THE Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters leaned on their inside dominance and stifling defense to take down the Zamboanga Sikat, 70–61, in the MPBL 2025 South Division quarterfinals on Tuesday night at the Batangas City Coliseum.
The Rum Masters flexed their muscle in the paint, out-rebounding Zamboanga 57–34 and converting those extra possessions into 34 points inside, compared to just 10 by the visitors.
Veteran forward Cedric Ablaza led the charge with 16 points, seven rebounds, and two steals, while Levi Hernandez chipped in 15 points and six boards. Mark Niel Cruz added 12 points, with big men Jeckster Apinan and Vincent Importante hauling down 12 and 9 rebounds, respectively.
New recruit Joshua Torralba made an immediate impact in his Batangas debut, contributing 9 points, two rebounds, and two steals, while Dawn Ochea provided solid support with 6 points and 6 rebounds.
Batangas pulled away midway through the fourth quarter, building a 67–55 cushion to move within a win of booking a semifinal berth in the South Division of the 30-team tournament.
Zamboanga’s Reggz Gabat paced his team with 12 points and five rebounds, but top scorer Abdul Sawat struggled all night, limited to just 4 points on tough Batangas defense.| – TheMetroTimes.ph
