Six games and counting and the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards are showing no signs of slowing down.
Behind solid games from Jaycee Marcelino, Christian Manaytay and Byron Villarias, the trio kept things at hand for the Rice Vanguards, who ran roughshod over the Davao Occidental Tigers, 74-60, to stay spotless after six games and vault their way to solo lead in the MPBL 2025 Season at the Ola Gymnasium in Oriental, Mindoro.
The win allowed Nueva Ecija to overtake previous leader Rizal Xentromall, which remained undefeated in five games.
A former Most Valuable Player, Marcelino flashed his old, deadly form as he pumped in eight points in the last quarter.
Manaytay backed up Marcelino in that solid stretch as he added five markers while Villaria had four as Nueva Ecija was able to keep Davao Occidental at bay.
Marcelino finished with 21 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Villarias tallied 13 points, six rebounds and three steals while another former PBA player, Jesper Ayaay contributed 10 markers on top of six rebounds.
Manaytay also had a good game, pouring in nine markers.
Mindoro held Paranaque scoreless in the last four minutes to squeeze out a 68-58 victory in the nightcap.
Also winning was Basilan, which trounced Bulacan, 102-80, in the opener.
Showing better cohesion, Basilan pulled away at 57-31 to break a two-game slide and climb to 2-4.
