The Rizal XentroMall Golden Coolers warmed up with each quarter and dumped Manila Batang Quiapo, 115-86, to boost their playoff bid in the SportsPlus Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) 2026 Season on Tuesday at the Orion Sports Complex in Bataan.

With 13 players, headed by Joel Lee Yu, scoring, the Golden Coolers moved beyond reach, 105-76, before cruising to their 11th win against six losses in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 27-team tournament.

The shifty Yu, a former Far Eastern University Tamaraws star, posted 18 points, four rebounds and two assists to earn the SportsPlus Best Player honors over JP Sarao, who had 17 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.

Yu also drilled in a triple with 6 minutes and 35 seconds left to push Rizal ahead, 99-73, and join the MPBL 1,000-point club in his seventh season.

MPBL commissioner Emmer Oreta awarded Yu with the ball he used to score the important points.

Other Golden Coolers who turned hot were Alwyn Alday with 15 points and four rebounds, Laurenz Victoria with 11 points, seven assists, three rebounds and two steals, and Jake Gaspay and Lervin Flores with nine points and nine rebounds.

Marco Balagtas matched Sarao’s 10 rebounds as Rizal dominated the paint and poured in 76 points against 30 for Manila, which fell to 2-16.

Manila fell to 2-16 despite John Ashley Faa’s 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Joe Gomez de Liano’s 15 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Meanwhile, the Bataan Risers overwhelmed the Parañaque Patriots, 139-88, in the nightcap to raise their card to 7-11.

All but one of the Risers fielded scored, as Bataan bombarded Parañaque with 20 three-pointers, seven by Alfred Flores and five by Chito Jaime and remained in playoff contention in the North division.

Flores exploded for 26 points, 23 in the fourth quarter, while Jaime contributed 21 points, 16 in the second quarter, 11 rebounds and two assists to clinch the Best Player honors.

“Every game is important for us,” Jaime said.

“We try to correct our mistakes during practice and apply these in the game.”