The Bulacan Kuyas foiled the Sarangani 10ACT Marlins’ final assault to prevail, 80-76, on Tuesday and regain traction in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Paco Arena in Manila.
Carl Ibe canned two charities in the last 7.5 seconds as the Kuyas checked a three-game slide and climbed to a 2-3 card.
Gabriel Espinosa tallied 20 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists to earn the best player honors.
Jeremy Cruz added 18 points and 5 assists, Andrei Acop 17 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals, and Ibe 10 points plus 2 rebounds for Bulacan, which is laden with homegrown players.
Bulacan bundled 6 points opening the fourth quarter to break free from Sarangani, which skidded to 1-3 despite Lars Sunga’s 22 points, 14 rebounds and 2 assists, and Leland Estacio’s 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
The Marlins shot better, converting 29 of 72 attempts for 40.3 percent against only 26 of 76 (36.8 percent) for the Kuyas, but threw away this advantage with their poor performance from the charity stripe, making only 10 of 29 tries for 34.5 percent. The Kuyas managed to sink 17 of 27 freebies for 63 percent.
Other Marlins who delivered were Carl Bryan Lacap with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, and Yvan Ludovice with 12 points, 10 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.
The MPBL returns to the One Arena Cainta on Wednesday, featuring games between Binan and Batangas at 4 p.m., Meycauayan and Negros at 6 p.m., and Rizal and Mindoro at 8 p.m.
