Be it in a close encounter or winning convincingly, the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards had found ways to prevail — and keep their perfect record going.
On Thursday night, the Rice Vanguards experienced yet another acid test, but managed to squeak pas consistent playoff contender Zamboanga, 84-83, in the MPBL 2025 Season at the Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Palayan City.
For awhile, Nueva Ecija’s immaculate record was under threat, but it took two great plays in the last six seconds that allowed the Rice Vanguards to snatch a win at home in an exciting match that saw both teams going after 12 lead changes before settling the final tally.
Earlier, the Rice Vanguards squandered a 12-point lead they posted right at the start of the third period as the SiKat clawed their way back and even took a 68-64 lead behind nine unanswered points. Zamboanga was still protecting an 83-80 lead with 15 seconds left and James Una had a chance to put the game away when he was fouled by Byron Villarias to stop the clock.
But Una muffed both charity shots, allowing Nueva Ecija another crack at inching closer — and they did so with a little help of Divine Intervention.
As the Rice Vanguards rushed to the other end to score quickly, Una tried to redeem himself from those two missed free throws by blocking the shot of Jaycee Marcelino as the ball went out of bounds.
With a final timeout left to call, Nueva Ecija sued for a huddle up and a well-executed baseline inbound play with Rob Celiz becoming the recipient off a back pick from John Wilson. The Nueva Ecija team captain found himself too deep under the basket, but had the presence of mind to find Will McAloney diving to the basket.
McAloney received the pass, delivered the basket and picked up the last foul from Una as he shoved the Rice Vanguards within striking distance, 82-83, with still six seconds left.
The lefty forward, though missed a potential game-tying basket, but as luck would have it, McAloney picked up his own shot for another serving — his shot well contested by Zamboanga’s defense, but Celiz came at the right place at the right time to tip it in as the crowd went in a frenzy while seeing Nueva Ecija taking back the driver’s seat, 84-83, time down to 2.3 seconds.
In the last play coming off a sideline inbound, Itchie Altamirano threw a bad pass to JP Cauilan, who couldn’t get ahold of the ball as time expired, allowing the Rice Vanguards to preserve the victory.
The latest win allowed the Rice Vanguards to extend their winning streak to 15 and remain spotless in the tournament. Posting a long winning run while preserving a perfect record isn’t new, after all for Nueva Ecija, whose previous best start was 22-0 during the league’s fourth season.
Pampanga still holds the longest winning run with a perfect record at 25-0 during the league’s fifth season.
