Val City-MJAS Zenith escaped Muntinlupa, 76-72, to notch their first win in Pool C of the 2021 Chooks-to-Go Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Invitational, Tuesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Gwyne Capacio rallied the Cagers back with a three-pointer, slicing Valenzuela’s lead to just two points, 72-74, with 12 ticks left in the match.
Unfortunately for Muntinlupa, Kevin Villafranca sank both his freebies on the other end to ice the game.
“I’m happy for my boys ‘no na nagrespond doon sa nangyari sa amin in our last game against San Juan,” said Val City head coach Ronjay Enrile. “Sabi ko nga kalimutan natin yun, bigay natin lahat ngayon lalo na yung puso.”
Dave Moralde took charge in Val City’s bounce-back victory with 18 points, five rebounds, and three steals.
Andrey Armenion contributed 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists for the MJAS Zenith-backed squad.
Patrick Cabahug chipped in 13 points and seven boards while Egie Boy Mojica got 13 markers as well to go along with five rebounds. Villafranca added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Val City now has a 1-1 standing in Pool C while Muntinlipa is at 0-1. San Juan is still ahead in the group with a 2-0 slate followed by Nueva Ecija (1-0) and Sarangani (0-2) at the last spot.
Gwyne Capacio scored 14 points and collected six rebounds and two assists for the Cagers while Rey Peralta and King Destacamento added 12 and 11 markers, respectively.
Valenzuela will be taking on Nueva Ecija next on Thursday at 9:30 AM while Muntinlupa will next face Sarangani tomorrow, Wednesday at also 9:30 AM.
The Scores:
Val City (76) – Moralde 18, Armenion 15, Mojica 13, Cabahug 13, Villafranca 10, Darang 4, Ugsang 2, Bauzon 1, Cachuela 0, Roncal 0
Muntinlupa (72) – Gw. Capacio 14, Peralta 12, Destacamento 11, Mosqueda 7, Saitanan 7, Ga. Capacio 5, Bagatsing 5, Ylagan 4, Alano 3, Vidal 2, Dixon 2, Ortuoste 0
Quarterscores: 20-17, 33-33, 52-55, 76-72
