Valenzuela City blew a big lead, but recovered in time to beat Sarangani 10ACT, 77-72, and gain traction in the SportsPlus Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League 2026 Season late Friday at the Paco Arena.

Ahead by as far as 50-25, the Valenzuela Darkhorse turned cold, allowing the Marlins to seize control at 68-64 following a nine-point cluster sparked by Ken Brillantes.

Filipino-American Geremy Robinson Jr., along with JR Olegario and Val Chauca, however, averted a Valenzuela disaster, scoring all of his seven points in an 11-2 run that pushed the Darkhorse back on top, 75-70, with 1:30 left.

Chauca chalked up 24 points, six rebounds and six assists to clinch the SportsPlus Best Player award and hand Valenzuela its first win after back-to-back losses in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.

Veteran Jay Collado posted 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Olegario contributed 11 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.

With Chauca drilling five three-pointers and Olegario three, Valenzuela converted 11 of 25 attempts from long distance, achieving a high 44 percent that spelled the difference, as Sarangani could only make 9 of 40 tries for 22.5 percent.

Sarangani, which dropped to 1-2, got 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks from Carl Bryan Lacap, 10 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and two assists from King Destacamento, and 11 points plus six rebounds from Migs Pascual.