Laguna Krah Asia Heroes made MPBL history on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, when they lost to the Bataan Risers through forfeiture.
The Laguna Krah Asia Heroes delay was associated with a number of unfortunate instances that occurred during the MPBL Fifth Season, including traffic jams and a departure time mix-up.
The Heroes came in 45 minutes late for the supposed tip off at 4 p.m. at the Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Palayan City.
As it turned 45 minutes, the crew chief, Jovet Ocfemia, ended up being forced to make a decision, declaring a forfeiture under such nature in favor of the Bataan Risers without firing a shot. This decision surprised both sides and sent shockwaves through the crowd.
According to the rules of the league, both teams must be at the game site 15 minutes before the game starts. If a team misses it, they have 15 minutes to make up for it. After that, the loss will happen.
Meanwhile, Bataan notches their 11th win against 12 defeats and remained in playoff contention while Laguna tumbled to 3-21 record in the round robin 29th team elimination.
In a separate encounter that unfolded, Quezon Huskers released their full potential and defeated the Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. unit by a score of 89-77 in front of another large crowd.
Quezon led Valenzuela 56-62 at the start of the fourth quarter. They were able to tie the score at 70-70 midway through the fourth quarter, and Robin Rono led them to an outstanding comeback in the final 3 minutes and 10 seconds.
Rono led a run of 15 points for his team, giving the Huskers their 16th win in the elimination part of the 29-team tournament. This came after they had lost six times.
Valenzuela’s last lead was 75-74, with help of Michael Angelo Macion who scored five points in a row still wasn’t able to cope up and lost their 20th game out of 23.
Rono got help from Jason Opiso, who scored 14 points and grabbed 11 boards. JK Casino, Raffy Verano, and RJ Minerva also scored 10 points each to help Rono.
Macion gave Valenzuela 18 points, and Darell Manliguez gave her 17 points.
The MPBL will be in the Bren Guiao Convention Center on Thursday with three matches. Bulacan will play Oriental Mindoro at 4 p.m., Quezon City will face Caloocan at 6 p.m., and Paranaque will play Pampanga at 8 p.m.
