MANILA, Philippines — The Gensan Warriors trounced the Sarangani 10ACT Marlins, 108-89, on Tuesday to share third place in the South division of the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Paco Arena in Manila.
With guards Mark Cruz and Hesed Gabo at the helm, the Warriors surged ahead, 87-65, before cruising to their 18th win in 23 starts in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 26-team tournament.
Cruz, the reigning 3-point king, posted 18 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds, while MPBL All-Star Gabo, back after a one-game absence, pooled 17 points, 8 assists and 3 rebounds to clinch the SportsPlus best player honors.
Gensan caught up with Batangas City in the jostling for the four top slots that carry the homecourt advantage in the quarterfinal playoffs.
Binan Tatak Gel (21-4) and reigning division champion Quezon Province (19-4) are assured of top four spots in the South.
Eloie Tan supported with 10 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds, followed by Anton Eusebio, who also missed Gensan's previous game, with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
Sarangani skidded to 3-21, but is still in the running for the last play-in slot in the South.
The Marlins and the Imus Yangkee (also 3-21) will dispute 10th place on Monday at the Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium in Malolos.
Sarangani drew 25 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists from Leland Estacio, 13 points and 10 rebounds from Carl Bryan Lacap, 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists from John Cantimbuhan, 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists from Alex Desoyo, and 10 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks from Andrei Duremdes.
The tournament returns to the Paco Arena on Tuesday, featuring games between Bulacan and San Juan at 3 p.m., Zamboanga and Quezon at 5 p.m., and Batangas City and Caloocan at 7 p.m. TMT
