RESURGENT Rizal foiled Bacoor’s final assault while Bataan climbed out of a deep pit to stun Caloocan in a pair of thrillers last Monday in the OKbet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 4th Season presented by Xtreme at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Rizal Golden Coolers banked on Keanu Caballero and Jolo Mendoza in the homestretch to prevail over the Bacoor City Strikers 81-77 and post their third straight victory after dropping their first two games in the 22-team, two-division tournament.
Trailing majority of the way, the Bataan Risers silenced the Caloocan Excellence in the final 1:56 and won by a whisker 66-65 behind the efforts of Ronjay Lastimosa and Kristoffer Torrado.
Lastimosa scored 8 points, while Torrado added 2 plus a crucial steal to lift Bataan’s record to 2-1 in the single round-robin elimination round.
Caloocan, which surged ahead, 65-56, with less than 2 minutes left on back-to-back triples by Damian Lasco, followed by another triple by Ryusei Koga, skidded to 1-3.
Lastimosa and Torrado, who hails from Caloocan, posted 12 points each and got support from Ernesto Bondoc with 11.
Lasco finished with a game-high 23 points, but no other Caloocan player was able to contribute in twin digits.
