Defending champion Batangas-New Zealand Bluefire opened its title-retention bid with an 85-53 rout of Caloocan to cap the opening day of the 2026 Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League regular season on Sunday at the Alonte Sports Arena.
Christine Bariquit and Snow Peñaranda delivered double-doubles in the absence of reigning MVP Afril Bernardino as the Valkyries took control early in the second quarter and never looked back. They steadily built separation before cruising the rest of the way to spoil the debut of the Lady Kankaloo.
(C) WMPBL Images
Bariquit finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds, along with three steals. Meanwhile, Peñaranda added 19 points and 11 boards to power Batangas-New Zealand Bluefire’s dominant win in the tournament backed by Aktive.
The Valkyries broke the game wide open with a blistering 29-12 second-quarter surge. That turned a slim lead into full control en route to a 49-27 halftime advantage, as Caloocan struggled to keep pace with the reigning champions.
“It’s a good start for us, getting our first win in defending our championship,” said Batangas-New Zealand Bluefire head coach Cholo Villanueva. “We have a lot of things to work on. We started quite slow, but we’re progressing properly.”
Both Bariquit and Peñaranda were also crucial on the glass, anchoring the Valkyries’ rebounding effort with 24 offensive boards. That translated into 20 second-chance points, fueling their sustained control of the game.
Khate Castillo contributed 11 points, while Rizza Lozada and Queenie Aquino added 10 and nine points, respectively, as Batangas-New Zealand Bluefire barely felt the absence of Bernardino, who is currently with Gilas Pilipinas for the FIBA 3×3 World Cup qualifiers in Singapore.
(C) WMPBL Images
Meanwhile, Janine Pontejos paced Caloocan with 14 points on 4-of-14 shooting, along with four assists. Rejoice Adlawan added 13 points and five rebounds off the bench.
The Scores:
Batangas-New Zealand Bluefire 85 – Bariquit 20, Peñaranda 19, Castillo 11, Lozada 10, Aquino 9, Claro 5, Torres 5, Calang 3, Talas 3, Tongco 0.
Caloocan 53 – Pontejos 14, Adlawan 13, Tolentino 6, Capilit 4, Felisarta 4, Sison 2, Camagong 2, Candido 2, Gonzalo 2, Pedregosa 2, Marcos 2, Bio 0.
Quarterscores: 85-53, 49-27, 67-45, 85-53.
