The Abra Solid North Weavers flaunted additional firepower and swamped Quezon City Galeries Taipan, 99-77, on Monday to gain solo second in Manny Pacquiao presents 1xBet-MPBL 2025 Season at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
Already a powerhouse, the Weavers added 6-foot-10 Geo Chiu, 6-5 Simon Camacho and 6-foot highflyer Mike Ayonayon to their roster and stormed to their 15th win against one loss in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team tournament.
Abra trails Nueva Ecija (16-0) and tows San Juan (14-1), Zamboanga (14-3) and Quezon Province (12-3) in the race for playoff berths.
Although mainstays Marwin Taywan, with 17 points, 11 assists and 4 steals; Raven Gonzales, with 17 points, 19 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks; Dave Ildefonso, with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists; were Abra’s top performers, Chiu, Ayonayon and Camacho did their share, too.
Chiu, a former Gilas Pilipinas member, posted 10 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks; Ayonayon, 9 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks; and Camacho 3 points and 3 rebounds.
Dominating the boards, 56-34, the Weavers pulled down the Taipans to 4-12 as only Dave Bernabe and Nino Ybanez found their mark with 11 points each.
In other games, the Gensan Warriors thwarted the Pasay Voyagers, 79-73, in the nightcap to climb to 11-6 in the chase for playoff spots, while the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo trounced Manila Batang Quiapo, 110-92, in the opener.
With Kyle Tolentino notching 20 points, laced by four triples, and 5 rebounds, the Warriors led as far as 99-74 en route to their fifth straight win and an 11-6 slate.
Nico Elorde provided support with 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals; and so did Marwin Dionisio with 10 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Pasay, which dropped to 10-8, got 15 points and 2 rebounds from Felipe Chavez, Jasper Salenga 13 points plus 2 rebounds, and Cyrus Tabi with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals.
Jeff Manday posted 26 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds to power Caloocan to its 12th win against 5 losses and earn best player honors.
Jeramer Cabanag supported with 19 points and 4 rebounds, followed by Paul Sanga with 14 points and 2 rebounds, Joshua Flores with 10 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, and Antonio Bonsubre with 6 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists.
Manila absorbed its 15th straight defeat after an initial win despite Achie Inigo’s triple-double of 25 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds plus 4 steals; Decoy Lopez’s 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists; and Stephen Torralba’s 11 points plus 2 rebounds.
MPBL: Abra gains solo 2nd; GenSan, Caloocan win
