Carlos “CJ” Isit knocked down a timely basket in the endgame as the Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters pulled off a 75-69 upset over the Quezon Huskers in Game 1 of the MPBL Southern Division Finals on Saturday night at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
With the Huskers threatening to within 66-70 with over two minutes left, Isit converted a jump shot to extend the Rum Masters’ advantage to 72-66 with 1:24 remaining in the game.
The Huskers made their last push at 69-72 on a three-pointer by Judel Fuentes, but the Rum Masters answered with a basket from Juneric Baloria and a split free throw from Dawn Ochea to seal the win.
Isit finished the match with 17 points, while Baloria and Levi Hernandez added 13 and 11 markers, respectively, as Batangas City took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three division finals series.
“We really just gave our heart out (in this game); we would not have done this without the Holy Spirit; we just prayed for us to sustain our energy and our intensity,” Isit said in a post-game interview.
“Well, under certain circumstances, coach Cholo (Villanueva) did a great job on determining where our spots are, and I am just staying in the moment and making (the clutch basket),” he added.
Mon Alvin Abundo top-scored for the Huskers with 15 points, while Ximone Sandagon and LJay Gonzales contributed 11 and 10 markers, respectively.
Meanwhile, defending champions Pampanga Giant Lanterns also took a 1-0 lead in the Northern Division Finals following a 91-84 Game 1 win over the San Juan Knights-Go for Gold.
Encho Serrano led Pampanga with 22 points, Archie Concepcion added 18 markers, Justine Baltazar ended with 14 points, 21 rebounds, and seven assists, and MJ Garcia concluded the game with 13 markers.
The post MPBL: CJ Isit delivers as Batangas stuns Quezon in Game 1 first appeared on Fastbreak.
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