Taguig: New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas ruled the inaugural Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League after hacking out a 79-77 victory over Discovery-Rizal in Game 2 of their best-of-three title duel Sunday night at the Enderun Gym in Taguig.

According to Philippines News Agency, Snow Pe±aranda, whose basket gave the lead back to the Valkyries at 78-77, sealed the win with a free throw. Perlas rallied behind Allana Lim and Raiza Palmera-Dy to gain the upper hand at 77-76, with two minutes left to play.

“I’m speechless. As soon as I got here, as soon as Game 1 was over, I wanted to finish it. I wanted to play Game 2 to finish it. I’m really, really happy,” Pe±aranda, who scored 20 points on top of 12 rebounds, said. She also powered the Valkyries to their 98-87 victory in Game 1 with 22 points and 15 rebounds.

“We always think that we’re all on the same page, that we want to win. Maybe it’s just how strong my teammates and I are. [They] put in a lot of effort, it’s just fun, there’s no pressure,” Season MVP Afril Bernardino said. Bernardino chipped in 18 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, and four steals to earn the Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

Khate Castillo contributed 17 points, including five triples, and four rebounds, while Pringle Fabruada had 16 points and eight rebounds. “I’m very proud. We’re playing in the home court of the opponent. The crowd was for them, but the players didn’t want to give up and they trusted each other. It’s a mixture of heart and hard work,” New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas head coach Cholo Villanueva said.

The Valkyries finished the regular season with a league-best 8-2 slate and swept Tagaytay-Tol in the semifinals. Lim led Perlas with 24 points and six rebounds followed by Palmera-Dy with 15 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Tacky Tacatac and Tantoy Ferrer scored 13 and seven, respectively.