Pampanga at 8 p.m.
