San Juan and Pasig bested their respective rivals on Friday, May 22, and moved closer to the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season leaders at the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan, Laguna.
The San Juan Knights found the shortcut and routed the Iloilo United Royals, 102-60, in the opener, while Pasig City went through overtime to nip Sarangani 10ACT, 96-93, in the second game.
Binan showed its fiercest form yet and dumped Imus, 131-76, in the nightcap to sustain its climb in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.
Already way ahead, 83-52, San Juan bundled 13 points, sparked by three straight triples by James Kwekuteye, Raul Soyud and Reyland Torres, to seal its fourth straight win and rise to a 6-1 card.
The Knights trail the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo and the Gensan Warriors, both with 8-0 records, and the Quezon Huskers (5-0), and pace the Abra Solid North Weavers (5-1) in the chase for playoff spots.
AC Soberano hit all of his 15 points from afar and grabbed 4 rebounds to clinch the SportsPlus best player honors over Torres, who tallied 17 points, laced by 5 triples.
Other Knights who delivered were Gerry Abadiano and Terrence Fortea with 12 points each, and Mike Philipps and Patric Sleat with 9 points each, highlighted by one-handed slams for both.
Binan sank an amazing 53 of 100 field goal attempts and led Imus by as many as 58 points (127-69) before coasting to its third straight win and a 6-3 slate.
Riding Pamboy Raymundo’s 18 points in the third quarter, all from long distance, Binan surged ahead, 106-60, and pulled Imus down to 2-7.
Veteran Carlo Lastimosa topscored for Binan with 20 points, but rookie Nic Cabanero was chosen the best player with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists.
