Caloocan Batang Kankaloo proved steady under pressure and stunned Pampanga, 90-87, on Tuesday in Manny Pacquiao presents 1xBet-MPBL 2025 Season at the Orion Sports Complex in Bataan.
Trailing almost the entire game, the Giant Lanterns finally seized the lead, 85-84, as Raymond Binuya bunched seven points against two free throws by Batang Kankaloo Paul Sanga.
It turned out to be a fling with glory as the Batang Kankalo responded with back-to-back layups by Ronnie Mathias and Jeramer Cabanag, the last with 15.9 seconds left.
Larry Muyang missed from under, got fouled, and converted both charities to move reigning back-to-back champion Pampanga to within 87-88 in the dying seconds.
Caloocan’s Paul Sanga, however, canned two more charities with 1.2 seconds left to seal the Batang Kankaloo’s eighth win against four losses in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team tournament.
Pampanga saw its six-game run broken and fell to 9-2, trailing pacesetter Nueva Ecija, first-game winner Abra (10-1), San Juan (9-1) and Zamboanga (10-2) in the race for playoff spots.
In other games, the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys thwarted the Bataan Risers, 69-67, in the nightcap to level their slate at 6-6, while the Abra Solid North Weavers battered the Bacolod Tubo Slashers, 108-77.
Sanga posted 19 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, 3 steals and 2 assists for Caloocan, which got the biggest lift from Matias with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.
Allen Mina’s triple with 17.3 seconds left enabled the Cowboys to complete the wire-to-wire victory despite missing injured Top Gun Arth Dela Cruz and converting only nine of 23 free throws.
Powered by former Ateneo standout Dave Ildefonso and former La Salle star Joshua David, Abra led by as far as 97-58 in notching its eighth straight win.
The 6-foot-4 Ildefonso posted 28 points,8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals, while the 6-foot David tallied 20 points, laced by five triples, 3 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
The Weavers also ruled the boards, 50-34, behind Uduba and Ildefonso.
Bacolod, which tumbled to 2-7, got 20 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists from Chester Saldua, 17 points from Jaycee Sam Adjei, and 11 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists from Aldave Canoy.
