MANILA, Philippines — Caloocan pulled away from its pursuers while Cebu and Ilagan Isabela sustained their climb in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season on Tuesday at the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan, Laguna.
The Caloocan Batang Kankaloo breezed past Manila Batang Quiapo, 130-91, in the opener to raise their record to 14-1 in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.
The Cebu Greats met stiff resistance and went through overtime to subdue the Bulacan Kuyas, 85-80, in the second game, while the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys outgunned the Paranaque Patriots, 104-79, in the nightcap.
Wowie Escosio bundled six points while Ice Hontiveros soared for the rebound and put the ball in for the final count that handed Cebu its fourth straight win and an 11-3 slate.
The 6-foot-4 Escosio posted 14 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals to clinch the SportsPlus best player honors over Alfrancis Tamsi, with 14 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, and Dhon Reverente, with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 2 assists.
Other Greats who delivered were Mark Meneses with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks, Simon Camacho with 6 points and 10 rebounds, and Hontiveros, with 7 points and 6 rebounds.
Cebu could have won outright, but Alvin Baetiong missed two attempts underneath in the last 3.5 seconds, sending the game intoextensionat 76-76.
Bulacan, which tumbled to 4-9, got 17 points and 10 rebounds from Jeremy Cruz, 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals from Joshua Moralejo, and 16 points plus 3 assists from Airohn Acop.
With 14 Batang Kankaloo scoring two points or more, Caloocan led as far as 108-58 in breaking away from Abra Solid North (11-1) and San Juan (10-1) in the chase for playoff berths in the North division.
Jeramer Cabanag tallied 20 points, highlighted by a perfect 4 of 4 from the 3-point zone, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, and was picked the best player over Jammer Jamito, who posted 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Other Batang Kankaloo who delivered were Rommel Calahat with 16 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, Kymani Ladi with 11 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, Joseph Manlangit with 11 points and 5 rebounds, and Jeff Manday with 10 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds.
Manila fell to 2-12 despite John Ashley Faa's 25 points, 7 assists and 2 rebounds, Jo Gomez De Liano's 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists, and Jan Baltazar's 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
Ilagan Isabela sped away at 102-71 before cruising to its fourth straight win and rising to 9-5.
JP Cauilan paced the Cowboys with 17 points, followed by Arth Dela Cruz with 14, and Don Gumaru, Allen Mina and Gabe Capacio with 9 each.
Paranaque slumped to 1-15 as only Marlon Monte struck back with 27 points and 6 rebounds.
The tournament returns to the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig on Wednesday, featuring games between Bataan and Quezon City at 4 p.m., and Rizal and Negros at 6 p.m. TMT
