San Juan caught fire in the third quarter to pull away from Basilan, 97-79, on Saturday, strengthening their campaign in the MPBL 2026 Season at the Orion Sports Complex in Bataan.
Led by Gerry Abadiano’s 20-point performance, San Juan broke the game open in the third period, outscoring Basilan, 28-15, to turn a tight contest into a commanding 74-53 lead before cruising to its fifth straight victory and a 7-1 record in the round-robin elimination phase of the 28-team, two-division tournament.
The 2019 MPBL national champions now sit behind unbeaten squads Caloocan (10-0), Gensan (10-0), and Quezon Province (7-0), while sharing the upper playoff race with reigning champions Abra Solid North.
Abadiano, a former junior national team standout and University of the Philippines product, also finished with three triples, four rebounds, and three assists to earn best player honors over Michael Calisaan (11 points, 11 rebounds) and Dexter Maiquez (12 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds).
Mike Phillips added 10 points and seven rebounds, while Aldrech Ramos chipped in 10 points and five rebounds for San Juan, which dominated inside with a 54-26 advantage in points in the paint and a commanding 54-26 edge in rebounding.
Basilan dropped to 5-5 despite strong efforts from John Wilson (23 points) and Byron Villarias (19 points).
(C) MPBL
In the opener, Steve Nash Enriquez completed a three-point play with 22.1 seconds left to lift Pasay over Quezon City, 76-75, pushing their record to 7-3.
The clutch basket proved decisive after Quezon City missed key opportunities down the stretch, including a costly inbound turnover with 4.5 seconds remaining.
Homegrown guard Nico Quinal led Pasay with 14 points, two assists, and two steals, while King Gurtiza earned best player honors with 13 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Lennard Santiago added 13 points and four rebounds, and Chris Fajarito contributed 12 points, including back-to-back triples that gave the Voyagers a 71-62 advantage.
Quezon City fell to 6-4 despite solid performances from Christian Agoncillo (14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals), Kobe Monje (13 points), Aeron Bagunu (11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists), MJ Joson (10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists), and Clark Derige (10 points).
The tournament resumes Monday at One Arena Cainta with Quezon Province taking on Sarangani at 4 p.m., Marikina facing Meycauayan-Marilao at 6 p.m., and Negros battling Bacolod at 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, Rizal leaned on balanced scoring to outlast Bataan 100-93, in the nightcap.
Alwyn Alday led the way with 22 points, five rebounds, and two assists as seven Golden Coolers finished in double figures, powering Rizal to its second straight win and a 5-4 record.
Alday, the third member of the MPBL 2,000-point club, was backed by JP Maguliano (13 points, 6 rebounds), JP Sarao (11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists), Marco Balagtas (11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals), and three more double-digit scorers in Billy Robles, Laurenz Victoria, and Joel Lee Yu with 10 points each.
Rizal pulled away late after a tightly contested game featuring 20 lead changes and nine ties, eventually building a 94-79 cushion to secure the win.
Bataan slid to its fifth straight loss and a 3-7 slate, with Yves Sazon finishing with 15 points, while Chito Jaime and Hubert Cani added 13 apiece. Robbi Darang and Alfred Flores contributed 11 each, with Flores scoring 10 late points to cut the gap to 90-97 with 45.6 seconds remaining.
