By Ivan Stewart Saldajeno/PNA
MANILA — The Makati Skyscrapers broke the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) record for the longest winning streak by blasting the Quezon City Capitals, 102-78, at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City on Monday night.
In a potential playoff preview, the Skyscrapers scored their 15th consecutive victory in style, outscoring the Capitals, 61-35, in the middle two quarters to pull away for good.
John Rey Villanueva scored 20 points, eight rebounds, one assist, and two steals for Makati, which shattered the 14-game winning run by Bataan right at its final game in the regular season.
Jeckster Apinan added 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and one steal as his squad finished its stint in the elimination phase at 21-4, essentially locking the second seed in the Northern Division playoffs.
Jay Collado made 15 points, five rebounds, and two steals for QC, which slipped to 11-12, tying Navotas for sixth place in the North.
In the main game, the San Juan Knights also finished its regular season run on a high note, drubbing weary Valenzuela Classic, 102-83.
Like the Skyscrapers, the Knights also broke loose in the second and third periods, blasting the Classic, 63-38, and never looking back.
John Wilson collected 22 points on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc with six rebounds, two assists, and three steals for San Juan, which finished the regular season at 20-5.
Manila can still tie San Juan with a home win against Davao Occidental at the San Andres Sports Complex here Tuesday night but with San Juan owning the tiebreaker over Manila due to its 84-80 overtime win on November 21, San Juan just locked in the third win with the rout of Valenzuela.
Chris de Chavez made 15 markers, four boards, and one steal for the Classic, who played for the second game in three nights after clobbering the GenSan Warriors in Zamboanga City on Saturday night.
Ryan Arambulo and Floyd Dedicatoria each added 13 points, but their efforts went for naught as they were officially knocked out of playoff contention with a 10-15 showing at the end of their campaign.
