Quezon, Pasay trounce foes in MPBL
MANILA, Philippines — Quezon Province leaned on Judel Fuentes to thwart Pasay, 67-59, on Tuesday and move closer to South Division pacesetter Batangas City in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Pasay Astrodome.
Fuentes fired 25 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to power the Quezon Huskers to a 15-3 record in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 26-team tournament.
The Huskers, triggered by Fuentes' three straight triples, surged ahead, 62-51. The Voyagers' Rence Alcoriza answered with three charities, but Fuentes finished the demolition job by scoring Quezon's last five points against a fallaway jumper by Cyril Gonzales and a triple by Mark Parks.
Fuentes also grabbed four rebounds and issued two assists to earn Best Player honors over Cedric Manzano, who finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
"Finally, after two years, we won over them (Voyagers)," said Fuentes, a member of the South Selection for the SportsPlus MPBL 2026 All-Stars on Saturday at Ynares Center Montalban in Rizal Province.
Clint Escamis, a prized acquisition from the Mapua Cardinals, contributed eight points, four rebounds and two steals for the Huskers, the reigning back-to-back South Division champions.
Pasay tumbled to 12-11 in the North Division as only Rence Alcoriza found his range with 18 points and seven rebounds. Steve Nash Enriquez accounted for nine points and two rebounds, but Christian Fajarito, the Voyagers' Top Gun, was held to four points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Pasig subdues Manila
Pasig City hit full throttle in the fourth quarter and subdued Manila Batang Quiapo, 108-99, in the opener to remain in contention for an outright playoff slot.
Ahead, 77-70, Pasig banked on Warlo Batac and Jerome Garcia to pull away, 97-75, midway through the final frame before coasting to its 10th win in 20 starts.
Pasig is in seventh place in the North division and could still overtake Pasay and Meycauayan Marilao (12-10) for the sixth spot and an outright stint in the quarterfinal playoffs.
Teams ranked seventh to 10th will have to go through the play-in, with the best two performers completing the playoff cast in both North and South Divisions.
Garcia, a homegrown icon, posted 28 points, six rebounds and two assists to edge Batac — who tallied 26 points, 11 rebounds and three assists — for the Best Player accolade.
Jerald Bautista supported with 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals, followed by Jacob Galicia with nine points, 10 rebounds and two assists; and John Felix Corpuz with 10 points and two rebounds.
Also-ran Manila fell to a league-worst 1-22 slate despite Joe Gomez De Liano's 22 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals; John Ashley Faa's 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals; Alfred Sedillo's 16 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals; and Mark Doligon's 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
The tournament returns to the Batangas City Coliseum on Wednesday, featuring games between Valenzuela and Rizal Province at 5 p.m., and San Juan and Batangas at 7 p.m. (Pool story)
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