MANILA, Philippines — The Ilagan Isabela Cowboys try to boost their bid for a top-four finish when they tangle with the Valenzuela City Darkhorse at 7 p.m. on Monday in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Paco Arena in Manila.
The Cowboys tote a 13-win, 10-loss record, and a win over the Darkhorse will shove them ahead of the Meycauayan Marilao Gems (also 13-10) in the race for the fourth spot in the North division, which carries the homecourt advantage in the quarterfinal playoffs.
Regardless of the result, Valenzuela, with its 9-15 slate, is assured of 10th place and a play-in stint in the North division. The play-in involves teams ranked seventh to 10th after the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 26-team tournament.
Other games pit Quezon City (9-12) against Sarangani 10ACT (3-19) at 3 p.m., and Rizal Xentromall (15-8) at 5 p.m.
Rizal is assured of sixth place and an outright playoff berth in the South, while Quezon City is assured of the 9th spot and a play-in stint in the North.
Sarangani and Imus are disputing the 10th and last play-in slot in the South division.
Meanwhile, Binan Tatak Gel bested Cebu, 80-74, in an exhibition game played Saturday at the Polomolok Gymnasium in South Cotabato.
The Gensan Warriors beat the Quezon Huskers, 84-67, in the first regular season game, while Binan won by forfeiture over Caloocan, 20-0, in the second game.
The Cebu Greats, on very short notice, stepped in against Binan to entertain the over 8,000 crowd, which was delighted by the appearance of MPBL Founder and Chairman Manny Pacquiao. TMT
