THE Paranaque Patriots surged ahead in the second quarter then weathered a fiery comeback by Manila SV Batang Sampaloc to prevail, 82-78, on Tuesday in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the Villar Coliseum in Las Pinas.
Riding the hot hands of Jielo Razon and the all-around play of veteran Mark Yee, Paranaque erected a 52-29 spread which buffered the Patriots from the Batang Sampaloc’s fiery fourth quarter rally.
Tagged the underdog, Paranaque drew inspiration from Rizal XentroMall which toppled defending national champion Pampanga, 78-71, earlier.
Razon fired 25 points, spiced by five triples, and grabbed 8 rebounds, while Yee, rejuvenated by the three-month break, tallied 18 points, including two triples, snagged 18 rebounds and blocked two attempts for the Patriots of Coach Michael Saguiguit.
John Rey Villanueva also shone for Paranaque with 15 points and 6 rebounds and so did Paul Sarao with 8 points and 4 rebounds, John Uduba with 7 points and 8 rebounds, and Philip Manalang with 11 assists and two points.
Manila rallied in the fourth quarter behind Carl Bryan Cruz, but fell short as Razon and Sarao joined forces fo quell the uprising.
Cruz, Fil-Am DJ Mitchell and Ahmad Didat Hanapi scored 13 each for Manila, which also got 10 points from Pao Javelona.
Trailing by as far as 13-32, Rizal tied Pampanga at halftime, 38-38, then controlled the rest of the way to join the ranks of the early leaders in the 30-team league
Feeling the absence of reigning MPBL MVP Justine Baltazar, who showed up in street clothes, the Giant Lanterns fell behind, 64-74, in the fourth quarter from which they were unable to recover.