Gritty Caloocan survives Pampanga

Caloocan proved steady under pressure and stunned Pampanga, 90-87, in the Manny Pacquiao presents 1xBet-Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League 2025 Season at the Orion Sports Complex in Bataan.

Trailing almost the entire game, the Giant Lanterns finally seized the lead, 85-84, as Raymond Binuya bunched seven points against two free throws by Batang Kankaloo Paul Sanga.

It turned out to be a fling with glory as the Batang Kankaloo responded with back-to-back layups by Ronnie Mathias and Jeramer Cabanag, the last with 15.9 seconds left.

Larry Muyang missed from under, got fouled, and converted both charities to move reigning back-to-back champion Pampanga to within 87-88 in the dying seconds.

Sanga, however, canned two more charities with 1.2 seconds left to seal Batang Kankaloo’s eighth win against four losses in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team tournament.

Pampanga saw its six-game run broken and fell to 9-2, trailing pacesetter Nueva Ecija, first-game winner Abra (10-1), San Juan (9-1) and Zamboanga (10-2) in the race for playoff spots.

Sanga posted 19 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, three steals and two assists for Caloocan, which got the biggest lift from Matias with 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Other Batang Kankaloos who delivered for new Caloocan coach Mike Saguiguid, formerly of the Parañaque Patriots, were Rommel Calahat with 17 points, two rebounds and two assists, and Cabanag with 14 points and two assists.

Pampanga drew 24 points, 15 in the third quarter, 12 rebounds and two blocks from Muyang, 16 points, five rebounds and three assists from Binuya, and 10 points plus three rebounds from CJ Delfino.

The Ilagan Isabela Cowboys thwarted the Bataan Risers, 69-67, in the nightcap to level their slate at 6-6.

Allen Mina’s triple with 17.3 seconds left enabled the Cowboys to complete the wire-to-wire victory despite missing injured Top Gun Arthur dela Cruz and converting only nine of 23 free throws.

The Risers threatened at 67-68 following a triple by Hubert Cano with 5.5 ticks to go, but the Cowboys held on as Joshua Guiab made his first free throw and missed the second for the final count.