The San Juan Knights warmed up in the second half to subdue the Mindoro Tamaraws, 74-62, on Tuesday and gain ground in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Batangas City Coliseum.
Powered by Michael Calisaan and Patrick Sleat, San Juan erupted for 28 points in the third quarter to seize control, 58-49, en route to its 19th win in 22 games in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 26-team tournament.
The Bataan Risers leaned on a 3-pointer by Yves Sazon with 11.3 seconds left to stun the Batangas City Tanduay Athletics, 65-63, and improve to 10-13 in the nightcap.
Sazon’s open triple capped Bataan’s late-game comeback and complemented the 15-point, seven-rebound effort of Edrian Ramirez, who knocked down two free throws with 22.7 seconds remaining. Joshua Gallano added 12 points, four rebounds, and two assists, while Alfred Flores contributed 11 points and two assists. Sazon finished with 12 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
Batangas City absorbed its second straight defeat and slipped to 16-5, good for fourth place in the South division playoff race.
The Athletics drew 16 points, three rebounds, and two blocks from Jhan Nermal, who, however, missed two free throws with 1:19 remaining. Jeckster Apinan added 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
San Juan climbed to solo second behind Abra (21-2) and ahead of Caloocan (18-3) in the race for the top four spots and homecourt advantage in the quarterfinal playoffs of the North division.
Sleat scored seven points during the third-quarter surge, including the basket that padded San Juan’s lead to 58-47 with 1:38 remaining in the period. He finished with 13 points, six rebounds, and two steals, while Calisaan chipped in 12 points, seven rebounds, and two assists.
Harold Alarcon, however, edged both of them for best player honors after posting 12 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.
Mindoro, which led by as many as nine points at 31-22, dropped to 12-11 and into a tie for seventh with Basilan despite Jayjay Caspe’s 20 points, including five triples, along with four rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Jonas Tibayan added 10 points and 10 rebounds, while JC Recto had 10 points, six rebounds, and two assists.
Pasig City pulled away in the third quarter and subdued Marikina, 92-80, in the opening game to level its record at 11-11 and secure a spot in the play-in tournament for teams ranked seventh to 10th after the eliminations.
Triples by Jhapz Bautista and John Felix Corpuz sandwiched a 15-4 run that propelled the Pasigueños ahead, 69-48, for good.
Jacob Galicia paced Pasig with 22 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks, but yielded best player honors to homegrown talent Jerome Garcia, who finished with 16 points, five assists, and four rebounds.
Warlo Batac also shone for Pasig with 17 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and four steals. Bautista added 14 points, six steals, five assists, and four rebounds, while Corpuz chipped in 11 points and four rebounds.
The Pasigueños converted seven of 24 attempts from beyond the arc for 29.2 percent, which proved to be the difference as the Shoemasters could only make one of 13 triples for 7.7 percent.
Marikina was eliminated from playoff contention with a 7-17 record despite Eroll Soriano’s 23 points and 12 rebounds, JR Alabanza’s 15 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks, and Gjerald Wilson’s 12 points, five assists, and three rebounds.
The tournament returns to the Paco Arena in Manila on Thursday, with Imus facing also-ran Negros at 3 p.m., Ilagan Isabela taking on Abra at 5 p.m., and Batangas battling Manila at 7 p.m.
