THE Gensan Warriors repelled the Valenzuela Darkhorse's repeated assaults in the fourth quarter to prevail, 83-79, and share the lead in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the One Arena Cainta in Rizal province.
Marwin Dionisio, Adi Santos and Joshua Fontanilla joined forces to counter Valenzuela's three-time takeover of the front seat, the last at 79-78 following a triple by Jay Collado.
The Darkhorse couldn't score after that, however, while Santos made three of four charities and Fontanilla scored on a follow-up to hand the Warriors their sixth straight win, the same as Caloocan Batang Kankaloo, in the round-robin elimination phase of the 28-team tournament.
Val Acuña tallied 18 points and 2 rebounds, while Hesed Gabo posted 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists to clinch the SportsPlus best player honors.
Other Warriors who delivered were Adi Santos, with 10 points and 3 rebounds, Mark Cruz, with 10 points and 3 rebounds, and Joshua Fontanilla, with 8 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists.
Valenzuela saw its three-win run snap and dropped to 3-3 despite Shaq Alanes' 14 points and 4 rebounds, Collado's 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, and Valandre Chauca's 12 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds.
Gensan, which did not field Anton Eusebio and Kris Porter, had a hard time as another gunner, Kyle Tolentino, sustained a knee injury early in the game and was stretchered out. TMT
