In the fifth season of the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League), the Paranaque Patriots continued their ascent with a tenacious 84-80 victory over the Oriental Mindoro Disiplinados on Thursday at the Olivarez College Gym in Sucat.

Jielo Razon, Paolo Castro, and Klarenz Singh helped the Patriots, who were trailing 35-47 at the half, go on to win their fourth straight game and move into the top half of the rankings by helping them take control 78-67 after three quarters.

Jielo Razon of Paranaque scored 14 of his game-high 26 points in the final 20 minutes to win best player.

In order to win best player, Razon scored 14 of his game-high 26 points in the final 20 minutes. Castro had ten points, Jayboy Solis had ten points and nine rebounds, Singh had nine points, and they all came after him.

To help Mindoro, which dropped to 1-9, Rodel Vaygan scored 21, Sherwin Concepcion scored 20, Tey Teodoro scored 17, and Jan Mark Baltazar scored 11.

The Pasay Voyagers had earlier begun their upward voyage after conquering the Bicol Volcanoes from coast to coast in a 75–68 victory.

Antonio Jeffrey Coronel contributed 19 points and 7 rebounds, and Laurenz Paul Victoria contributed 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists as Pasay pulled away at 32-12 and never looked back on its way to a 6-3 record.

Bicol lost for the tenth time in a row and remained last in the 29-team, two-division competition.

In the disappointing opening, Quezon City Gaz N Go defeated Manila, 100-90, in overtime, raising their record to 3-8.

Son of MPBL Commissioner Kenneth Duremdes, Andrei Duremdes, produced a standout performance for Quezon City. Duremdes had a strong contribution with 17 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. His outstanding play earned him the coveted distinction of top player. Notably, his teammate Andre Flores put forth a sterling effort as well, scoring 17 points and pulling down eight rebounds, but Duremdes ultimately won the game.

Zeus Pedrosa came in second with 12 points, followed by Patrick Bacay with 11 points, while Joseph Brutas finished with 15. If he had made his second free throw with 1.8 seconds left, Quezon would have won the game in its entirety.

Despite Clark Bautista’s 32-point outburst, Archie Salo’s 15 points, and Mark Acosta’s 14 points, Manila lost, dropping to 2-8.