Streaking Pampanga came up with a fourth-quarter rally to rout Imus, 83-62, in the OKbet-Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League 4th Season late Saturday at the Bren Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.
Powered by Jayson Apolonio, Earnest Reyes and Archie Concepcion, the Giant Lanterns took the fight out of the Bandera, 74-54, en route to their fifth straight win and a 9-4 record in the single round-robin elimination phase of the 22-team tournament.
Meanwhile, Rizal trounced Bacolod Bingo Plus, 67-57, while General Santos City dumped Mindoro, 105-64.
With Apolonio dropping 10 of his 13 points, Pampanga padded the spread to 83-60 and handed Imus its ninth loss in 12 starts.
Concepcion wound up with 17 points, but it was Apolonio who put up the better overall performance with 14 rebounds and six assists for the Giant Lanterns, who are mentored by Pampanga Governor Dennis Pineda.
Earnest Reyes and Dominick Reyes also contributed for Pampanga with 11 points each.
Pampanga ruled the boards, 57-46, which it exploited to score 50 points inside the paint while holding Imus to just 18 points.
Imus drew 18 points from Leo Najorda and 13 from Jeymark Mallari.