Zamboanga Family’s Brand Sardines banked on twins Jayvee and Jaycee Marcelino to trounce Imus SV Squad, 71-54, on Thursday in the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Fifth Season at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Marcelinos outscored the entire SV Squad, 26-20, in the second half and it proved more than enough to hand Zamboanga its ninth win against two losses in the single round-robin eliminations of the 29-team tournament.
In one of the rare times that he outshone Jaycee, the reigning MPBL Most Valuable Player, Jayvee fired a game-high 18 points, 14 in the last two quarters, while Jaycee posted 14, all but two in the same span, as Zamboanga stayed within sight of pacesetters Nueva Ecija (11-0), Pampanga (10-0) and Bacoor (10-1).
Jayvee also posted six rebounds and three steals to earn best player honors at the expense of Jayvee, who added five rebounds and four assists for Zamboanga, the 2023 MPBL Preseason Invitational champion.
The Marcelinos were supported by Dexter Maiquez with 10 points and five rebounds in climbing out of a 30-43 hole early in the third quarter.
Imus, which got 12 points from Johnsherick Estrada, nine points from Carlo Lastimosa and eight points from Marc Pingis, tumbled to 4-7.
Rizal Xentromall bested Oriental Mindoro, 75-68, and Marikina tripped Negros, 69-58, in other games.
