Caloocan gained the solo lead while Abra Solid North extended its unbeaten run in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season on Monday at the San Jose Del Monte Sports Complex in Bulacan.
The Caloocan Batang Kankaloo trounced the Meycauayan Marilao Gems, 97-79, in the nightcap, to notch their fourth straight win and move ahead of the Gensan Warriors and the Bataan Risers, both toting 3-0 cards.
Led by rookie sensation Kean Baclaan and four others, the Batang Kankaloo led throughout and as far as 74-49 in pulling the Gems down to 1-2.
Baclaan, former star of the De La Salle Green Archers, posted 15 points, 10 assists and four rebounds to clinch the Best Player award over former Ateneo Blue Eagle standout Kymani Ladi, who tallied 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Eric Camson and Paul Casin contributed 13 points each, and Jammer Jamito added 11 plus six rebounds for Caloocan.
The Gems drew 25 points from Shawn Argente, and 14 each from Agem Miranda and Patrick Ramos.
Meanwhile, defending champions Abra Weavers bested the Batangas City Tanduay Athletics, 98-91, in the second game for a 2-0 slate in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.
Shaun Ildefonso bunched eight points in a 10-1 Abra run to break free from the game’s last deadlock at 40.
Mike Ayonayon turned hot and Encho Serrano supported as the Weavers sped away by 16 points four times, the last at 73-57, with 3:55 to go in the third quarter.
Ayonayon wound up with 16 points and two rebounds; JD Fenner 15 points, highlighted by a two-handed slam at the end of the second quarter, three rebounds and two assists; and Serrano 14 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Other Weavers who delivered in their 48th straight win since last year were Shaun Ildefonso with 12 points, 10 rebounds and three assists; Raven Gonzales with 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks; Kascius Small-Martin with nine points, six assists and four rebounds; and reigning MVP Dave Ildefonso with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Basilan Steel leaned on the hot hands of John Wilson to trip Cebu, 80-75, and climb to 2-1 in the opener.
Flashing the form that made him the MPBL MVP in 2019, Wilson notched 33 points, spiked by seven triples, nine rebounds and two steals, followed by Gab Cometa with nine points and Jayvee Casio with eight, including two triples.
Wilson’s torrid shooting rubbed off on his teammates as the Steel converted 15 of 31 long-distance attempts for a high 48.4% accuracy that proved to be the big difference as the Cebu Greats made only 4 of 31 for a paltry 12.9%.
The Greats led 50-40, only to be rattled by a 16-4 run, with Wilson scoring 11, that shoved Basilan ahead, 56-54.
Basilan canned five straight triples to pad its lead to 74-66, which Cebu couldn’t overhaul for a 2-2 slate.
Cebu drew 18 points and six rebounds from Mark Meneses; 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals from Dhon Reverente; and nine points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals from Brian Heruela.
The MPBL returns to the Pasay Astrodome on Tuesday, featuring games between Marikina and Quezon City at 4 p.m.; Bacolod against Gensan at 6 p.m.; and Bataan against Pasay at 8 p.m