Suns rise anew, outshine Discovery Perlas

Solar Home-Pangasinan set the tone early en route to a bounce-back 77-63 victory over Discovery Perlas in the 2025 Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (WMPBL) regular season presented by Akari late Sunday at the Ynares Sports Arena.

Coming off a narrow 68-71 loss to RK Hoops-Quezon City last week, the Suns delivered a strong start and spoiled the debut of Perlas head coach Derrick Pumaren.

After conceding the first basket of the game, Solar Home-Pangasinan answered with an 11-0 run led by Gabby Bade, Lee Sario, Jeeuel Bartolo, and Aracelie Abaca, capitalizing on Discovery's sluggish start to build early momentum and end the opening quarter with a commanding 22-8 lead.

The Suns held their ground against the Perlas in the second quarter before breaking away in the third, pushing the lead to as much as 20 points, 61-41, after a Lourdes Ordoveza three-pointer with 2:53 left in the period.

Discovery, however, refused to go down quietly, with Allana Lim leading a 9-3 run to open the final quarter and trim the deficit to just 10 points, 64-54, with 5:34 remaining. That was the closest they would get, though, as Solar Home-Pangasinan held firm the rest of the way.

“Of course, we’re happy. We were able to solve everything that we planned, even the smallest details that I reminded them before the game. I’m happy with the progress that the team is showing,” Suns head coach PJ Navarro said.

Sario posted a game-high 19 points built on five triples to go along with nine rebounds to lead Solar Home-Pangasinan to a 1-1 record.

Bade, meanwhile, flaunted her all-around game and flirted with a triple-double after finishing with 18 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds, while Bartolo added 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists in the victory.

Meanwhile, Allana Lim’s impressive 26-point, 12-rebound performance went to waste as Perlas struggled to find their rhythm throughout the game.