GenSan and Sarangani halted their skid while Binan sustained its climb in the Manny Pacquiao presents 1xBet-MPBL 2025 Season on Tuesday at the WES Arena in Valenzuela City.
The Gensan Warriors banked on a fourth quarter spurt to subdue the Imus Braderhood, 74-64, in the second game, overshadowed by the Sarangani Grippers’ 103-94 stunner over the Valenzuela Classics in the nightcap.
Barely ahead, 48-47, the Warriors clustered 12 points and rebounded from four straight defeats for a 3-4 record in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team tournament.
Kyle Tolentino led GenSan with 18 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, then Rene Pacquiao with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, and Nico Elorde with 11 points, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 rebounds.
Imus tumbled to 4-4 despite Jayjay Caspe’s 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, Mark Doligon’s 18 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists, and Regie Boy Basibas’ 14 points plus 5 rebounds.
The Grippers, on the other hand, weathered the Classic’s final assault to notch their first win after seven successive losses.
Powered by Jan Formento and Kobe Monje, Valenzuela threatened at 93-94 on back-to-back triples by Jan Formento and Lester Alvarez with 1 minute and 20 seconds to go.
Sarangani, however, kept its poise and silenced Valenzuela, which missed four triple attempts, the rest of the way.
With Jeymark Mallari scoring six of the game’s last eight points, the Grippers relegated the Classics to 3-5.
Mallari tallied 22 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 assists; Adven Jess Diputado 18 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists; Arvie Bringas 14 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists; Coy Alves 10 points and 9 rebounds; and Junjie Hallare 10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals for Sarangani.
Valenzuela got 29 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists from Formento, 17 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists from Monje, and 14 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists from JR Alabanza.
Binan Tatak Gel pounded Bulacan to submission, 86-48, in the opener to climb to 4-3.
Heating up in the second quarter, Binan pulled away at halftime, 45-22, and never wavered.
Powered by high-flyers Jaymar Gimpayan and Poypoy Actub, Pamboy Raymundo and Nino Canaleta, Binan stormed ahead, 84-37, late in the fourth quarter before easing up on Bulacan, which absorbed its ninth straight defeat and got mired at the cellar.
Gimpayan wound up with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists to earn best player honors over Actub, who posted 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, Canaleta with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, and Raymundo with 10 points.
Other players who delivered for Binan Coach Boyet Fernandez were Carlo Lastimosa with nine points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals, and Christian Fajarito with eight points, all in the second quarter, and nine rebounds.
The hapless Bulacan Kuyas got 11 points and 7 rebounds from Gino Jumao-as, 11 points and 3 rebounds from Rancer Serrano, and 15 rebounds and 2 points from Joseph Celso.
The MPBL goes to the Orion Sports Complex on Wednesday with games pitting Basilan against Caloocan at 4 p.m., Pampanga against Mindoro at 6 p.m., and host Bataan against Muntinlupa at 8 p.m.
The unbeaten Muntinlupa Cagers are gunning for their fifth straight win against the Bataan Risers, who tote a 2-5 slate. Pampanga (5-1) is a solid pick over Mindoro (3-5), while Caloocan (5-2) is slightly favored over Basilan (2-5).
Caption: Kyle Tolentino turns hot for the GenSan Warriors.
