Bataan and Gensan cruised to victories and shared top spot in the SportsPlus Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League 2026 Season at the Orion Sports Complex in Bataan.
The Bataan Risers led throughout and trounced the Bulacan Kuyas, 102-68, in the nightcap to keep in step with the Gensan Warriors, who banked on a scoring binge to batter the Marikina Shoemasters, 81-64, in the opener.
The Risers and the Warriors posted their third straight win, matching the record of the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.
Egged on by the hometown crowd, the Risers pulled away, 73-45, after three quarters and padded the lead as far as 102-64 in the homestretch.
Homegrown Yves Sazon posted 19 points and four rebounds, Mitchelle Maynes 11 points and four rebounds, Alex Ramos nine points and two rebounds, and Dante Paguio and Chris Javier eight points each. Dinalupihan Councilor Gary David, Alfred Roces and Edrian Ramirez joined the offensive onslaught with seven points each.
Bulacan tumbled to 1-2 despite Andrei Acop and Jeremy Cruz splitting 34 points, and Kent Montalvo notching 13 points and six rebounds.
Marikina surged ahead, 15-4, but Gensan countered with a crippling 26-2 run bridging the second and third quarters to take control, 30-17, and never let go.
Gensan’s Anton Eusebio pumped in seven of his 16 points in that breakaway, followed by Jeepy Faundo with five points and Marwin Dionisio with four points.
The 6-foot-5 Eusebio, a Filipino-Canadian winger from the College of Saint Benilde Blazers, added seven rebounds and two assists to clinch the SportsPlus Best Player honors over Kris Porter, who finished with 17 points and two rebounds.
Other Warriors who delivered were Marwin Dionisio with nine points, nine rebounds and two assists, Nelo Santos, with nine points and four rebounds, and Val Accuna, with nine points, all from triples, and four rebounds.
Marikina Bigz Burger, which absorbed its first loss in three games, got 23 points from Deo Timajo, nine points, four rebounds and two assists from Vince Andrei Sarmiento, eight points, six rebounds and two steals from Jethro Escoto, and seven points, five rebounds and two assists from Louie Vigil.