Pasay leaned on a blazing start from Cyril Gonzales and Lennard Santiago before Rence Alcoriza took over in the fourth quarter, stunning Batangas City Tanduay Athletics, 85-67, on Tuesday to boost its playoff bid in the 2026 MPBL Season at the Pasay Astrodome.
Gonzales set the tone with 12 points, three assists, and three steals, while Santiago added 11 points and two assists as the Voyagers seized control early against the South Division leaders.
Alcoriza then delivered the finishing blow, erupting for 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter behind back-to-back three-pointers and consecutive three-point plays.
The victory improved Pasay to 12-9 in the round-robin elimination phase of the 27-team tournament.
Alcoriza also finished with six rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while Christian Fajarito chipped in 16 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
Alcoriza credited the Voyagers’ defensive effort for the breakthrough win.
“Disiplina sa depensa. Kapag na-establish namin ang depensa, sumusunod na ang opensa,” he said.
Holding a 76-65 advantage late in the game, Pasay put the contest away with a decisive 9-0 run before Mark Olayon scored Batangas City’s final basket.
Kriss Gurtiza also contributed 12 points, three assists, and three steals for the Voyagers.
The defeat snapped Batangas City’s 13-game winning streak as the Athletics slipped to 15-3 and fell from solo first to a share of second place with Gensan, behind Quezon Province (13-2) in the South Division.
Ced Ablaza led Batangas City with 19 points and six rebounds, while Jhan Nermal added 16 points and three rebounds. Ino Comboy chipped in 12 points, four rebounds, and two steals.
(C) MPBL
In the second game, Zamboanga SiKat overwhelmed Parañaque, 130-76, to improve to 8-11.
Levi Hernandez paced Zamboanga with 24 points and four rebounds, while Brandon Wilson added 19 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Reggz Gabat contributed 18 points, four rebounds, and two assists, Christian Bunag posted 13 points and seven rebounds, John Arthur Calisay had 11 points, three rebounds, and three assists, and Joseph Gabayni recorded 10 points and eight rebounds.
Parañaque, which dropped to 2-20, drew 15 points each from Domark Matillano and James Mangahas, while John Michael Cruz and Jomar Santos finished with 12 points apiece.
Earlier, Bulacan cruised past Bacolod, 100-64, to improve to 5-13.
The Kuyas dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring the Maskarras 24-6. Bacolod managed just six points and committed six turnovers over the final 7:48 of the contest.
Jeremy Cruz led Bulacan with 20 points and five rebounds, while Benedict Benedictos added 19 points, three rebounds, three steals, and two assists as the Kuyas snapped a six-game losing streak to keep their slim North Division playoff hopes alive.
Mico Dizon contributed 16 points, six rebounds, and two steals, while Andre Acop chipped in 11 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
Bacolod fell to 3-19 after absorbing its 11th straight defeat despite 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals from Desmond Price, and another 19-point outing from Jeremy Monton.
The tournament resumes Wednesday at the Ynares Center Montalban with Negros facing Quezon City at 3 p.m., Pasig taking on Abra at 5 p.m., and host Rizal battling Gensan at 7 p.m.
