Dave Ildefonso proved why he is the league’s Most Valuable Player on Tuesday night, powering Abra Solid North to a 94-85 overtime victory over Quezon and the 747 Live Presents Manny Pacquiao MPBL 2025 Season national championship before a packed Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
Just hours after being named the league’s top individual performer, Ildefonso poured in seven points in a decisive 15-5 closing run that sealed Abra’s third straight win over Quezon in their best-of-five Finals series.
Encho Serrano added six points while Jason Brickman chipped in two during that crucial stretch as the North Division champions capped the MPBL Seventh Season with a historic 36-game winning streak. The run included an 81-80 overtime escape in Game One and a gritty 62-58 comeback win in Game Two against the Huskers.
Ildefonso finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Brickman, who was later adjudged Finals MVP, followed with 22 points, five assists, and two rebounds, while Serrano delivered 21 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Mike Ayonayon contributed nine points and three rebounds, and John Uduba added six points and 10 boards for the Weavers.
Quezon seized control early in the second half, opening the third quarter with an 11-0 burst highlighted by seven points from Judel Fuentes and four from Joseph Gabayni to take a 66-56 lead. Abra responded with a nine-point run capped by an Ildefonso triple to tie the game at 70.
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The Huskers were still ahead, 75-73, when Uduba found space inside and scored with 16.1 seconds remaining to force a deadlock. Gab Banal then missed a potential game-winner at the buzzer, sending the contest into overtime tied at 75.
Fuentes, who missed the first two games due to an ankle injury, led Quezon with 15 points, three rebounds, and one assist. He was backed by Ximone Sandagon with 12 points, nine rebounds, and two steals; Alfrancis Tamsi with 10 points, six rebounds, and two assists; and Joshua Yerro with 10 points and two rebounds.
Abra earlier took control with an 8-1 run capped by a Brickman triple to go up 38-29, but Quezon answered with back-to-back threes from Fuentes and Banal to cut the deficit to 38-35 at halftime. Brickman scored nine points in the second quarter for 13 in the first half.
After the final buzzer, the Weavers erupted in celebration, led by team owner Congressman JB Bernos, head coach Yong Garcia, and team manager Chris Conwi.
Pasay handed Abra its lone loss of the season, 70-60, on March 19, 2025. From there, the Weavers went on a dominant 35-game winning spree, sweeping Ilagan Isabela in the quarterfinals, Caloocan in the semifinals, and Pangasinan in the North Finals.
After reaching the quarterfinals in its maiden campaign last year, Abra joined Batangas-Tanduay (2018), San Juan (2019), Davao Occidental-Cocolife (2021), Nueva Ecija (2022), and Pampanga (2023–2024) on the MPBL champions list.
