Due to a car accident that caused them to arrive late, Laguna Krah Asia lost their opening match in the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) versus Bataan on Tuesday.

The Heroes’ bus got stranded on a bridge while traveling to the Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Palayan City, causing a substantial delay.

Crew Chief Jovet Ocfemia declared The Heroes losers without firing a shot when they arrived on the court 45 minutes after the planned 4pm tipoff time.

The first MPBL squad to suffer such a fate was Laguna.

Teams must be present at the venue 15 minutes prior to the start of the game, per the league’s house rules. A 15-minute grace period is given to a team that misses this deadline before forfeiture is applied.

As a result, Bataan earned its 11th victory against 12 losses and kept up its playoff chances. However, Laguna, who was already eliminated, dropped to a 3-21 record.

Both teams won after Nueva Ecija scored 15 points to start the fourth quarter and Quezon scored the same number of points to end the period.

The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards, who were down 43–54, mounted a comeback under the leadership of Roi Sumang, Michael Juico, and Michael Mabulac. In the second game, they took charge and held on to defeat Pasig City MCW Sports 69–65.

Prior to Robin Rono starting a 15-point run that led to an earlier 89-77 victory over the Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. team, the Quezon Huskers were also behind 74-75.

Despite falling behind Valenzuela after three quarters (56-62), Quezon made up ground in the fourth quarter (70-70). In the final three minutes and ten seconds of the game, Rono scored 10 of his team’s total 16 points, giving the Huskers their 16th victory versus six losses in the round-robin elimination stage of the 29-team competition.

Valenzuela briefly led at 75-74 with five points from Michael Angelo Macion before losing steam and suffering their 20th defeat in 23 games.

Rono received support from Jason Opiso, who scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, as well as from JK Casino, Raffy Verano, and RJ Minerva, who each scored 11 points.

Macion gave Valenzuela 18 points, and Darell Manliguez gave him 17 points.

The Rice Vanguards played catch-up for more than 30 minutes despite having trouble with their shooting before kicking into high gear and stopping the Pasiguenos.

On Thursday, the MPBL will play three games at the Bren Guiao Convention Center: Bulacan vs. Oriental Mindoro at 4 p.m.; Quezon City vs. Caloocan at 6 p.m.; and Paranaque vs. Pampanga at 8 p.m..