 |
| Chris Pagaran took charge for Quezon. MPBL |
MANILA—The San Juan Knights extended their hot run, and the Quezon Huskers rebounded on Tuesday in the SportsPlus MPBL 2026 Season at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
San Juan subdued Bataan, 102-95, in the second game, while Quezon battered Pasig City, 93-55, in the nightcap of another triple bill of the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 27-team tournament.
Powered by Patrick Sleat, the Knights notched their 10th straight win and climbed to 11-1, trailing only Caloocan (14-1) and Abra (12-1) in the race for playoff berths in the North division.
Sleat posted 21 points, 13 in the fourth quarter, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists to earn the SportsPlus best player honors over Mike Calisaan, with 18 points and 3 rebounds, Orlan Wamar, with 12 points, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds, and Gerry Abadiano, with 11 points.
Bataan slid to 5-9 despite five Risers, led by Hubert Cani, scoring in double figures.
Cani finished with 18 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds, followed by Chris Javier, with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, and Yves Sazon, Joey Barcuma and Alfred Flores with 13 points each.
Hurting from back-to-back losses, the Huskers pulled away at the half, 51-21, before moving beyond reach, 87-42, midway through the fourth quarter en route to a 9-2 slate in the South division.
Christian Pagaran poured in 18 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists, while Cedric Manzano chalked up 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals for the Huskers, the reigning back-to-back division champions.
Other Huskers who delivered were Jolo Manansala, with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, Will McAloney, with 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks, and Michael Canete, with 11 points, 6 assists and 2 rebounds.
Pasig fell to 7-6 as only Jerome Garcia found his rhythm with 12 points and 4 rebounds.
The Rizal XentroMall Golden Coolers displayed balanced firepower in an 84-70 beating of the Bulacan Kuyas in the opener.
Veterans JP Sarao and Billy Robles headed six Golden Coolers in double figures as Rizal led as far as 77-61 before coasting to its third straight win and a 9-5 record.
Sarao, an MPBL All-Star in 2024, posted 12 points and 9 rebounds while Robles, dubbed the "Ilonggo Superman," tallied 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for Rizal, which exploited its 48-37 board dominance to score more points in the paint, 44-34.
Rizal got 11 points, spiked by three triples, and 3 rebounds from Jolo Mendoza; 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists from JP Maguliano; 10 points, 5 steals, and 3 rebounds from Alwyn Alday; and 10 points and 4 rebounds from Marco Balagtas.
Bulacan tumbled to 4-10 and is in grave danger of missing the playoffs.
The Kuyas, composed mostly of homegrown players, drew 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists from Airohn Acop and 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals from Jeremy Cruz.
The tournament returns to the One Arena Cainta on Wednesday, featuring games between Sarangani and Negros at 6 p.m. and Valenzuela and Marikina at 8 p.m.
