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MANILA, Philippines — The San Juan Knights trounced Caloocan Batang Kankaloo, 76-61, on Monday and extended their winning run in Manny Pacquiao presents 1xBet-MPBL 2025 Season at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Powered by Arvin Gamboa and Michael Calisaan, the Knights surged ahead, 43-28, at halftime and kept control throughout en route to an 8-0 record in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team tournament.
San Juan, the 2019 MPBL champion, trails 2022 titlist Nueva Ecija (9-0) and paces reigning back-to-back champion Pampanga (9-1), Quezon Province (9-1) and Abra (9-1) in the race for playoff spots.
AC Soberano, Dexter Maiquez and Orlan Wamar, took over in the second half as the Knights, being coached by Alex Angeles, led by as far as 76-58.
Wamar posted 12 points, 13 assists and six rebounds to earn Best Player honors over Soberano, who finished with 14 points spiked by four triples and three rebounds, and Maiquez with 14 points and six rebounds.
Calisaan tallied 10 points and eight rebounds, while Gamboa recorded 11 points and six rebounds.
Caloocan, which dropped to 6-4, got 10 points each from Rommel Calahat, Jeff Manday and Reil Cervantes.
Zamboanga SiKat blitzed Muntinlupa in two minutes and 14 seconds and prevailed, 82-75, to remain close to the leaders with an 8-2 card.
The count was tied at 60, until John Edcel Rojas drove in and Abdul Sawat, Reggz Gabat, Roi Sumang fired three points each against two charities by Kurt Lojera, pushing Zamboanga away, 71-62, with 4:11 left.
Sumang notched 16 points, five assists and two rebounds; Sawat 13 points, 11 rebounds and two assists; and Gabat 11 points as Zamboanga pulled down Muntinlupa to 6-2.
Muntinlupa got 14 points each from Lojera, Dom Matillano and Buenaventura Raflores, 13 from Cantimbuhan, and 11 from Patrick Ramos.
The Sarangani Gripper cruised past the Bulacan Kuyas, 148-111, in the freewheeling opener that broke two MPBL records.
Sarangani's score eclipsed the 146 San Juan posted against Mindoro on Sept. 13, 2022, while the combined 259 surpassed the 257 totals of Sarangani (134) against Nueva Ecija (123) on June 3, 2023, and Bacolod (130) against Imus (127) on Sept. 27, 2024.
King Destacamento, Sarangani's 6-foot-4 frontliner, drove in with 27.1 seconds left to shatter both records, giving significance to the game between cellar-dwellers.
Arvie Bringas presided over Sarangani's second win against eight losses with 30 points, 11 rebounds and two assists, followed by Destacamento with 21 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
Other Grippers who delivered were Coy Alves with 16 points and eight rebounds; Martin Gozum with 16 points and three rebounds; Kyt Jimenez with 15 points, eight assists, four rebounds, four steals and two blocks; Adven Jess Diputado with 11 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and two steals; and Ken Brillantes with 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Kuyas, who dropped to a league-worst 0-11 record, got 30 points, four rebounds and three assists from John Rey Sumido; 17 points and three assists from Gino Jumao-as; 14 points and three assists from homegrown John Edmar Gonzaga; 13 points, six assists and four rebounds from Marlon John Espiritu; and 13 points, eight rebounds and two assists from Jebb Bulawan.
The MPBL goes to the Paco Arena in Manila on Tuesday with games pitting Paranaque against Bacolod at 4 p.m., Cebu against Rizal at 6 p.m., and Valenzuela against Imus at 8 p.m.
