MANILA – Bacolod City of Smiles continued its struggles in the 2024 MPBL Season as it bowed to Pangasinan Heatwaves, 84-70, on Monday night at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna.
Newly-signed guard Joshua Fontanilla served as the spark for the Heatwaves in the fourth quarter as they turned the tightly-contested match into a lopsided triumph.
Clinging to a slim 53-52 lead after three quarters, Fontanilla connived offensively with Jhaps Bautista to start the fourth quarter as the Heatwaves established a 63-54 advantage.
Fontanilla then provided timely assists to Vince Tolentino and Bautista before unloading another basket as Pangasinan widened their lead further to 71-54 with over six minutes left.
Pangasinan went on to establish their largest lead at 78-56 on five straight points by Michael Mabulac before Bacolod City made their last push to cut the deficit to 14 points.
Fontanilla finished the game with seven points, with six coming in the fourth quarter, to go with five assists, three rebounds, one steal, and a block as Pangasinan improved to a 5-8 win-loss slate.
“Matagal naming pinaghandaan itong game na ito. Actually, lahat ng preparation naman na ginagawa namin, hindi lang for this game, but also for our future games,” Fontanilla said in his Player of the Game interview.
“Siguro ginawa lang namin ‘yung dapat naming gawin sa loob ng court noong second half, para naman matuwa ang coaches namin sa amin,” added the former University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers guard.
Mabulac led the way with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds, Hesed Gabo added 12 markers, while Eduardo Daquioag and Bautista ended with 10 apiece for Pangasinan.
Louie Vigil debuted for Bacolod City with 24 points, while Danny Marilao and Nichole Ubalde added 13 and 12 points, respectively, as they dropped to a 1-13 win-loss card./PN
BOX SCORE:
PANGASINAN 84 – Mabulac 18, Gabo 12, Daquiaog 10, Bautista 10, Mina 8, Fontanilla 7, Melencio 4, Celeste 4, Comia 4, Caasi 3, Tolentino 2, Javillonar 2, Taganas 0, Robin 0, Meneses 0.
BACOLOD 70 – Vigil 24, Marilao 13, Ubalde 12, Sedillo 6, Peromingan 6, Manalang 6, Casinilio 3, Ramos 0, Pardo 0, Partosa 0.
Quarterscore: 23-11, 37-37, 53-52, 84-70.
