MPBL: Valenzuela, Rizal, Quezon City chalk up victories
MANILA, Philippines — The Valenzuela City Darkhorse rode two scoring spurts in the fourth quarter to topple the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys, 98-90, on Monday in their closing assignment in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season elimination phase at the Paco Arena in Manila.
Trailing 68-69 after three quarters, Valenzuela bundled nine points on a charity and a basket by Geremy Robinson Jr. and back-to-back triples by Shaq Alanes to wrest control, 66-69, with 8:02 left.
The Cowboys countered through Robby Celiz and moved within 78-81, only to be buried by a 13-2 flurry by the Darkhorse, who closed the regular season with a 10-15 record, good for the 10th and last play-in slot in the North Division.
With their fourth straight defeat and 13-11 card, the Cowboys fell to fifth place behind the Meycauayan Marilao Gems (13-10) and barely ahead of the Pasay Voyagers (12-11) in the race for the top four spots that carry the homecourt advantage in the quarterfinal playoffs.
The Honolulu, Hawaii-born Robinson, a former University of Santo Tomas Growling Tiger, notched 20 points and seven rebounds and clinched Best Player honors over veteran Jay Collado, with 15 points, nine rebounds and two assists; CJ Alattica, with 15 points, six rebounds and two assists; and Alanes, with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists.
Ilagan drew 25 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and two steals from Arth Dela Cruz; 16 points, six rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals from Robby Celiz; 17 points, six assists and five rebounds from Donald Gumaru; and 17 points, four assists and two rebounds from MJ Ayaay.
Rizal batters Imus
The Rizal XentroMall Golden Coolers battered the Imus Yangkee, 102-85, in the second game to improve its mark to 16-8.
Alwyn Alday tallied 21 points and three rebounds, while Jake Gaspay posted 16 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for Rizal, the sixth and last outright playoff qualifier in the South Division.
AJ Coronel contributed 13 points, four rebounds and two blocks, and JP Maguliano 12 points and five rebounds.
Imus, which tumbled to 3-20, got 16 points from JP Belencion, and 14 points each from Ian Pardo and Patrick Dale Beltran.
Quezon City downs Sarangani
The Quezon City Black Bulls subdued the Sarangani 10ACT Marlins, 107-95, in the first game to improve to 10-12 and displace Bataan at eighth place in the North Division.
MJ Joson was named best player after posting 20 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and four steals for Quezon City. He was supported by homegrown Pat Buena, with 19 points, three assists and two rebounds; Rey Publico, with 13 points and nine rebounds; Kobe Monje, with 13 points and six rebounds; and Jessie Sumoda, with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Sarangani skidded to 3-20 despite Leland Estacio's 28 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks; Alex Desoyo's 16 points, eight assists and two rebounds; Migs Pascual's 15 points and two assists; Amdrei Duremdes' 11 points, six rebounds and two assists; and JC Escalambre's 12 points.
The tournament goes to the Quezon City District 2 Gymnasium on Tuesday, featuring games between Negros and Quezon Province at 5 p.m., and Bataan and Marikina at 7 p.m.
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