Ilagan Isabela nipped an equally tough Bataan team, 69-67, in an exciting defensive battle that nearly stole the spotlight from Caloocan’s stunning win over reigning back-to-back champion Pampanga in the MPBL 2025 Season Monday night at the Kamalig in Orion, Bataan.
Both the Cowboys and the Risers brought their A-game, especially in making stops, but when push came to shove, players like Allen Mina and Mark Dyke stepped up big time to bail out Ilagan Isabela.
The dead shot from Letran, who spent the past few seasons as one of the top gunners of Terrafirma in the PBA, brought that no let up mentality when it comes to taking over down the stretch.
Dyke’s solid screen was enough to create a small room for Mina, who let loose a three-point shot from left quarter court and able to knock down that crucial shot in the last 17 seconds to put the Cowboys on top, 68-64.
But just when you thought the Risers were about to fold up, even after a crucial offensive foul was called against Yves Sason for pushing Philip Manalang coming off an inbound play, the home team was able to hang on until the remaining seconds of the macth.
The Risers elected to foul Josh Guiab, a guy who’s been struggling shooting from the foul line all game long, and true enough, the team’s gamble paid off when the hardworking forward missed both charity shots.
That opened up an opportunity for Bataan to launch another attempt and Hubert Cani drilled in a trey with five seconds left and put his team within striking distance, 67-68, forcing Ilagan Isabela to sue for time.
Off a time out from the Cowboys’ front court, the Risers fouled Guiab again, who came up with a split from the line.
With no more timeouts left, Jamil Gabawan, who secured the rebound off Guiab’s missed second free throw, had to throw it right away to the other end and it was telegraphed by the Cowboys, who escaped with their sixth win in 12 games despite shooting a horrendous 9-of-23 from the free throw area.
Earlier, Caloocan outlasted Pampanga, 90-87, with Ronnie Matias playing a solid game, missing a rebound to finish a double-double performance.
The veteran forward came away with 15 points on top of nine boards and five assists, but more than the numbers, it was his veteran smarts that carried the Batang Kankaloo to this huge win over the Giant Lanterns.
Abra demolished Bacolod in an anti-climatic match, 108-77.
