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MANILA, Philippines -- Nueva Ecija and Rizal Xentromall notched contrasting wins on Saturday to join the Manny Pacquiao presents 1xBet-MPBL 2025 Season pacesetters at the Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Palayan City.
The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards held the Basilan Viva Portmasters without a field goal in the last 6:57 to prevail, 71-66, in the nightcap and climb to 2-0 in the round-robin elimination round of the 30-team tournament.
The Rizal Golden Coolers toted the same card following an impressive 111-81 pounding of Manila Batang Quiapo, 111-81, earlier.
Also at 2-0 are the Pangasinan Heatwaves and the Abra Weavers.
Rob Celiz led Nueva Ecija, the 2022 MPBL champion, with 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block, clinching Best Player honors over Jaycee Marcelino, who posted 18 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Will McAloney backed them with seven points and nine rebounds, and so did John Wilson and Jayvee Marcelino with seven points each.
Basilan, which fell to 0-2, led for the last time at 62-61, following two free throws by Sherwin Concepcion with 5:28 to go.
The Portmasters, however, couldn't buy a bucket after that, settling for two charities each by Jeff Viernes and Emman Calo against the 10 points pooled by McAloney, the Marcelino twins, John Byron Villarias and Billy Robles.
Basilan got 19 points, five rebounds and three assists from Alex Cabagnot; 11 points plus four rebounds from Concepcion; and 10 points plus two rebounds from Rabeh Al-Hussaini. Arwind Santos settled for four points plus 11 rebounds.
Alday sparkled for Rizal with 27 points, from seven triples and six charities, four rebounds and two assists to edge Michael Canete, who tallied 16 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists, for Best Player honors.
Rizal Coach Ralph Rivera also drew 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals from Marco Balagtas; and 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals from Eric Camson.
Manila skidded to 1-1 despite the 23-point, eight-rebound, two-steal effort of Richard Albo and the 11-point, seven-rebound, two-assist output of Algin Andaya.
Meanwhile, the Valenzuela Classics recovered from a meltdown to subdue Quezon City Galeries Taipan, 74-66.
Riding a 16-point binge, Valenzuela led by as far as 41-26 only to allow Quezon City to equalize after three quarters, 54-54.
Kobe Monje, however, came to the Classics' rescue, sparking an eighth-point flurry that put the count at 64-57, before bunching five points to tilt the balance and lift Valenzuela's slate to 1-1 in the round-robin elimination round of the 30-team tournament.
The 6-foot-4 Monje, a former Letran Knight, posted 19 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, and nine rebounds to earn the Best Player citation. Jan Fomento provided support with 10 points, five rebounds and two steals, followed by JR Alabanza with nine points and nine rebounds; and Jonathan Ralf Gesalem with nine points and five assists.
The combined efforts of Monje, Alabanza and Kyle Drexler Neypes and John Anthony Umali, who snagged eight rebounds each, enabled Valenzuela to control the boards, 50-33, and outscore Quezon City, 20-4, on second chance points.
Quezon City dropped to 1-1 as only Nino Ibanez, with 18 points and three steals, and Jayson Punay with 11 points and six rebounds struck back.
MPBL Founder and Chairman Manny Pacquiao motored to the venue from Manila to watch the games. Pacquiao, assisted by Commissioner Kenneth Duremdes and MPBL staff, gave away T-shirts to the full house crowd at the break of the Nueva Ecija-Basilan encounter.
The league goes to the Bataan People's Center in Balanga on Monday with games pitting Zamboanga against Sarangani at 4 p.m., Quezon Province against Cebu at 6 p.m., and Bataan against General Santos City at 8 p.m.
