Caloocan Batang Kankaloo subdued Ilagan Isabela, 100-91, in coast-to-coast fashion on Saturday to grab the solo lead in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the One Arena Cainta in Rizal Province.
Powered by Jeff Manday, the Batang Kankaloo surged ahead, 31-9, then thwarted the Cowboys’ repeated rallies to notch their ninth straight win in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.
Hitting 5 triples, Manday tallied all but two of his 23 points in the first half, before Kymani Ladi and Eric Camson took over in the second to pull the Cowboys down to their third straight defeat and a 5-4 record.
Manday also handed out 4 assists to clinch the SportsPlus best player honors over Ladi, who poured in 11 points in the last 20 minutes to finish with 15 on top of 4 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals.
Jammer Jamito contributed 15 points and 7 rebounds, and Camson wound up with 11 points and 3 rebounds for Caloocan, which moved ahead of Gensan (8-0) and widened its gap over Quezon Province (5-0) in the chase for playoff slots.
With Manday sinking 5 of 8, and Jielo Razon and Camson going 2 for 2, the Cowboys converted 11 of 23 triple tries for a high 47.8 percent conversion rate.
Jerie Pingoy found his mark in the second half, pumping in 17 of his 19 points, laced by 5 triples, and together with Arth Dela Cruz and Alex Cabagnot reduced the Cowboys’ deficit to 9 at the end.
Cabagnot notched 16 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals, while Donald Gumaru chalked up 11 points and 2 assists for the Cowboys.
The tournament resumes at the Novadeci Sports Complex in Novaliches, Quezon City, on Monday, featuring games between Manila and Cebu at 4 p.m., Gensan and Pasay at 6 p.m., and Quezon Province and Bulacan at 8 p.m.
Caloocan subdues Ilagan Isabela, gains solo lead
