MANILA, Philippines — Basilan Steel leaned on veteran gunner John Wilson to subdue Negros, 97-86, on Friday and boost its bid for a playoff seat in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Bulacan Capitol Gym in Malolos.
Right after a Basilan timeout, Wilson drilled in a triple with 1 minute and 47 seconds left to break Negros' 13-point run, the first seven by Flever Dignadice, and secure the Steel's 12th win against 11 losses in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 26-team tournament.
Lodged at eighth place in the South division, Basilan can still catch up with No. 6 Rizal Province (13-7) and No. 7 Mindoro (11-9) in the race for quarterfinal slots.
The top six in both South and North divisions will qualify outright to the playoffs, with the teams ranked seventh to 10th relegated to the play-in for the last two quarterfinal seats.
Wilson wound up with 28 points, spiked with six triples, 6 rebounds and 2 assists to clinch the SportsPlus best player honors over Gab Cometa, who finished with 14 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals, and Toto Villarias, with 14 points and 5 assists.
"We need to win as we're still in the running for the sixth spot," said Wilson, the 2019 MVP and first member of the MPBL's 1,000-point and 2,000-point clubs.
Basilan surged ahead, 92-73, after Neil Owens canned a triple with 4 minutes left.
Just when the fans were headed to the exits, however, Flever Dignadice bunched seven points to spark a 13-point avalanche that shoved Negros within 86-92.
Basilan sued for time, and Wilson delivered the dagger three, 95-86, Negros tumbled to 1-20 despite DJ Howe's 21 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, Michael Alvarez's 18 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals, Rev Diputado's 12 points and 3 assists, and Dignadice's 10 points plus 4 rebounds.
The tournament returns to the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan, Laguna on Saturday, featuring games between Valenzuela and Abra at 3 p.m., Ilagan Isabela and Rizal at 5 p.m., and San Juan and Binan at 7 p.m. TMT
