Caloocan quelled Pasay’s repeated rallies and prevailed, 82-74, on Thursday to retain top spot in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Pasay Astrodome.
The Voyagers threatened twice, the last at 75-73, but the Batang Kankaloo countered through Kylani Ladi in the dying seconds to tally their 11th straight victory in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.
Kymani Ladi tallied 15 points, highlighted by a two-handed slam with 44.7 seconds left, 8 rebounds and 3 assists to push the Batang Kankaloo farther ahead of the Quezon Huskers (8-0) in the overall race for playoff spots.
The 6-foot-8 former Ateneo Blue Eagle star earned the SportsPlus best player honors over Jielo Razon, with 13 points and 2 assists, Cris Bitoon with 10 points, 4 steals and 2 assists, and Eric Camson, with 11 points.
In other games, Cebu subdued the Valenzuela City, 89-70, and climbed to 8-3, while Rizal XentroMall clobbered Bacolod, 107-72, improve to 6-4.
Ahead by eight at halftime, the Rizal Golden Coolers stormed ahead, 83-55, as Alwyn Alday and Jolo Mendoza poured in 10 points each and outscored the entire Maskarras in the third quarter.
Top Gun Mark Meneses posted 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists for Cebu, which converted more than half of its field goal attempts, 37 of 71, against Valenzuela’s 25 of 72.
Meneses got support from Ron Dennison with 17 points and 2 rebounds, Wowie Escosio with 14 points and 8 rebounds, Simon Camacho and Alfrancis Tamsi with 9 points each, and Cebuano legend Dondon Hontiveros with 8 points.
