MANILA, Philippines — The Valenzuela City Darkhorse made sure there will be no collapse against the Imus Yangkees on Monday in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the One Arena Cainta in Rizal Province.
Dominating from the start and hot till the end, Valenzuela battered Imus, 129-97, in the opener to check its skid and bolster its playoff drive in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 27-team tournament.
With six players, headed by Geremy Robinson Jr., in double figures, the Darkhorse led as far as 127-95 in breaking three frustrating losses and raising their record to 9-10, good for the ninth spot in the North division.
The 6-foot-2 Robinson came within sight of a triple-double with 22 points, spiked by four triples, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks to capture the SportsPlus best player honors over veteran Jay Collado, with 20 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
"We just wanted to come back today and come back strong," said Robinson, a former University of Santo Tomas Growling Tiger. "That's why my attitude was just to attack and keep pushing myself."
Other Darkhorses who hit their stride were JR Olegario, with 13 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds; Justin Alano, with 13 points and 5 rebounds; homegrown Nick Baluyot, with 11 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals; and Nico Mamaradlo, with 11 points and 7 rebounds.
In their last three games against Marikina, Batangas, and Pasig, respectively, Valenzuela was ahead for the majority of the time, only to falter in the last quarter.
Imus tumbled to 2-16 despite JM Marquez's 28 points and 7 rebounds, and Paul Christian Ferrer's 12 points and 3 rebounds.
The tournament returns to the Orion Sports Complex on Tuesday, featuring games between Imus and Valenzuela at 4 p.m., Abra and Bacolod at 6 p.m., and Marikina and Ilagan Isabela at 8 p.m. TMT
