Quezon goes for kill in MPBL South Finals
MANILA, Philippines — Quezon Province shoots for the title while Binan Tatak Gel fights for life on Friday in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season South Division Finals at the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan, Laguna.
Game time is 6:30 p.m.
The Quezon Huskers repeated the win over the Lagunenses, 81-67, on Wednesday to take a 2-1 lead and seize momentum in the best-of-five series.
With Judel Fuentes, Jolo Manansala, Joshua Yerro and Cyrus Tabi at the helm, Quezon surged ahead 37-22 early in the second quarter.
Binan caught up at 54-54 through Nic Cabanero and Kenny Rocacurva, but Quezon regained control at 69-59 and never yielded the lead, matching its breezy 74-54 victory in Game 2 at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
Binan won the opener, 83-74, played at the Ynares Sports Arena,
Fuentes top-scored for Quezon with 15, followed by Manansala with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Yerro with 13 and 4 rebounds.
Tabi, however, was chosen Best Player with 18 assists, six points, seven rebounds and two steals that steadied the Huskers throughout.
Poor free-throw shooting haunted Binan as the Lagunenses converted only 16 of 37 attempts for 43.2%. In contrast, the Huskers canned 15-of-18 for 83.3 percent.
Binan also shot poorly from long distance, drilling only 5 of 27 triple tries, against Quezon's 8-of-22.
For Binan to level the series, it must fare better from the charity stripe and beyond the arc, and prevent Quezon from dominating the shaded lane again (53-39.
Last year's South Finals went the full route, with Quezon prevailing over Binan, 3-2, to retain the division crown.
The Huskers, back-to-back runners-up, will be banking on Fuentes, Yerro, Tabi, Manasala, Cholo Anonuevo, Mon Abundo, Ced Manzano, Christian Pagaran, Jason Opiso and Mike Canete in their bid to shorten the series.
Binan drew 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals from Nic Cabanero, who made only four of 12 charities; and 10 points and six rebounds from Michael Mabulac, who sustained an injury in the fourth quarter.
Mabulac became the fourth member of the MPBL 2,000-point club, joining John Wilson, Yves Sazon and Alwyn Alday.
The South Division champion will meet the winner of the North Division Finals between Abra Solid North and San Juan in the best-of-seven National Finals.
The Abra Weavers lead 2-0 and will try to sweep the San Juan Knights in Game 3 on Saturday at the Ynares Center Montalban, Rizal Province. (Pool story)
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