MANILA, Philippines — The Cebu Gems rebounded while the Bataan Risers gained ground on Saturday in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Orion Sports Complex in Bataan.
Powered by Alvin Baetiong in the second half, Cebu battered Pasig City, 108-86, in the opener to regain traction after back-to-back losses at home last week.
Bataan trounced Negros, 114-82, in the nightcap to tally its second straight victory and improve to 8-11, still within sight of a playoff spot in the North division.
Miggy Corteza paced Bataan with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists, followed by Jeff Santos with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals, Yves Sazon with 13 points, Rhaffy Octobre with 11 points and 2 rebounds, and Hubert Cani with 10 points and 3 assists.
Negros stumbled to 1-16, the worst in the two-division, 27-team tournament, despite the 22-point, 6-rebound, 2-assist effort of Reymar Caduyac, and the 20-point, 9-rebound output of Michael Alvarez.
The burly Baetiong, a 6-foot-5 banger from San Sebastian College-Recoletos, scored nine in the third quarter and added 12 in the fourth as the Gems led as far as 99-73 before cruising to their 15th win in 20 starts and keeping fourth spot, behind Batangas City (15-2), Quezon Province (15-2) and Binan (15-3) in the South division playoff chase.
Playing against his former team, Baetiong ended up with 23 points and 7 rebounds in an 18-minute, 50-second stint to earn the SportsPlus best player citation over Ron Dennison, who had 15 points, 12 in the second quarter, 5 rebounds and 2 assists; and Limuel Tampos, with 12 points, 4 assists and 2 rebounds.
"I just did what my coaches told me to do," said Baetiong. "We really need to step up because of Simon (Camacho's) absence."
Pasig managed to lessen the gap, 86-101, following two straight triples by Jerome Garcia, but Cebu countered with a 7-point salvo, capped by back-to-back triples by Dondon Hontiveros and Ichie Altamirano, for the final count.
Pasig skidded to 9-7, putting to waste Jacob Galicia's 17 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists, Keith Pido's 14 points, 7 assists and 2 rebounds, Michael Lambino's 14 points and 6 rebounds, and Warlo Batac's 12 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
Pasig remained at fifth place in the North, trailing Abra (16-1), San Juan (15-1), Caloocan (17-2), and Ilagan Isabela (12-7).
Imus stuns Marikina
The Imus Yangkees pounced on the Marikina Shoemasters' charity misses to prevail, 110-108, in the second game and improved to 3-16.
Marikina flubbed six of nine free throws in the homestretch, including a probable game-extender by Jomel Landayan with 12.1 seconds left, and dropped to 7-13.
Noel Santos chalked up 22 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 steals to capture best player honors over Dylan Darbin, with 26 points and 6 rebounds, and Joseph Mark Marquez, with 24 points and 6 rebounds.
Marikina got 15 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists from Alvin Pasaol, 18 points and 2 steals from Landayan, and 17 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals from Jordan Sta. Ana.
The tournament visits the Villar Coliseum in Las Pinas on Monday, featuring games between Meycauayan and Mindoro at 3 p.m., Binan and Valenzuela at 5 p.m., and Sarangani and Manila at 7 p.m. TMT
