The Abra Solid North Weavers battered the Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters, 74-58, and kept solo top spot in the MPBL 2025 Season on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at the Ynares Center Montalban in Rizal Province.
Dave Ildefonso posted 10 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, Encho Serrano 10 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, and Raven Gonzales 10 points to power the Weavers to their 22nd straight win in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team, two-division tournament.
Abra remained in front of fellow North Division powerhouses Nueva Ecija (24-2) and San Juan (23-2), as well as South Division pacesetter Quezon Province (22-4) in the race for playoff berths.
In other games, the Rizal Xentromall Golden Coolers clobbered the Paranaque Patriots, 121-74, to rise to 17-8, while the Gensan Warriors drubbed the Quezon City Galeries Taipans, 76-61, and improved to 16-10, good for the No. 5 spot in the South Division.
Geo Chiu, the top pick in the recent PBA Draft, contributed 9 points plus 7 rebounds for the Weavers, who ruled the boards, 51-35.
Batangas, despite Levi Hernandez’s 22 points and Dawn Ochea’s 12 points plus 9 rebounds, skidded to 18-9, but kept the second slot behind Quezon in the South.
A short jumper by Mike Ayonayon gave Abra a 39-18 buffer at halftime, which grew as big as 67-38.
Homegrown Inigo Nitura, a former RTU (Rizal Technology University) Blue Thunder, struck the hardest for Rizal with 31 points and 7 rebounds, followed by Eric Camson with 13 points and 6 rebounds while Jeric Serrano with 11 points and 16 rebounds.
Other Golden Coolers who turned hot were Michael Canete with 16 points and 7 rebounds, Eric Camson with 13 points and 6 rebounds, and Samboy De Leon with 13 points and 6 rebounds.
Paranaque slumped to a league-worst 1-24 card despite five players, led by Jomar Santos, scoring in twin digits.
