BATANGAS CITY—Batangas City and Muntinlupa came away with similar victories on Tuesday night to put themselves in a better position heading to the playoffs of the MPBL-Anta Rajah Cup at the Batangas City Coliseum here.

The Tanduay-backed Athletics shook off a slow start with a big third-quarter run on their way to scoring an 86-75 triumph over the Caloocan Supremos-Longrich.

In the first game, Muntinlupa got back on the winning track after pulling off an 87-78 victory over Bataan.

Chito Jaime continued his string of double-digit outputs for the Angelis Resort-backed Cagers, who forged a four-way tie for second to fifth places, with the Valenzuela Classic-Yulz, Bulacan Kuyas-Ligo Sardines and Quezon City Capitals-Royal Manila with the same 5-3 win-loss record.

Jaime, a PBA journeyman, finished with 22 points and blocked three shots.

The Athletics will move to the quarterfinal round of this event, put up by Senator Manny Pacquiao with former PBA MVP Kenneth Duremdes as commissioner, carrying a home court advantage. They have won all their three games at home in the elimination round, but all those victories were tightly-fought matches