Kuyas stay alive with gritty overtime escape against Pasigueños

Tiger Scores365

Bulacan refused to let its playoff hopes slip away.

With their season hanging in the balance, the Kuyas delivered in overtime, pulling away from Pasig City for a hard-earned 110-105 victory on Thursday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

After Pasig grabbed a slim 97-96 lead early in the extra session, Bulacan responded with its biggest run of the night. Marj De Leon opened the rally from the free-throw line before Joshua Moralejo calmly converted four straight foul shots. Benedict Benedictos then drilled a clutch three-pointer to cap an 8-0 burst that gave the Kuyas a comfortable 104-97 cushion with just over a minute remaining.

The win lifted Bulacan to 5-15, keeping its slim play-in hopes alive in the North Division, where teams ranked seventh through 10th will battle for the final two playoff berths.

Jeremy Cruz once again did it all for the Kuyas, finishing with 18 points, 16 rebounds, eight assists, and three blocks in a dominant all-around performance.

"We really wanted to win," Cruz said. "It's our culture. The team management wants us to fight with everything we've got every game."

Mico Dizon provided the scoring punch with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Jonathan Medina added 17 points. De Leon chipped in 14 points, and Moralejo orchestrated the offense with 11 points and 10 assists.

Pasig had every opportunity to steal the contest after John Felix Corpuz buried the tying basket with 53.2 seconds left in regulation, forcing overtime when Bulacan came up empty on its final two possessions.

But the Pasigueños could not keep pace in the extra period, absorbing their fourth consecutive defeat to fall to 8-10.

Jacob Galicia turned in a monster performance with 36 points and 18 rebounds, while Jerome Garcia contributed 22 points. Warlo Batac flirted with a triple-double, tallying 13 points, 16 rebounds, and eight assists, and Jhapz Bautista added 12 points.

The MPBL action resumes Saturday at The Capital Arena in Ilagan, Isabela, where Rizal XentroMall meets Pasay before Meycauayan Marilao hosts Ilagan Isabela in the nightcap.