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MPBL: Nueva Ecija seals top seed by beating San Juan

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ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Roi Sumang (6) was the hero for Nueva Ecija in their thrilling win against San Juan. Photo courtesy of Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/sports/12/20/photo-9.jpg"/><figcaption>Roi Sumang (6) was the hero for Nueva Ecija in their thrilling win against San Juan. Photo courtesy of Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas.</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines -- Nueva Ecija weathered a furious endgame rally by San Juan-GFG AICC, taking a thrilling 88-85 win to seal the top seed in Pool A of the 2021 Chooks-to-Go MPBL Invitational, Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.With a 3-0 mark and by virtue of beating the Knights, the Rice Vanguards, despite having one game left in their slate, clinched A1 and will face Iloilo in the knockout quarterfinals on December 21.&quot;That just means that we have handled our games so far but the quarters is different,&quot; said Nueva Ecija head coach Carlo Tan. &quot;It&#x27;s knockout games and anything can happen. If we come out with the same effort as today, hopefully we should be okay.&quot;The young Rice Vanguards had to dig deep against the highly-regarded Knights, despite leading by as much as 18 points in the third quarter and taking a 67-54 advantage into the fourth period.Behind Datu Cup Finals MVP Jhonard Clarito and Rhenz Abando, San Juan slowly chopped into the lead, eventually facing just a three-point deficit, 84-81, with 30 ticks left.&quot;We expected a close game and it won&#x27;t be a blowout,&quot; admitted Tan. &quot;Yes, we built a good lead but they are a champion team and they showed why they are a quality team. They pushed the right buttons but we held on which is a good thing.&quot;It was Roi Sumang who saved the day for Nueva Ecija, firing a stepback three-pointer over Abando for a six-point cushion.&quot;Roi made a brilliant play,&quot; said Tan. &quot;From there, he went Roi&#x27;s way. He is a talented guy and we pay the big bucks for his ability.&quot;Mapua University standout Adrian Nocum drained a floater off a timeout to give a little life to San Juan but a split on the stripe by Justin Gutang sealed the deal for Nueva Ecija.Sumang had 13 points built on three treys with two rebounds, an assist, and a steal for Nueva Ecija, while Gutang tallied an all-around game with 15 points, eight rebounds, five blocks, three assists, and two steals.San Juan, who will face Pasig-Sta. Lucia in the quarters, had Nocum leading the way with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting.Abando got 15 points and six rebounds; JM Calma tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds; Larry Rodriguez delivered 13 points and seven rebounds; while Clarito poured 12 points and 12 rebounds.Meanwhile, Jess Quilatan made sure that Bacoor ended its campaign with a win, as he nailed the game-winner in a hard-earned 87-86 triumph against Negros.Quitalan drilled the go-ahead shot with 2.1 seconds left, and the Muscovados could not get a shot up as time expired.Quitalan finished the game with 18 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals in 27 minutes and 41 seconds of game time.Also on Sunday, Iloilo extended its winning streak to three games after routing the already-eliminated Caloocan, 80-69.

Nueva Ecija weathered a furious endgame rally by San Juan-GFG AICC to seal the top seed in Pool A of the 2021 Chooks-to-Go MPBL Invitational.