Pangasinan nips Muntinlupa, 87-84, in MPBL tourney
THE Pangasinan Heatwaves shocked the Muntinlupa Cagers in a down-to-the-wire thriller, 87-84 in the 6th MPBL season last June 28, 2024 at the FilOil EcoOil Arena in San Juan City, Metro Manila.
The Heatwaves had to buck off a slow start, only shooting 6-15 from the field while the Cagers leaned on Gabriel Capacio’s 8-point early eruption to finish the opening quarter with a lead, 17-14.
Pangasinan’s newly-acquired Michael Juico made his presence felt in the second period when he scored his first basket with a putback layup. Juico frolicked in the paint area with five points but Muntinlupa countered with four triples, two from Gabriel Capacio to to keep a slim lead at the half, 37-36.
In the final two minutes of the match, Heatwaves’ Ian Melencio drained back-to-back jumpers to steal the lead, 83-82, but the Cagers quickly restored the advantage at 84-83 through a cross-over layup finish of Alfred Flores.
Pangasinan tied the score at 84 all following a split free-throw by Melencio. With 24 seconds remaining, Heatwaves’ Hesed Gabo opted on an isolation play and drilled a go-ahead three-pointer to give the Heatwaves an 87-84 advantage for good.
The Heatwaves banked on Melencio’s 19-point production plus four assists, alongside Ralph Robin with 16 points and Michael Juico’s 14-point output, to put Pangasinan on its sixth win of the tourney.
Meanwhile, the Cagers grabbed a game-high 21 points from Gabriel Capacio, 17 from Joshua Marcos and 13 markers for Alfred Flores.
Pangasinan remained at the eleventh-seed with 6-9 win-loss card in the Northen Division of the 2024 MPBL season. (Kim Gealogo)
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