Nueva Ecija shifted to high gear in the fourth quarter and whizzed past Pampanga, 80-74, on Friday to move closer toward sweeping the elimination phase of the OKbet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 4th Season Presented by Xtreme at the Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Pasay City.

Trailing the Giant Lanterns for the most part of the game, the Rice Vanguards found their range and toughened their defenses to seize control and tally their 19th straight win, just two victories shy of a perfect record in the single round-robin eliminations. Earlier games saw  Imus and Marikina rout their opponents to stay in the hunt for quarterfinal berths.

The Imus Bandera pounded an injury-stricken Rizal Xentromall, 91-74, while the Marikina Shoemasters dumped the Mindoro Tams, 101-60.

The game was still tied at 74, until Nueva Ecija managed to break free through Michael Mabulac and Hesed Gabo, who sealed the outcome with two free throws in the last 9.1 seconds.

Gabo wound up with 17 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds to earn best player honors, while Mabulac ended up with 16 points and 8 rebounds.

Michael Juico scored 14 points and 5 rebounds against his former team, which saw its 8-win run broken for a 12-5 card.

According to Nueva Ecija coach Jerson Cabiltes his wards got bothered by Pampanga’s pressure defense.

“We made some adjustments and it worked,” said Cabiltes, who steered his team back from a 28-30 deficit.

Antonio Joson shone for the Shoemasters with a triple-double of 20 points, including 5 triples, 15 rebounds and 14 assists.