WMPBL: Talas, Castillo catch fire as Batangas-New Zealand dominates RK Hoops with 47-point rout

Defending champion Batangas-New Zealand Bluefire came out with a point to prove, delivering a dominant bounce-back performance and crushing RK Hoops-Quezon City 10ACT, 108-61, in the 2026 Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League on Sunday at the MRB Gymnasium.

Coming off a heartbreaking 83-79 overtime loss to Biñan, the Valkyries showed renewed resolve and urgency, overwhelming the Quezon City-based squad in a 47-point rout to improve to 2-1 and move into solo third place.

(C) WMPBL

“I think for us, we wanted to have a bounce back win coming off that overtime loss to Biñan,” said Batangas-New Zealand Bluefire head coach Cholo Villanueva.

“We really wanted to correct our mistakes, and it’s still early in the season. It’s a good thing that we lost that game for us to learn from our mistakes,” he added.

Jill Talas and Khate Castillo led the outside shooting barrage, combining for eight of the team’s 14 three-pointers in a wire-to-wire win that effectively shut the door on any RK Hoops-Quezon City 10ACT comeback attempt.

Talas, who knocked down five triples, finished with 17 points along with two steals and two blocks. Castillo then added three three-pointers of her own to finish with 17 points and four rebounds.

Snow Peñaranda contributed 15 points and eight rebounds, while Queenie Aquino posted a double-double of 15 points and 10 boards. Camille Claro and Mary Grace Calang chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Reigning MVP Afril Bernardino added nine points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and three steals as the Valkyries got back on track in the tournament supported by Aktive.

(C) WMPBL

RK Hoops-Quezon City 10ACT, meanwhile, played without star forward Tantoy Ferrer, who remains with Gilas 3×3 in Sanya, China, for the Asian Beach Games, and struggled to generate consistent offense.

Ann Dampios led RK Hoops with 12 points, all coming from four triples. Hazel Panti finished with 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists, while Fatima Quiapo and Danica Docallos added 10 points each.

The Scores:

Batangas-New Zealand Bluefire 108 – Castillo 17, Talas 17, Peñaranda 15, Aquino 15, Claro 11, Calang 10, Bernardino 9, Lozada 8, Torres 4, Bariquit 2, Tongco 0,

Quezon City-RK Hoops 61 – Dampios 12, H. Panti 11, Quiapo 8, Docallos 8, Larosa 5, Aragon 5, Antonio 3, Molina 3, F. Panti 2, Alcantara 2, Buendia 2, Dela Cruz 0, Young 0, Cayco 0, Isip 0

Quarterscores: 23-14, 53-28. 73-39, 108-61