Rizal pulls off MPBL upset win over San Juan in overtime
MANILA, Philippines — Rizal XentroMall stunned San Juan, 94-89, in overtime on Monday to rock the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the One Arena in Cainta, Rizal.
Billy Robles, dubbed the "Ilonggo Superman”, and veteran Mark Yee shone as Rizal rebounded from back-to-back losses and handed powerhouse San Juan its first loss in three games.
Trailing 72-79 with 6:39 left, the Golden Coolers unloaded 11 points, the last six from Robles, while holding the Knights to four, including Patrick Sleat's game-extending drive at 83-all.
Robles opened up the extra period with a triple, while Mike Phillips strung up six points to push the Knights back on top, 89-88.
The Knights couldn't score after that, however, while Yee canned a short jumper and made two free throws for a 92-89 Rizal lead with 8.9 seconds left.
San Juan sued for time, and in the ensuing play, James Kwekuteye missed a potential game-tying triple, and Rizal's Joel Lee Yu sprinted back home for the final count.
Robles finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists and was named Best Player.
"We helped each other. We never gave up," said Robles, referring to the time Rizal was down, 47-62, in the third quarter.
Other Golden Coolers who turned hot were Yu with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists; Marco Balagtas with 14 points and five rebounds; Jake Gaspay with 12 points and 10 rebounds; JP Sarao with 10 points and three rebounds; and Yee with 10 points plus three rebounds.
The 6-foot-8 Phillips was his dominant self with 15 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks, but his three free throw misses, one in the homestretch and two in overtime, may have altered the course of the game.
San Juan got 14 points and two assists from Terrence Fortea, and 13 points, three assists and two rebounds from Harold Alarcon.
Sarangani 10ACT survived Bacolod's final flurry and prevailed, 96-94, in the opener, while Imus rallied to beat Iloilo, 71-63, in the nightcap.
Eroll Soriano poured in 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to power the Imus Yangkees, who got left behind, 26-46, but hit full throttle in the homestretch to climb to 1-1.
Ralph Robin supported Soriano with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists, followed by Jordan Rios with nine points, five rebounds and two assists.
Iloilo fell to 0-2 as only Levi Hernandez struck back with 37 points, 16 rebounds and two assists.
Cruising home with a 95-80 spread, 2:48 left, the Marlins got comfortable and were held to a free throw by the Masskaras, who dropped 14 points in that span, for the shaky victory that leveled their slate at 1-1.
Carl Bryan Lacap tallied 20 points, spiked by five triples, four rebounds and two assists, for Sarangani, which led as far as 53-42, late in the second quarter.
But it was Andre Duremdes who was chosen the Best Player after posting 11 points, 11 rebounds and two assists.
King Destacamento contributed 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, while Lacap chipped in 11 points and two rebounds for Sarangani.
Bacolod tumbled to 1-1 despite another stellar performance from Ian Melencio, who notched 37 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and three steals. The feisty guard pooled 34 points, 18 assists, seven rebounds and three steals in Bacolod's come-from-behind 111-105 victory over Imus on April 14.
The Masskaras also got 21 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks from Hance Lleva.
The tournament returns to the Caloocan Sports Complex on Tuesday, featuring games between Quezon Province and Binan at 4 p.m.; Abra Solid North against Paranaque at 5 p.m.; and Caloocan against Mindoro at 8 p.m.
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