Hontiveros flaunts old form, lifts Cebu

The Cebu Greats and the Pasay Voyagers hurdled their rivals to keep in step with the Quezon City Black Bulls in the SportsPlus Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) 2026 Season at the One Arena Cainta in Rizal Province on Friday.

Powered by homegrown icon Dondon Hontiveros and high-flyer Mark Meneses, Cebu rallied to beat Imus Yangkee, 91-77, in the nightcap, while Pasay breezed past Sarangani 10ACT, 75-58, in the second game, preceding Quezon City’s 102-70 thrashing of the Iloilo United Royals.

Cebu, Pasay and Quezon City tote 4-2 records in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.

Flashing vintage form, the 48-year-old Hontiveros posted 18 points, all from triples, and three assists to clinch the SportsPlus Best Player honors over Meneses, who pooled 16 points, highlighted by a one-handed and two-handed slams, six rebounds, three steals, three blocks and two assists.

Hontiveros, a many-time national player and former Cebu City councilor, also achieved a milestone when he shared the floor with his son, Ice, in the fourth quarter.

They became only the second father-son tandem to see action together in the MPBL, following Marlou Aquino and son Matthew, who played alongside each other for the Bacoor Strikers in the 2019 Season.

Wowie Escosio contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and two assists, Paul Desiderio, 11 points, two rebounds and two assists, and Simon Camacho, 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Trailing at the half, 44-53, Cebu unleashed a crippling 19-1 run featuring Hontiveros and Meneses with six points each, to sway the balance after the third quarter, 77-61.

The Greats, with Ron Dennison taking charge, bunched 10 points to cut loose, 87-67, with 7:10 left and pull Imus down to 2-4.

Imus got 18 points, six rebounds and four assists from Joseph Mark Marquez, 17 points and two assists from Janjan Salazar, 13 points, nine rebounds and two assists from Jordan Rios.