BACOLOD Bingo Plus worked in cohesion to offset the absence of a key player and open its stint in the MPBL(Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) fourth season with a 67-57 victory over Imus Bandera late Monday, May 2 at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Jhan McHale Nermal fired 17 points and snared eight rebounds to lead 11 other Bacolodnons who managed to score in the game they took control after a 10-point run, 48-43, closing the third quarter.

Imus led, 40-30, midway of the third, before collapsing to its second straight defeat.

The 6-3 Nermal, a local star from STI-West Negros, was supported by Jeramer Cabanag (12 points), Edrian Lao (9 points) and Aaron Jeruta (7 points) as Bacolod showed its worth sans veteran Mark Yee, who did not play.

With Coach Alex Angeles distributing playing time, Bacolod’s bench outscored that of Imus, 54-36, and led by as many as 14 points, 63-49, early in the fourth quarter.

Imus Coach Manny Torralba got 18 points from homegrown star Ian Melencio but no other Bandera could score in twin digits.

Earlier, Valenzuela City banked on the all-around play of Jaymar Gimpayan to trounce the Mindoro Tamaraws, 79-67, and got back on track.

The 6-2 Gimpayan, a high-flyer star from Our Lady of Fatima University, fired 21 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to lead nine players who managed to score for Valenzuela, which leveled its slate at 1-1 after yielding to Sarangani, 73-77, in the April 25 inaugurals.

Veteran gunner Patrick Cabahug also produced a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, Jess Quilatan posted 12 points, while Felix Apreku chipped in 9 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks for Coach Aldrin Morante’s charges.

The debuting Tamaraws drew 14 points and 12 rebounds from Larce Christian Sunga, 14 points from former Ginebra guard Teytey Teodoro, 12 points from Marlon John Espiritu and eight points from recreational leagues star Christian Palma.

Gimpayan, who already had 14 points and 11 rebounds after the first half, also tallied three assists, two blocks and two steals in a 32-minute, 16-second stint on the floor and was named the game’s best player.

The combined 45 rebounds of Gimpayan, Apreku and Cabahug out of Valenzuela’s 57 total nearly matched Mindoro’s 49 boards.

A triple by Casajeros with 10 seconds left forged the final count and the game’s biggest spread.