The San Juan Knights subdued the Cebu Greats, 81-73, on Thursday, April 16, to gain a share of the lead in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Pasay Astrodome.
Coveted recruit Mike Phillips lived up to hype in his debut, complementing the efforts of Gerry Abadiano and Michael Calisaan and handing the Knights their second straight win in as many starts in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.
The 6-foot-8 Phillips, former superstar of the De La Salle Green Archers, posted 9 points, 15 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block to clinch the SportsPlus best player award over Abadiano, with 15 points and 2 rebounds, and Calisaan, with 12 points and 5 rebounds.
Phillips said he was glad to play alongside his former rivals and now fellow Knights Abadiano, Harold Alarcon, Reyland Torres and Terrence Fortea, all former University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons.
Alarcon finished with 8 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists, while Torres wound up with 7 points and 4 rebounds to help San Juan catch Caloocan at the top.
Other Knights who delivered were Orland Wamar with 8 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds, and AC Soberano, with 8 points.
Back-to-back triples by Alarcon and Abadiano pushed the Knights ahead, 28-23, and padded the lead to 44-29 by halftime.
Cebu greeted the fourth quarter with a 10-point cluster behind Andrey Armenion and Brian Heruela, but couldn’t sustain the fire as Abadiano, Phillips and Calisaan struck back, 76-62.
The Greats fell to 1-1 despite Mark Meneses’ 17-point, 17-rebound, 2-assist output, Heruela’s 12-point, 5-rebound, 4-assist effort, Wowie Escosio’s 11 points and 6 rebounds, and Paul Desiderio’s 10 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds.
The tournament returns to the One Arena Cainta on Friday, featuring games between Gensan and Mindoro at 4 p.m., Bulacan against Batangas at 6 p.m., and Meycauayan against Manila at 8 p.m.
