San Juan relied on Gerry Abadiano and Harold Alarcon to complete a come-from-behind 68-66 squeaker over Caloocan on Tuesday in the knockout semifinals of the 2026 MPBL Preseason Invitational at the FilOil Centre in San Juan.
Abadiano scored six points, including the decisive three-point play, while Alarcon added five as the Knights rallied from a 57-64 deficit to repeat over the Batang Kankaloo.
The win sets up a sudden-death clash with the Abra Solid North Weavers on Thursday at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan.
Alarcon finished with 23 points, five rebounds, and two steals while fellow UP Fighting Maroon Abadiano, who posted 11 points — eight of them in the fourth quarter — along with 3 rebounds.
It was a brilliant comeback for San Juan, which trailed by as much as 11-28 and only seized the lead at 66-65 following Alarcon’s two free throws.
Dominic Escobar briefly returned the lead to Caloocan with two free throws, but Abadiano defied two defenders to hit a jumper and draw a foul with 13.9 seconds left.
Caloocan had two chances to tie or reclaim the lead, but Escobar missed a fallaway. Jielo Razon also muffed a three-pointer, allowing the Knights to duplicate their 65-59 victory over the Batang Kankaloo in the Group B round-robin elimination phase.
Michael Calisaan also shone for San Juan, contributing seven points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks.
Caloocan got 10 points each from Jeramer Cabanag and John Tayongtong, while Baclaan added nine.
A buzzer-beater triple from Baclaan pushed Caloocan ahead 25-11 after the first quarter.
In the first game of the day, Batangas repeated its mastery over Mindoro, 85-74, to set up a knockout showdown with Group B topnotcher Quezon Province at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
The Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters surged ahead late in the third quarter, outscoring Mindoro 62-46, and duplicated their 88-58 blowout of the Mindoro Tamaraws from the first Group A elimination round.
Jhan Nermal led Batangas’ offense with 19 points, including 12 in the third, along with eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Former Tamaraw Wendelino Comboy added 12 points, three rebounds, and three assists, while Dawn Ochea posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Mindoro, which led 26-20 early, drew 21 points, five rebounds, and five assists from homegrown JC Recto, and 13 points, four assists, four steals, and three rebounds from RJ Ramirez.
