THE Parañaque Patriots banked on Jielo Razon to nip the Manila Stars, 74-72, and share the limelight with the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards on Saturday in the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Fifth Season at the Olivarez College Gym in Parañaque.

Will McAloney bailed out Nueva Ecija twice, first on a follow-up that forced overtime at 74-74, then scored on a lay-up for the marginal basket that handed the Rice Vanguards their eighth straight win and the solo top spot in the elimination round of the 29-team tournament.

McAloney wound up with 17 points and 14 rebounds for defending champion Nueva Ecija, which also drew 13 points from Chris Bitoon and 10 each from Renz Palma and John Byron Villarias.

Marikina tumbled to 3-5 despite the 22-point, 9-rebound effort of RV Berjay, the 17 points of Felipe Chavez, the 16-point, 13-rebound output of Jason Strait and the 12-point, 10-rebound contribution of Jason Opiso.

Razon, a prized find from the University of Perpetual Help, fired 9 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, including the dagger triple with 12 seconds left, as the Patriots notched their fourth win in nine starts.

The 5-foot-11 Razon, who also grabbed 11 rebounds and issued 6 assists to earn best player honors, got support from homegrown Paolo Castro with 11 points and James Patrick Abugan with 10 points plus 8 rebounds.

It was a hard-earned win for Paranaque, which pulled ahead at 69-62 following a 16-2 salvo also presided by Castro and Razon with help from Jayboy Solis and Mark Omega.

Manila, however, seized back the lead, 72-71, with 1 minute and 10 seconds left as Mark Acosta and Kent Lao combined for 12 points against a jumper by Razon.

Razon won’t let his efforts go for naught, however, with that triple. Lao tried to turn the game around but missed his triple attempt with only two seconds to go.

Manila, which tumbled to 2-6, got 19 points and 9 rebounds from Adrian Celada, 13 points and 5 rebounds from Acosta, 11 points from Clark Bautista, 10 points from Jason Vincent Mancao, and 16 assists and 9 rebounds from Marcy Arellano.

The Bulacan Kuyas subdued the Bicol Volcanoes, 115-107, in the opener and climbed to the upper half of the standings with a 5-4 slate.

Buenaventura Raflores led the Kuyas with 19 points and 9 rebounds, followed by Jordan Ingel with 14 points, Daniel De Guzman and Rhonz Yuson with 13, Jerick Fabian and Joseph Gabayni with 11 each and Renz Alcoriza and Jerick Nacpil with 10 each.

Bicol, which suffered its eighth straight defeat, got a triple-double (11 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds) from Dan Sara, 19 points and 14 rebounds from James Martinez, 18 points and 9 rebounds from Nick Wilson Abanto, 18 points from Denzel Jansen Wong, and 12 points plus 10 rebounds from Ralph Jeffrey Deles.

The MPBL visits the Bren Guiao Sports Complex in San Fernando, Pampanga on Monday. San Juan and Quezon City tangle at 4 p.m., Makati and Negros collide at 6 p.m., and GenSan clashes with Pampanga at 8 p.m.