MANILA – Bacolod Tubo Slashers survived a fourth quartet run by Basilan Starhorse Viva Port Masters for a 76-73 victory in the 2025 MPBL Season on Monday night at the Playtime FilOil Center in San Juan.
Leading by as many as 12 points in the second half, the Tubo Slashers saw their double-digit spread turned to a 71-72 defeat after back-to-back triples by Port Masters’ Lorenzo Navarro.
Bacolod quickly regained the advantage at 73-72 on a basket by Aldave Canoy before they increased it to 74-72 on a split free throw by Miles Canal. Basilan was able to trim the deficit to 73-74 on a free throw by Adrian Santos.
Split free throws by Mart James Barrera and Mark Dubouzet gave the Tubo Slashers a 76-73 advantage before Barrera blocked a three-point attempt by Port Masters’ Emman Calo late in the game.
Canoy top-scored with 15 points, while Mark Ray Malazarte and Dubouzet had 14 and 13 points, respectively, for Bacolod, which snapped a 13-game losing skid to improve to a 3-18 record.
Navarro and Gab Dagangon finished with 14 points apiece, while Calo added 11 markers as the Viva Port Masters saw their winning run snapped to drop to a 10-10 record.
Meanwhile, Abra Solid North Weavers battered Manila Batang Quiapo throughout en route to a 117-63 rout and the solo lead in the standings.
Ahead by 13, the Weavers clustered 19 points bridging the second and third quarters to pull away, 78-46, and tally their 20th win against one loss in the round-robin elimination phase.
Dave Ildefonso struck the hardest for Abra with 25 points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals; followed by John Uduba with a double-double of 11 points and 16 rebounds.
Jolo Mendoza, for his part, delivered 11 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Negrense Mark Yee and Cyrus Austria ended with 10 markers apiece for the Weavers./PN
