Abra and San Juan moved closer to a North Division finals showdown after securing contrasting victories Saturday in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season semifinal round at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The defending champion Abra Solid North Weavers cruised past the Pasay Voyagers, 81-71, while the second-seeded San Juan Knights edged the third-seeded Caloocan Batang Kankaloo, 73-71, in overtime to open their best-of-three playoff series with victories.
Abra surged ahead by as many as 20 points, 67-47, before thwarting Pasay’s late rally to live up to its status as the favorite in the two-division, 26-team tournament.
Trailing 77-60 with 4:35 remaining, the Voyagers unleashed an 11-2 run behind back-to-back triples from Cyril Gonzales to cut the deficit to 79-71.
Abra’s Raven Gonzales, however, sealed the victory with an inside basket off a feed from Dave Ildefonso. Neither team scored in the final 1:53.
Ildefonso, the reigning MVP, tallied 14 points, seven assists, two rebounds, and two steals to earn SportsPlus Best Player honors. He edged Drex Delos Reyes, who finished with 12 points, including eight in the fourth quarter, five rebounds, and two assists, and 2025 Rookie of the Year Raven Gonzales, who also scored 12 points while adding three rebounds and two blocks.
Jake Figueroa also delivered for Abra, the Philippines’ lone representative in the EASL (East Asia Super League) 2026-27 Season, with 11 points and three rebounds.
Pasay drew 15 points and two rebounds from Brian Hilario, who knocked down three triples in the fourth quarter. Christian Fajarito added 14 points, six rebounds, and two steals, while Cyril Gonzales contributed 11 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
“We’ll try to be better (in Game 2), with better shots and win by a bigger margin,” said Ildefonso.
Abra and San Juan will seek to complete their respective sweeps on Wednesday at the Ynares Sports Center in Montalban, Rizal.
(C) MPBL
Unlike Abra, San Juan had to overcome stiff opposition from Caloocan to secure its series-opening victory.
A triple by Orlan Wamar, a deep corner buzzer-beating three-pointer by James Kwekuteye, and a late layup by Patrick Sleat powered San Juan’s comeback and helped the Knights escape with the narrow win.
Caloocan controlled the first half and built a 15-point lead, 33-18, before San Juan mounted its rally.
With the Batang Kankaloo still ahead, 35-20, the Knights fought back behind AC Soberano and Harold Alarcon to trim the deficit to 38-35 at halftime.
Caloocan had two opportunities to turn the tide late in the game, but Kymani Ladi’s three-point attempt fell short, while Chris Bitoon’s buzzer-beating triple off an inbound interception also missed its mark.
The game went into overtime at 65-all after both teams went scoreless in the final 2:23 of regulation.
The Batang Kankaloo were hampered by poor free-throw shooting, converting just six of 20 attempts for a dismal 30 percent. Their struggles continued in overtime, where they made only two of seven attempts from the charity stripe.
Alarcon finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, and five assists for San Juan, while Terrence Fortea contributed 11 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Michael Calisaan added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Wamar, however, earned Best Player honors after contributing five points, eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
Caloocan drew 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks from Ladi; 13 points and nine rebounds from Jeff Manday; 12 points and eight rebounds from Dom Escobar; and 10 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals from Bitoon.
The South Division semifinals continue Tuesday at the Alonte Sports Arena, with Quezon Province and host Biñan seeking to move closer to finals matchups against Cebu and Rizal XentroMall, respectively.
The Quezon Huskers, the reigning back-to-back South Division champions, trounced the Cebu Greats, 77-67, while the Biñan Tatak Gel claimed a narrow 73-71 victory over the Rizal XentroMall Golden Coolers in Game 1 of their respective best-of-three playoff series.
