Batangas, Meycauayan, Gensan join pacesetters

Batangas, Meycauayan Marilao and Gensan hurdled their rivals on Friday and joined the SportsPlus Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League 2026 Season pacesetters at the One Arena in Cainta, Rizal.

The Batangas City Tanduay Athletics led throughout in an 85-75 victory over the Bulacan Kuyas in the second game, while the Meycauayan Marilao Gems let Manila Batang Quiapo briefly take control before going full throttle and prevailing, 82-67, in the nightcap.

The Athletics and the Gems notched their second straight wins in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.

They tied the Gensan Warriors, 87-70, conquerors of the Mindoro Tamaraws in the opener.

Also with 2-0 cards are powerhouses San Juan and Caloocan.

Powered by Anton Eusebio, a 6-foot-5 Filipino-Canadian from the College of St. Benilde Blazers, Gensan pulled away at 78-58 to stay.

Eusebio posted 20 points, four rebounds and two steals to clinch the SportsPlus best player award over veteran Marwin Dionisio, Kyle Tolentino and Nelo Santos.

Dionisio notched 12 points and 3 rebounds, Tolentino 11 points, seven rebounds and two assists, and Santos 10 points, five rebounds and five assists.

The Tamaraws led, 23-22, after the first quarter, but the Warriors clustered 12 points at the start of the second to break free, 32-23.

The Warriors played more cohesively, committing 13 turnovers against the Tamaraws' 20, and translated this advantage to more fastbreak points, 23-12.

Mindoro, which dropped to 1-1, got 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists from homegrown JC Recto, and 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists from veteran Bambam Gamalinda.

Ino Comboy led five Athletics in double figures with 16 points, spiked by four triples, seven assists and three rebounds. High-flyer Rhinwill Yambing followed with 15 points, two assists and two steals, Jhan Nermal with 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks, Ved Ablaza with 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Kraniel Viloria with 10 points, two rebounds and two assists.

The Athletics converted 11 of 25 triple attempts (44 percent) to compensate for their woeful 4 of 9 performance (44 percent) from the charity stripe.

The Kuyas tumbled to 1-1 despite Benedict Benedictos' 20 points, four rebounds and two steals, Mon Dizon's 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals, and Kenneth Castillo's 11 points, nine rebounds and two steals.