Heatwaves’ Michael Mabulac drills a game-winning jumper to seal the game. (Photo grab from Facebook)

THE Pangasinan Heatwaves pulled off a stunner when they outclassed the Zamboanga Master Sardines in a heart-pounding ball game, 75-74 last August 17 at the Calasiao Sports Complex.

Pangasinan had a rough shooting start in the nightcap, only shooting 36% from the field against the 57% of Zamboanga led by Joseph Gabayni’s 5 points to tally an early lead, 27-15.

Mabulac sparked the Heatwaves’ counter-attack in the second period with 6 points inside the painted area. Master Sardines’ Jaycee Marcelino responded with 4 points to threaten, but Heatwaves’ MJ Juico finished the half with four points through driving floaters to capture the advantage, 38-37.

In the third juncture, Josh Fontanilla and Nat Cosejo provided bench scoring for Pangasinan with 4 points each but the Master Sardines caught fire from beyond the arc and unleashed 4 consecutive triples to retake the lead, 56-51.

With 11 ticks remaining in the final frame, Zamboanga’s Marcelino buried a left-wing triple to snatch the lead, 74-73. Down by a point with 5 seconds left, Heatwaves’ Cosejo swung a pass to a wide-open Mabulac and nailed a game-winning jumper to seal the game.

Pangasinan leaned on the stellar performance of Mabulac with 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists combined with Juico’s 14 points and 5 boards.

Meanwhile, Zamboanga garnered 17 markers from Bong Galanza alongside the contributions of Rey Publico and Marcelino with 15 points apiece.

At the moment, the Pangasinan Heatwaves moved up to the 11^th spot of the Northern Division rankings with a 9-14 win-loss card in the 6^th MPBL season. (Kim Gealogo)

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