Encho Serrano celebrated his 26th birthday in style on Thursday, lifting the Abra Solid North Weavers past the San Juan Knights, 84-77, for the solo lead in the MPBL 2025 Season at the Caloocan Sports Complex.
Serrano, former star of the De La Salle Green Archers, poured in 28 points, 15 in the fourth quarter, as Abra rallied from a 68-74 deficit and posted its 25th win against one loss in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team, two-division tournament.
The Weavers moved ahead of the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards (25-2) and relegated the Knights to the third spot in the North Division with a 25-3 slate.
In other games, the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys hit their target in the second half and beat the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo, 76-53, to finish their regulation campaign with a 15-14 record and the eighth spot in the North Division, while the Gensan Warriors battered the Bulacan Kuyas, 106-62, for a 17-11 record.
The 6-foot Serrano, who added 3 assists, was particularly deadly in the latter half of the second quarter, where he poured in 12 points in a 15-point Abra run, including John Uduba’s triple, that decided the outcome, 83-74, with 25.2 seconds to go.
Dave Ildefonso supported Serrano with 20 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks, and so did Marwin Taywan with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
San Juan got 21 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists from Orlan Wamar, and 13 points plus 7 rebounds from Raul Soyud.
Terrence Tumalip struck hard the Cowboys, who surged ahead, 74-54, with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals; followed by Joshua Marcos with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, and Donald Gumaru with 10 points plus 2 assists.
Caloocan skidded to 18-8 and shared the fifth slot with Pangasinan and Pampanga in the North.
