More than a week after Abra dealt the previously unbeaten Nueva Ecija its first loss in the 2025 Season of the MPBL, San Juan went all business in sharing the lead with the Weavers, and the Knights did just that by snapping the four-game winning run of the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys following an 87-79 win on Saturday night at the Mayor Vitaliano Agan Coliseum in Zamboanga City.
Michael Calisaan posted a double-double performance as he proved to be the thorn for the Cowboys on both ends of the court and powered the Knights to their 19th win in 20 games.
Calisaan, who had a brief stint playing in the PBA several years ago, came away with a monster game of 26 points and 11 rebounds as he was virtually unstoppable up front. He hit 12 of his 15 shots from the field while making mincemeat of every Cowboy defender thrown at him.
Orlan Wamar flirted with yet another double-double performance, tallying 15 markers on top of nine assists and two steals while AC Soberano chipped in 10 markers for the Knights, whose bench proved to be more superior than the Cowboys.
San Juan’s second unit outscored Ilagan Isabela, 50-38. The Knights also produced more points in the interior, scoring 54, which were 20 more than their rivals.
Despite the win, San Juan lost the battle in some key departments against Ilagan Isabela.
The Cowboys scored 26 points coming off the Knights’ 20 turnovers while coach Louie Gonzalez’s troops also scored more fast break points, 24-11.
But not even the Cowboys’ intention to outwork their more superior, more talented rivals were enough to negate the manpower disadvantage as Ilagan Isabela absorbed its ninth loss in 20 matches.
Abra came out like a conquering visiting squad and ripped Zamboanga in front of its local cheering crowd, 80-60.
The Weavers did the best thing in beating the Sikat-backed squad by taking the fight out of their rivals early and not getting the local folks more involved.
As expected, Dave Ildefonso presided on his team’s offense, pumping in 23 points while grabbing eight rebounds, but the second generation cager also got the much needed help as the Weavers’ second unit provided him ample support. Overall, Abra’s resiliency on both ends of the court manifested on the stats sheet as the Weavers scored 29 points coming off turnovers.
Abra’s win put the squad in a share of the lead with San Juan at 19-1.
