Binan Tatak Gel and Rizal XentroMall won in contrasting fashion on Friday to gain the inside track in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) 2026 Season South Division quarterfinals at the Caloocan Sports Complex.
Powered by Nic Cabanero, Binan thwarted Mindoro’s repeated assaults to prevail, 78-70, in the nightcap, while Rizal rallied to stun Gensan, 78-73, in the opening game of the playoffs in the two-division, 26-team tournament.
Cabanero, the pacesetter in this year’s MVP race, posted 23 points, nine rebounds, four steals, and three assists to earn Best Player honors.
Pamboy Raymundo added 11 points, seven assists, and five rebounds, while surprise package John Barba chipped in nine points and three rebounds. Carlo Lastimosa contributed eight points.
Binan led by as many as 11 points in the homestretch before Heruela drilled his fourth triple for the final count.
The Tamaraws, who came within three points three times, the last at 61-64 on Heruela’s second triple, got 16 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks from Jayjay Caspe.
Heruela finished with 12 points, four steals, two rebounds, and three assists, while Marion Magat added 10 points, seven rebounds, and two assists.
Binan and Rizal will seek a repeat and a semifinal berth on Oct. 12 in Game 2 of their respective best-of-three series.
Trailing 65-72 with only 4:12 left, Rizal, led by Jolo Mendoza, poured in 13 points against a lone charity by Gensan during that stretch to move within one win of advancing to the semifinals.
(C) MPBL
Mendoza, who scored seven points in that crucial stretch, finished with 17 points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals to earn Best Player honors over Laurenz Victoria, who posted 15 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
Marco Balagtas and Jake Gaspay added eight points each for Rizal, which proved that its 81-71 elimination-round win over Gensan was no fluke.
Gensan drew 16 points, seven rebounds, and six assists from Hesed Gabo; 14 points, six assists, and three rebounds from Joshua Fontanilla; 11 points and six rebounds from Adi Santos; and 10 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists from Anton Eusebio.
The Warriors surged ahead, 21-16, but the Golden Coolers countered behind Victoria and Mendoza to seize a 36-32 lead at halftime.
The tournament returns to the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City on Monday, with the North Division quarterfinals pitting Caloocan against Ilagan Isabela at 5 p.m. and Bataan against San Juan at 7 p.m.
