Quezon, Cebu seize MPBL playoff openers
MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon Huskers and the Cebu Greats took different victory routes in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season South Division quarterfinal round on Wednesday at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
Showing why it's the reigning back-to-back South Division champion, Quezon trounced Zamboanga, 88-55, in the nightcap, while Cebu leaned on Ron Dennison's corner triple with 10.7 seconds left to nip Batangas City, 78-77, in the opener of their best-of-three series.
After a tight first quarter, the Huskers poured in 23 points and held the Zamboanguenos to six and pulled away for good, 41-23, at the break.
Quezon and Cebu shoot for a repeat and a semifinal slot on Wednesday, October 14, when they tangle with the same opponents at the Batangas City Coliseum.
Jolo Manansala posted 15 points, six rebounds and two assists to clinch the SportsPlus Best Player honors over Judel Fuentes, who notched 10 points and two rebounds.
Other Huskers who delivered were Christian Pagaran with nine points; Cholo Anonuevo with eight points, eight rebounds, four steals and two assists; and Joseph Penaredonodo with eight points, three rebounds and two assists.
Zamboanga drew 11 points each from Paeng Are, Levi Hernandez and Brandon Wilson.
Batangas failed to reverse the outcome after Jeckster Apinan, who was left open after a well-executed inbound play, missed from pointblank, and in the ensuing ball scramble, Dennison got fouled with 2.9 seconds to go.
Dennison, a former Far Eastern University Tamaraw, muffed his first free throw and intentionally missed the second, leaving Batangas no time to launch a desperation heave at the final buzzer.
It was a stingy loss for the Athletics as they had crawled back from a 65-75 deficit with 3:28 left by bundling 12 points to seize control at 77-75 with 22 seconds remaining.
Jun Manzo celebrated his return to the Greats' roster by scoring 21 points, including four triples, completing three steals and handing two assists to emerge as the best player over Mark Meneses, who posted 14 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
Dennison finished with 11 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals, followed by Dhon Reverente, with 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
Batangas drew 23 points, spiked with five triples, and five rebounds from Yambing, and 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists from Ablaza.
Batangas blitzed Cebu, 14-0, behind three straight triples by Rhinwill Yambing, but Cebu countered with a 22-2 run, the last five by Meneses, to lead, 22-18, after the first quarter.
Cebu, clustered 11 points to move ahead at halftime, 44-36, but Batangas crept to within 49-51 after an 11-point run, the last eight by Ced Ablaza.
Manzo, however, drilled in back-to-back triples and Simon Camacho scored on a fastbreak to pad the lead, 59-49, only for Ablaza and Kraniel Viloria to bunch six points, ending the third quarter.
The North Division playoffs resume on Friday at the Gov. Andres Bernos Memorial Gymnasium in Bangued, Abra, with games pitting Meycauayan Marilao and Pasay at 5 p.m., and Quezon City and Abra Solid North at 7 p.m. (Pool story)
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