Caloocan and Quezon Province extended their winning runs while Abra continued its climb in the MPBL 2026 Season on Saturday at the One Arena Cainta in Rizal Province.
The Batang Kankaloo subdued the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys, 100-91, in a coast-to-coast showdown to notch their ninth straight win and grab solo lead in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.
The Huskers kept in step by outlasting the Valenzuela City Darkhorse, 95-84, in the second game to improve to 6-0 in the race for playoff spots.
Defending champions Abra Solid North Weavers revved up its uphill drive with a 71-60 victory over Zamboanga SiKat in the nightcap, piling up its fourth straight win for a 6-1 slate.
Powered by Jeff Manday, the Batang Kankaloo surged ahead early, 31-9, then weathered repeated rallies from the Cowboys to move ahead of the Gensan Warriors, who hold an 8-0 record.
Manday drilled five triples and scored all but two of his 23 points in the first half. Kymani Ladi and Eric Camson then took over in the second half to help pull away, handing the Cowboys their third straight defeat and a 5-4 record.
Manday also dished out four assists to clinch Best Player honors over Ladi, who added 15 points on top of four assists, two rebounds, and two steals. Ladi highlighted his strong second-half showing with two highlight dunks.
Jammer Jamito contributed 15 points and seven rebounds, while Camson added 11 points and three rebounds for Caloocan.
Despite Manday hitting 5-of-8 from deep, along with Jielo Razon and Camson going a combined 2-of-2, the Cowboys still drilled 11 triples in 23 attempts for a 47.8-percent clip.
Jerie Pingoy sparked the Cowboys’ second-half fightback, scoring 17 of his 19 points on five triples, while Art Dela Cruz and Alex Cabagnot helped cut the deficit to nine by the final buzzer.
Cabagnot finished with 16 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals, while Donald Gumaru added 11 points and two assists.
(C) MPBL
The Huskers, reigning back-to-back South Division champions, leaned on Cyrus Tabi, Judel Fuentes, and Michael Canete to hold off the Darkhorse, who suffered back-to-back losses and dropped to 4-5.
Tabi posted 22 points, six assists, and five rebounds, highlighted by three triples. Fuentes added 14 points on four triples, six assists, and three rebounds, while Canete chipped in 13 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists, including three triples.
Rookie John Abate and Ced Manzano also delivered with the former firing nine points in 11 minutes while the latter went 4-of-4 from the field for eight markers.
Overall, the Huskers buried 13-of-26 attempts from beyond the arc for a 50-percent shooting clip.
(C) MPBL
Valenzuela fell to 4-5 despite Shaq Alanes’ 17 points, Angelo Obuyes’ 16, Geremy Robinson’s 13, Jay Collado’s 12, and JR Olegado’s 11.
The Weavers trailed 24-33 early before finding their rhythm behind Mike Ayonayon, Jake Figueroa, DJ Ferrer, and John Uduba in the third quarter, where they broke free, 63-53.
Figueroa finished with 18 points and three rebounds, Ferrer added 13 points, six assists, four rebounds, and two blocks, while Ayonayon contributed 13 points, five assists, and three rebounds.
Zamboanga, which dropped to 1-7, got 14 points each from Jhon Calisay and Reggz Gabat.
The tournament resumes at the Novadeci Sports Complex in Novaliches, Quezon City on Monday, featuring Manila and Cebu at 4 p.m., Gensan and Pasay at 6 p.m., and Quezon Province and Bulacan at 8 p.m.
