Caloocan seizes solo MPBL lead as Cebu, Quezon City triumph

MANILA, Philippines — The Caloocan Batang Kankaloo pounded the Valenzuela City Darkhorse without letup and prevailed, 97-58, late Tuesday night to grab the solo lead in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Caloocan Sports Complex.

Exploiting their height and heft advantage, the Batang Kankaloo dominated the boards, 53-38, and converted this to more points in the paint, 46-24, and more second-chance points, 27-6, that shoved them to their eighth straight win in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.

The Batang Kankaloo also applied constant pressure, forcing the Darkhorse to commit 18 turnovers that paved the way for more fast-break points, 26-8, and a huge 90-48 spread with 5:33 left.

Kymani Ladi stood out for Caloocan with 13 points, nine rebounds and three assists, edging Jeff Manday — who finished with 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals — for the Best Player honors.

Rommel Calahat contributed 11 points and four rebounds; Jammer Jamito 10 points and six rebounds; and Antonio Bonsubre 10 rebounds, four points and two blocks as the Batang Kankaloo moved ahead of the GenSan Warriors (7-0) and gained distance from the Quezon Huskets (5-0).

Valenzuela fell to 4-4 as only Jay Collado struck back with 13 points and six rebounds.

Cebu, Quezon City prevail

Cebu sustained its climb with a 96-77 beating of Zamboanga SiKat in the opener, while Quezon City regained traction with a 96-87 victory over Ilagan Isabela in the second game.

The Cebu Greats bundled 14 points, courtesy of Cebuano legend Dondon Hontiveros' two triples and Jonathan Gesalem's back-to-back 3-pointers, to break free, 38-27, en route to their fourth straight win and a 6-2 record.

Cebu's Mark Meneses posted 19 points, highlighted by a one-handed slam, 11 rebounds and two steals, followed by Wowie Escosio with 15 points and five rebounds; Paul Desiderio with 13 points and two rebounds; and Simon Camacho with 10 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two assists.

It was Brian Heruela, however, who emerged the Best Player after piling 15 assists, four points, seven rebounds and two steals for Cebu.

The 48-year-old Hontiveros finished with seven points, three rebounds and three assists, while his 23-year-old son, Ice, chipped in seven points and two rebounds.

Zamboanga absorbed its fourth straight loss and dropped to 1-6 despite Paeng Are's 21-point, nine-rebound, four-assist effort. (Pool story)

Spearheaded by Ryan Costelo, the Quezon City Black Bulls stormed ahead, 61-34, before coasting to their fifth win in 8 starts, the same as the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys, following back-to-back losses.

Costelo wound up with 17 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds, followed by Clark Derige, with 15 points and 9 rebounds, Brian Rosalin, with 14 points and 8 rebounds, and ML Joson, with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

The Cowboys drew 17 points and 4 rebounds from JP Cauilan, 13 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists from Arth Dela Cruz, 13 points and 5 rebounds from Joseph Gabayni, and 10 points each from Jayboy Solis and Kyle Paranada.

The tournament returns to the Ynares Center Montalban on Wednesday, featuring games between Manila and Pasay at 4 p.m.; Gensan and Negros at 6 p.m.; and host Rizal and Basilan at 8 p.m.