Quezon Province leaned on Judel Fuentes to thwart Pasay, 67-59, on Tuesday, Aug. 25, and move closer to South division pacesetter Batangas City in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Pasay Astrodome.
Fuentes fired 25 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to power the Quezon Huskers to a 15-3 record in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 26-team tournament.
The Huskers, triggered by Fuentes’ three straight triples, surged ahead, 62-51. The Voyagers’ Rence Alcoriza answered with three charities, but Fuentes finished the demolition job by scoring Quezon’s last five points against a fallaway jumper by Cyril Gonzales and a triple by Mark Parks.
Fuentes also grabbed 4 rebounds and issued 2 assists to earn the SportsPlus best player honors over Cedric Manzano, who finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks.
“Finally, after two years, we won over them (Voyagers),” said Fuentes, a member of the South selection for the SportsPlus MPBL 2026 All-Stars on Saturday at Ynares Center Montalban in Rizal Province.
Clint Escamis, a prized acquisition from the Mapua Cardinals, contributed 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals for the Huskers, the reigning back-to-back South division champions.
Pasay tumbled to 12-11 in the North division as only Rence Alcoriza found his range with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Steve Nash Enriquez accounted for 9 points and 2 rebounds, but Christian Fajarito, the Voyagers’ Top Gun, was held to 4 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Pasig subdues Manila
Pasig City hit full throttle in the fourth quarter and subdued Manila Batang Quiapo, 108-99, in the opener to remain in contention for an outright playoff slot.
Ahead, 77-70, Pasig banked on Warlo Batac and Jerome Garcia to pull away, 97-75, midway through the final frame before coasting to its 10th win in 20 starts.
Pasig is in seventh place in the North division and could still overtake Pasay and Meycauayan Marilao (12-10) for the sixth spot and an outright stint in the quarterfinal playoffs.
Teams ranked seventh to 10th will have to go through the play-in, with the best two performers completing the playoff cast in both North and South divisions.
Garcia, a homegrown icon, posted 28 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists to edge Batac, with 26 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists, for the best player accolade.
Jerald Bautista supported with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, followed by Jacob Galicia, with 9 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists, and John Felix Corpuz, with 10 points and 2 rebounds.
Also-ran Manila fell to a league-worst 1-22 slate despite Joe Gomez De Liano’s 22 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals; John Ashley Faa’s 22 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals; Alfred Sedillo’s 16 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals; and Mark Doligon’s 10 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists.
The tournament returns to the Batangas City Coliseum on Wednesday, featuring games between Valenzuela and Rizal Province at 5 p.m., and San Juan and Batangas at 7 p.m.
