Quezon Province held off the Zamboanga Family’s Brand Sardines‘ repeated attacks and won with a score of 70-66 during the OKBet-MPBL’s Fifth Season held on August 14 at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
As the game went on, the Quezon Huskers grew their lead to a safe 58-46. But there was a thrilling surprise in store when Zamboanga’s Jaycee Marcelino hit his target, leading to a 12-point surge that no one saw coming. With only 3 minutes and 24 seconds left on the clock, this amazing move tied the score at 58-58.
Even though it was a very intense match, Alfrancis Tamsi saved the Huskers with his back-to-back three-pointers, in which both were done very well, while Robin Rono’s three-pointer shots added to a strong response by Tamsi’s move.
Tamsi wowed the crowd with 19 points, including five amazing three-point shots. Rono, who used to play for Zamboanga, got a great 12 points, the best of which were three well-done 3-pointers. Notably, Rono also had four boards and four steals during his game.
Judel Fuentes of Zamboanga made a crucial 4-point play, but Tamsi and Rono’s skills still dominated the game. In the fourth quarter, the score went up to 62–64 because of how well the Huskers planned and used their skills.
Marcelino, who was the game’s most valuable player (MVP), came into the game when Zamboanga was close to winning with a score of 64-67 and led a brave comeback. However, Tamsi stood out by making a beautiful floater, and Rono showed his skill by making both of his free throws. This gave Quezon its 17th win and kept its record of six losses in the round-robin of the 29th elimination round.
Even though Marcelino worked hard, he only ended up with 22 points, 5 boards, 4 steals, and 3 assists. The team’s score went from a 16-7 record. Also, Fuentes’s great 12 points and Joseph Gabayni’s good 11 points couldn’t change the result.
The MPBL returns to the Marikina Sports Center today with a triple header featuring Bataan vs. Iloilo at 4 p.m., Sarangani vs. Negros at 6 p.m., and Bulacan vs. Marikina at 8 p.m.
