MANILA, Philippines — The Cebu Greats routed Manila Batang Quiapo, 128-93, on Monday to extend their upward drive in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Novadeci Convention Center in Novaliches, Quezon City.
With six Greats posting double-digits, Cebu allowed Manila to score the first basket before bunching 10 points, capped by back-to-back triples from Mark Meneses and Paul Desiderio, and gaining control the rest of the way for its fifth straight win and a 7-2 record in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.
Bracketed in the South Division, Cebu trails Gensan (8-0) and Quezon Province (6-0) in the chase for playoff spots.
The 6-foot-4, high-flying Meneses tallied 20 points, 11 rebounds and 2 assists, but yielded the SportsPlus best player honors to Dhon Reverente, who registered 14 points, 17 rebounds and 4 assists.
Belying his 6-foot-1 frame, Reverente teamed up with Meneses and Kint Ariar to rule the boards, 66-35, and give Cebu more points in the paint, 64-52, and second chances, 30-8.
Ariar, a former Letran Knight, contributed 12 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists, followed by Ron Dennison with 14 points, Ice Hontiveros, with 10 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds, and Jonathan Ralf Gesalem, with 10 points.
Next up for Cebu is Gensan on Friday, May 29.
Manila tumbled to 1-8 despite John Ashley Faa's 23 points, 7 steals and 7 rebounds, Alfred Sedillo's 21 points and 6 assists, and Mark Doligon's 13 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
The MPBL returns to the One Arena Cainta on Tuesday, featuring games between Rizal and Marikina at 4 p.m., Batangas and Bacolod at 6 p.m., and Bataan and Meycauayan at 8 p.m. TMT
