Binan Tatak Gel leaned on Nic Cabanero and Carlo Lastimosa to thwart Rizal XentroMall, 81-67, on Tuesday and forge a repeat South Division Finals confrontation with Quezon Province in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan, Laguna.
The Quezon Huskers battered the Cebu Greats, 83-55, in another semifinal round encounter earlier to keep their bid for a third straight division crown.
The 23-year-old Cabanero posted 32 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals to power Binan to a 2-0 sweep of Rizal and earn Best Player honors.
Cabanero, the former UAAP scoring champion with the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, drilled in a buzzer-beater jumper to lift Binan past Rizal, 72-70, in Game 1 on October 21.
Lastimosa tallied 13 points, highlighted by back-to-back triples that swayed the balance, 71-58, with 3:26 left, plus seven rebounds for Binan, which lost to Quezon Province, 2-3, in last year’s South Finals.
Pamboy Raymundo also shone for Binan with 12 points, 13 assists, three rebounds and two steals, followed by Jaymar Gimpayan, Michael Mabulac and Marc Pingris with six points each.
Rizal XentroMall took the half, 34-29, but Cabanero poured in 16 points, including a four-point play, as Binan regained control after three quarters, 56-48.
Quezon and Binan, seeded first and second in the division, will begin their best-of-five title clash on November 3 at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
The Huskers bundled 13 points, 11 by Judel Fuentes, and held the Greats scoreless for 4:54 to decide the outcome, 69-51, and complete their 2-0 sweep.
Quezon Province subdued Cebu, 77-67, in Game 1.
Fuentes paced Quezon with 20 points and three rebounds, but Christian Pagaran emerged as the Best Player with 16 points, including seven in the third quarter, and three assists.
Cebu was limited to four points in the fourth, and Quezon completed the annihilation by scoring the game’s last 11 points.
Other Huskers who delivered were Jolo Manansala with seven points, four rebounds and two assists; Chris Lalata with six points and nine rebounds; Cholo Anonuevo with 13 rebounds, four points, three assists, two steals and two blocks; and Cyrus Tabi with four points, seven assists and two rebounds.
Cedric Manzano, Quezon’s starting center, returned after more than a month’s absence due to an injury and contributed five points and two rebounds.
“Everybody stepped up (when needed),’ said Quezon Coach Eric Gonzales, noting that Cebu led at the turn, 38-35.
No Great could register double figures, with Elmer Echavez coming through with nine points; Ichie Altamirano with seven; and Simon Camacho with 12 rebounds and seven points.
Mark Meneses, Cebu’s top gunner, settled for six points, five rebounds and four assists.
Quezon led 25-23, but Cebu unloaded 11 points, fueled by Dhon Reverente’s back-to-back drive, against a free throw by Pagaran to seize control, 34-26.
Cebuano legend Dondon Hontiveros and his son, Ice, played together in the second quarter and contributed nine points as the Greats led at the break, 38-35.
The North Division semifinal round continues Wednesday, with defending champion Abra Solid North and San Juan trying to arrange a Finals clash at the Ynares Center Montalban in Rizal Province.
The Abra Weavers bested the Pasay Voyagers, 81-71, while the San Juan Knights nipped the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo, 73-71, in the series openers on October 21, and need only to repeat to end the semifinals and advance to the best-of-five North Finals.