BATANGAS, Philippines – At the Batangas City Coliseum on Friday in the quarterfinal round of the OKbet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 4th Season Presented by Xtreme, Batangas Embassy Chill defeated Bacoor, 69 to 55, while Rizal Xentro Mall defeated Sarangani OKBet, 73 to 45.

With only 51.9 seconds left in the game, the Athletics, who were already up by 10 points, completed their victory in the grueling contest with an eight-point burst, 67 to 49.

The Golden Coolers, on the other hand, managed to pull off the biggest upset of the playoffs so far by holding the Sarangani Marlins to just three points in the second quarter and building a lead of as much as 33 points, 71 to 38.

If they defeat their adversaries again on October 28 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig, Batangas, the MPBL’s first Anta Rajah Cup champion, and the significantly improved Rizal would end their respective best-of-three series.

Jeckster Apinan had 11 points, seven rebounds, four steals, and Rudy Lingganay had 10 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Juneric Baloria led Batangas’ offensive with 19 points and seven rebounds.

Coach Cholo Villanueva of the Batangas contributed as well thanks to MPBL All-Star Cedric Ablaza, who had a game-high 15 rebounds in addition to five points, three assists, and three steals.

RJ Ramirez and Mark Montuano each scored nine points for Bacoor, who also had support from Mark Pangilinan’s 11 points and 12 rebounds.

In contrast to the suspenseful match between Batangas and Bacoor, the Rizal-Sarangani matchup ended up being a one-sided contest, with the Golden Coolers leading 37-19 at the intermission.

The Marlins misfired from a distance the entire night, making only 1 of 30 triple tries as snipers Kyt Jimenez failed to convert on eight and seven efforts, respectively. The Golden Coolers pummeled the Marlins with a strong offensive game and a tough defensive effort.

Jolo Mendoza, who had 17 points, nine rebounds, and three assists, was Rizal’s top scorer. Keanu Caballero came in second with 11 points, five assists, and four rebounds, and Alvin Capobres finished third with 10 points and six rebounds.

The Golden Coolers dominated the boards, 66 to 38, thanks to gang rebounding, and they used that advantage to their advantage by scoring 34 more points in the paint.

Jonjon Gabriel’s 11 points are the highest total for Sarangani, with Jimenez limited to three and Sanga to just two.

The Pampanga Giant Lanterns and the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards are vying for semifinal spots in the MPBL on Saturday when it travels to San Fernando, Pampanga’s Bren Guiao Convention Center.

For the 5:30 p.m. matchup, Nueva Ecija is favored to defeat Marikina once more. Pampanga is playing Bataan in the 9 p.m. opening as well. tussle.