Bataan and Gensan cruised to victories on Thursday, April 23, and shared top spot in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Orion Sports Complex in Bataan.
The Bataan Risers led throughout and trounced the Bulacan Kuyas, 102-68, in the nightcap to keep in step with the Gensan Warriors, who banked on a scoring binge to batter the Marikina Shoemasters, 81-64, in the opener.
The Risers and the Warriors posted their third straight win, matching the record of the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.
Egged on by the hometown crowd, the Risers pulled away, 73-45, after three quarters and padded the lead as far as 102-64 in the homestretch.
Homegrown Yves Sazon posted 19 points and 4 rebounds, Mitchelle Maynes 11 points and 4rebounds, Alex Ramos 9 points and 2 rebounds, and Dante Paguio and Chris Javier 8 points each. Dinalupihan Councilor Gary David, Alfred Roces and Edrian Ramirez joined the offensive onslaught with 7 points each.
Bulacan tumbled to 1-2 despite Andrei Acop and Jeremy Cruz splitting 34 points, and Kent Montalvo notching 13 points and 6 rebounds.
Marikina surged ahead, 15-4, but Gensan countered with a crippling 26-2 run bridging the second and third quarters to take control, 30-17, and never let go.
Gensan’s Anton Eusebio pumped in seven of his 16 points in that breakaway, followed by Jeepy Faundo with 5 points and Marwin Dionisio with 4 points.
The 6-foot-5 Eusebio, a Fil-Canadian winger from the College of St. Benilde Blazers, added 7 rebounds and 2 assists to clinch the SportsPlus best player honors over Kris Porter, who finished with 17 points and 2 rebounds.
Other Warriors who delivered were Marwin Dionisio with 9 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists, Nelo Santos, with 9 points and 4 rebounds, and Val Accuna, with 9 points, all from triples, and 4 rebounds.
