MPBL: Quezon tops South qualifier; Imus catches play-in bus
MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon Huskers subdued the Rizal XentroMall Golden Coolers, 90-74, on Monday to top the elimination phase of the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season South Division at the Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium in Malolos.
Quezon improved its record to 21-4, the same as Binan Tatak Gel, but emerged as the No. 1 qualifier to the quarterfinal playoffs because of its 66-59 victory in their April 21 encounter.
Although the Huskers led throughout, the reigning back-to-back South champions experienced anxious moments as the Golden Coolers crept to within 55-58 after three quarters.
Cholo Anonuevo, however, hit his stride in the fourth quarter with eight points and Christian Pagaran added six, pushing the Huskers out of danger and pulling down the Golden Coolers to 16-9.
MPBL All-Star co-MVP Judel Fuentes led Quezon with 14 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals; followed by Jason Opiso, with 14 points and six rebounds; Anonuevo, with 13 points, six rebounds and four assists; and Pagaran, with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Rizal, which remained the No. 6 qualifier, drew 20 points and eight rebounds from JP Maguliano; 12 points and five assists from Philip Manalang; and 10 points and five assists from Jolo Mendoza.
Gensan trounces Bulacan
The Gensan Warriors started hot and never cooled to beat the Bulacan Kuyas, 102-82, in the nightcap and catch up with the Cebu Greats and the Batangas City Tanduay Athletics at 19-6.
After the tiebreaker, Cebu finished third, and Batangas City fourth, owing to its 76-73 victory over Gensan on September 18.
RJ Minerva paced Gensan with 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists, followed by Hesed Gabo, with 14 points, seven assists, three steals and two rebounds; and Kris Porter with 10 points.
Joshua Fontanilla, Samboy De Leon and JM Versoza supported them with nine points each.
Bulacan, which ended its campaign at 6-19, got 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals from Andre Acop; 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals from Jeremy Cruz; and 11 points and two assists from Benedict Benedictos.
Imus grabs last play-in ticket
The Imus Yangkee bested the Sarangani 10ACT Marlins, 89-84, in the opener to grab the last ticket to the play-in stage.
Imus finished at 4-21, 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, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals for Imus and was named 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 eight rebounds; and homegrown Patrick Dale Beltran, with 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Sarangani drew 21 points, 13 rebounds and five assists from Carl Bryan Lacap; 13 points, five rebounds and two assists from John Cantimbuhan; 10 points, seven assists, four rebounds and two steals from Alex Desoyo; and 15 rebounds, eight points and three assists from Ken Brillantes.
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. (Pool story)
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