The San Juan Knights overwhelmed the Marikina Shoemasters, 106-78, on Thursday at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City to stretch their winning streak to nine games and stay in the hunt for the top playoff spot in the MPBL 2026 Season’s North Division.
With seven players scoring in double figures, led by Dexter Maiquez, the Knights built a commanding lead that ballooned to 104-68 before cruising to their 11th win in 12 games.
San Juan improved to 11-1, tying Abra Solid North and keeping league-leading Caloocan (14-1) within striking distance.
Maiquez finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Reyland Torres added 12 points. Patrick Sleat, Gerry Abadiano, and Kenneth Villapando chipped in 11 points apiece, while Orlan Wamar and Harold Alarcon contributed 10 each.
Marikina dropped to 5-10, with Jeepy Faundo and Deo Timajo leading the way with 12 points apiece.
Earlier, Batangas City Tanduay Athletics survived a furious comeback by the Quezon Huskers to escape with a 65-62 victory.
Limited to just six points in the fourth quarter, Batangas nearly squandered the game after Ino Comboy lost possession with 10.5 seconds remaining. However, Quezon’s Christian Pagaran threw an errant pass that was intercepted by Jhan Nermal, who was immediately fouled.
Nermal calmly knocked down both free throws with 5.6 seconds left to seal the victory after Quezon’s Judel Fuentes missed a potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer.
Batangas extended its winning streak to eight games, improving to 12-2 to move ahead of Quezon (9-2) and trail only Gensan (13-2) in the South Division standings.
Rhinwill Yambing paced Batangas with 17 points, four rebounds, and two steals, while Nermal also scored 17 points to go along with seven rebounds and two steals. Dawn Ochea, who scored Batangas’ only field goal in the fourth quarter, finished with six points.
Abdul Sawat and Mark Cruz also added six each.
Quezon had a chance to tie the game at 63, but Cyrus Tabi missed the second of three free throws after drawing a foul from Nermal with 32.7 seconds remaining.
The Huskers raced to a 17-7 lead behind consecutive three-pointers from Fuentes and Tabi, but Batangas answered as Nermal, Yambing, Ochea, and Comboy combined to knot the game at 21.
Batangas then took control with a decisive 20-5 run, anchored by Yambing and Sawat, to build a 43-30 advantage.
Fuentes led Quezon with 17 points and four rebounds, while Cedrick Manzano posted 10 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Jolo Manansala contributed nine points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
In the day’s opener, the Mindoro Tamaraws rolled past the Sarangani 10ACT Marlins, 110-81, to improve to 7-7.
Bambam Gamalinda led the Tamaraws with 20 points, all scored in the first three quarters, along with three rebounds and two assists. Hanz Philip Maycong backed him up with 15 points, five rebounds, and three assists.
Brian Heruela nearly recorded a triple-double with 12 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. John Apacible added 10 points, seven rebounds, and two assists, while Jonas Tibayan finished with nine points, three rebounds, and three assists.
Sarangani suffered its 12th consecutive loss and fell to 1-13. Carl Bryan Lacap scored 16 points with three rebounds, Danny Marilao tallied 15 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks, while Larce Sunga added 14 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
The tournament resumes Friday at the Pasay Astrodome with Valenzuela facing Meycauayan Marilao at 4:00 PM, Abra taking on Basilan at 6:00 PM, and Pasay meeting Biñan at 8:00 PM.
