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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider San Juan snaps Abra's win streak; Mindoro rout MPBL foes

San Juan snaps Abra's win streak; Mindoro rout MPBL foes

Published May 3, 2026 01:43 pm

At A Glance

  • The San Juan Knights snapped the Abra Solid North Weavers' 13-month dominant run with a 66-58 victory on Saturday, May 2, in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the packed FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Harold Alarcon shines for the San Juan Knights.
Harold Alarcon shines for the San Juan Knights.
The San Juan Knights snapped the Abra Solid North Weavers' 13-month dominant run with a 66-58 victory on Saturday, May 2, in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the packed FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
With the Weavers' closing in, 44-48, the Knights bunched eight points, four each by Harold Alarcon and James Kwekuteye, to pad their lead to 12 (56-44) and eventually tally their third win in four starts in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.
The Weavers, the reigning MPBL national champions, threatened at 54-57 after a 10-1 run sparked by Mike Ayonayon's triple. Still, the Knights held the fort behind Alarcon, his fellow former University of the Philippines stars Reyland Torres and Garry Abadiano, and former Perpetual Help standout Patrick Sleat.
Alarcon wound up with 8 points, 6 in the fourth quarter, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals, and was chosen the SportsPlus best player over Aldrech Ramos, with 12 points and 9 rebounds, and James Kwekuteye, with 10 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals.
Mike Phillips was limited to 4 points, but the former De La Salle standout compensated with a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Weavers suffered their first loss after 48 straight wins dating back to March 2025, which included a 10-game sweep of the 2026 Preseason Invitational, and fell to 2-1.
A spate of 16 turnovers against only six for the Knights, who also ruled the offensive boards, 22-11, proved costly for the Weavers, who drew 18 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists from Fil-Am DJ Fenner, 12 points and 3 rebounds from Mike Ayonayon, and 8 points from Encho Serrano.
Reigning MVP Dave Ildefonso settled for four points and 3 rebounds after limping out due to injury in the last 5 minutes and 29 seconds, while Fil-Am Tucker Molina was held scoreless by the tight San Juan defense.
Cebu dominates Bataan
The Cebu Greats continued their see-saw run with a coast-to-coast 81-64 victory over the Bataan Risers in the second game.
Mark Meneses stood out with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists as Cebu rose to 3-2. Brian Heruela supported with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals, and Simon Camacho contributed 8 points and 9 rebounds.
Bataan, which absorbed its second straight loss and tumbled to 3-2, got 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals from Alfred Flores, 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists from Hubert Cani, and 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists from Robbi Darang.
Mindoro dumps Paranaque
The Mindoro Tamaraws gored the dispirited Paranaque Patriots, 119-71, in the opener to level its slate at 2-2.
Powered by Bambam Gamalinda and Joseph Sedurifa, the Tamaraws pulled away at 66-40, then clustered 19 points bridging the third and fourth quarters to move beyond reach, 89-47.
Gamalinda finished with 21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, while Sedurifa tallied 20 points, spiced up by six triples, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
Homegrown Rodel Vaygan took over in the last eight minutes, pumping in all of his 17 points, highlighted by his fifth triple that pegged the final count with 22.4 seconds left and made the former MPBL All-Star a member of the 1,000-point club.
The Tamaraws took the half, 40-32, behind Gamalinda's 11 points, and never wavered to hand the Patriots, who got 9 points each from Ryusei Koga and Alvin Pasaol, their sixth straight defeat.
During the halftime break of the San Juan-Abra encounter, MPBL Commissioner Emmer Oreta awarded the P1 million check to Francis Ablan for becoming the first winner of the 1M Clutch Time Challenge on Monday in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.
SportsPlus gave away another P500,000 to lucky MPBL fans after Cebu legend Dondon Hontiveros, who teamed up with Bataan sharpshooter Gary David, drilled in his second halfcourt attempt in a similar challenge.
The MPBL returns to the Pasay Astrodome on Monday, featuring games between Quezon City and Bacolod at 4 p.m., Gensan and Iloilo at 6 p.m., and Pasay and Imus at 8 p.m.

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