Quezon Province trounced Ilagan Isabela, 85-64, on Tuesday, Feb. 24, to share the Group B lead in the 2026 MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Preseason Invitational at the Paco Arena in Manila.
The Quezon Huskers, with recruits Will McAloney, John Abate and Cedric Manzano at the helm, cruised to their fourth straight win and caught up with the San Juan Knights in the race for playoff berths in the two-group, 18-team tournament preceding the MPBL Eighth Season.
McAloney, a former star of the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards, tallied 11 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists; Abate, a former University of the East Red Warriors skipper, posted 10 points and 3 steals; while Manzano, a former Adamson Falcons standout, contributed 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Eleven other Huskers scored two or more, showing their readiness to defend their back-to-back South Division crown in the regular season.
The Ilagan Isabela Five Star Cowboys fell to 2-5 as only Bong Galanza scored in twin digits with 12, followed by Joseph Gabayni and Allen Mina with 9 each.
Pasay City weathered Muntinlupa’s final assault to prevail, 62-56, and climb to 2-1.
The Pasay Voyagers clustered 9 points to pull away, 55-40, only to be rattled as Agem Miranda sparked a fierce comeback by the Cagers, who threatened at 56-59 with 39.6 seconds left.
Pasay’s Steve Nash Enriquez, however, drilled in a triple with 15.6 seconds to seal Muntinlupa’s second loss in four outings despite Miranda’s 17-point, 8-rebound, 2-assist effort.
Cyril Gonzales led Pasay with 16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals, followed by Cristian Fajarito with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, and Enriquez with 8 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.
Quezon City tripped Bacolod Masskara, 77-66, in the opener to level its slate at 2-2 in Group A.
Pat Buena led the Black Bulls with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, followed by MJ Joson with 10 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals, and Joeben Loria with 10 points and 6 rebounds.
Bacolod, which tumbled to 0-3, got 13 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 assists from Adven Diputado, 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists from Reil Cervantes, and 10 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists from Arvie Bringas.
The Preseason goes to the Alonte Sports Arena on Wednesday, with games pitting Sarangani against Batangas at 3 p.m., Gensan against Mindoro at 5 p.m., and Abra against host Binan at 7 p.m.
