Biñan Tatak Gel and Quezon Province moved closer to a South Division crown showdown after scoring contrasting victories in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season on Wednesday at the packed Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
The Biñan Tatak Gel leaned on Nic Cabanero’s buzzer-beating jumper to nip the Rizal XentroMall Golden Coolers, 72-70, in the opener of the South Division semifinal playoffs, while the Quezon Huskers trounced the Cebu Greats, 77-67, in the nightcap.
The back-to-back reigning division champions can arrange a title rematch by sweeping their respective best-of-three semifinal series at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan on Tuesday, October 27.
With eight players scoring at least seven points, led by Mon Abundo, Quezon surged ahead, 61-43, and never looked back, delighting more than 11,000 spectators.
Abundo posted 11 points, including three triples, and four rebounds to earn SportsPlus Best Player honors, edging Christian Pagaran, who also scored 11 points on three triples and grabbed two rebounds.
Other Huskers who delivered were Cyrus Tabi, with nine points and nine rebounds; Jolo Manansala, Chris Lalata, with nine points and four rebounds apiece; Cholo Anonuevo, with eight points and 10 rebounds; Judel Fuentes, with eight points and three assists; and Diego Dario, with seven points and three assists.
(C) MPBL
Cebu drew 27 points and 10 rebounds from Mark Meneses, while Simon Camacho contributed nine points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. Dhon Reverente also tallied nine points, nine rebounds, and three assists.
Despite missing centers Cedrick Manzano and Will McAloney, Quezon overcame a 34-45 rebounding deficit through more cohesive ball movement, dishing out 21 assists against Cebu’s 13 while committing fewer turnovers, 11-19.
In the opener, Cabanero delivered the decisive blow with the game tied at 70 and 8.2 seconds remaining. After receiving the inbound pass, the 6-foot-2 guard dribbled before flicking up a jumper over the outstretched arms of Philip Manalang as time expired.
Veteran Michael Mabulac helped set the stage for Cabanero’s heroics, scoring eight consecutive points in the final four minutes and 26 seconds.
Rizal’s Billy Robles had forced the fifth and final deadlock at 70-all with a suspended layup, setting up Cabanero’s game-winner.
Cabanero, a former University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers star and the pacesetter in the MVP race, finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, and three steals to claim Best Player honors over Carlo Lastimosa, who tallied 19 points and three rebounds.
Mabulac, a former MPBL All-Star, added 13 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists for Biñan.
Rizal was led by Jolo Mendoza with 18 points and three rebounds, while Jake Gaspay chipped in 11 points, eight rebounds, and two steals. Robles added 10 points, five rebounds, and two steals.
Cabanero and Lastimosa combined for a 17-3 run that propelled Biñan to a 24-7 advantage before Rizal’s Laurenz Victoria and Mark Yee joined forces for nine points to trim the deficit.
Rizal later clustered seven points to seize a 31-29 lead, but Biñan answered with a similar seven-point salvo, capped by Lastimosa’s four points, to regain control at halftime, 36-31.
The North Division semifinal playoffs begin Saturday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig, with San Juan facing Caloocan at 5 p.m. and Abra taking on Solid North-Pasay at 7 p.m.
