MANILA, Philippines — The Imus Yangkee bested the Sarangani 10ACT Marlins, 89-84, on Monday to grab the last ticket to the play-in stage of the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium in Malolos.
Imus finished with a 4-21 record, good for the 10th spot in the South Division, and will tangle with ninth-ranked Zamboanga Sikat in the play-in involving teams ranked seventh to 10th after the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 26-team tournament.
The winner between Imus and Zamboanga will then dispute the eighth and last playoff slot with the loser of the other play-in game between seventh-ranked Mindoro and No. 8 Basilan. The winner of the Mindoro-Zamboanga tussle advances outright to the quarterfinal playoffs.
Sarangani closed its campaign this year with a 3-22 record.
Joseph Marquez, a 6-foot-3 forward out of Our Lady of Fatima University, posted 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals for Imus and was named the SportsPlus best player.
Other Yangkees who delivered were Ian Pardo, with 16 points, including three game-clinching free throws in the last 8.7 seconds; homegrown Paul Christian Ferrer, with 13 points and 8 rebounds; and homegrown Patrick Dale Beltran, with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.
Sarangani drew 21 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists from Carl Bryan Lacap; 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists from John Cantimbuhan; 10 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals from Alex Desoyo; and 8 points, 15 rebounds and 3 assists from Ken Brillantes.
Imus benefited from the MPBL's revocation of the Iloilo United Royals' franchise and the banning of the Bacolod MassKara officials and players, and the suspension of their franchise for alleged game-fixing.
The tournament returns to the Pasay Astrodome on Tuesday, featuring games between Caloocan and Zamboanga at 3 p.m., Pasay City and Pasig City at 5 p.m., and Valenzuela City and Quezon City at 7 p.m. TMT
