Galeries Tower closed the gap in the tight quarterfinal race after trouncing Far Eastern University (FEU), 63-46, in the 2025 Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (WMPBL) at the FEU-Diliman Sports Complex last Sunday.
The Skyrisers, who improved to 4-1, are currently jockeying for playoff spots in Pool B against University of Santo Tomas (5-1), Philippine Navy (5-1), San Juan (4-2) and New Zealand-Bluefire (4-2).
Galeries tightened its defense at the start of the fourth quarter, limiting the Lady Tamaraws to just three points in the first nine minutes of the period to seal its fourth win of the tournament.
During that stretch, Cindy Resultay, Princess Fabruada and Kamba Kone led a decisive 13-3 run, extending Galeries’ lead to 59-41 — an advantage FEU never recovered from — with 2:38 left in the game.
“We’re still struggling both on offense and defense. The good thing is that we were able to recover in the third and fourth quarters. Everybody played well because they want to bounce back,” said Skyrisers head coach Ai Lebornio, as the team was coming off a 67-74 loss to Discovery last 26 February.
Fabruada led the way for Galeries with 18 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals, while team captain Ambie Almazan struggled from the field, shooting 3-of-11, but still finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, FEU fell to 2-4 in Pool A, tying Cavite-TOL. Despite the loss, the Lady Tamaraws remain among the frontrunners to secure one of the last two quarterfinal spots alongside the Lady Patriots.
Shane Salvani led the Lady Tamaraws with 10 points and four assists, while Elaine Patio chipped in eight markers.
In other games, playoff-bound squads Pilipinas Aguilas and Discovery Perlas scored lopsided wins.
In the opening game, Pilipinas Aguilas overpowered Imus-SIS VBL, 99-36, for their fourth consecutive victory in the tournament.
The Aguilas continued to build momentum heading into the playoffs, dominating the Lady Magdalo in a wire-to-wire victory. They led by as many as 64 points, 97-33, after a Novie Ornopia floater with 1:23 left in the game.
Melody Cac erupted for 27 points built on seven triples to go along with three rebounds for the Pilipinas Aguilas, who remained at the second spot in Pool A with a 5-1 win-loss record.