The Gensan Warriors turned hot in the third quarter and torched the Negros Hacienderos, 102-74, on Wednesday to share top spot in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Ynares Center in Montalban, Rizal.
Ahead by five at the break, the Warriors banked on Nelo Santos, Adi Santos and Hesed Gabo to pull away, 74-51, and extend their winning streak to eight in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.
Gensan caught up with Caloocan Batang Kankaloo and widened its gap from Quezon Province (5-0) in the chase for playoff spots.
The 6-foot-1 Nelo Santos, a prized find from the University of Makati, pumped in 9 of his 12 points, while Adi Santos and Gabo notched six each of their 14 points as the Warriors outscored the Hacienderos, 34-16, in that pivotal third.
Gabo also posted 9 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals to be named the Sportsplus best player over Adi Santos, with 5 rebounds, and Nelo Santos, with 7 rebounds and 2 assists.
Other Warriors who delivered were Val Acuna and JM Versoza, with 11 points and 5 rebounds each, Marwin Dionisio, with 9 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, and Joshua Fontanilla, with 9 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds.
Negros, which dropped to 0-6, got 18 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists from Michael Alvarez, 13 points and 3 rebounds from Brandney Bienes, and 9 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists from DJ Howe.
The Basilan Steel leaned on John Wilson and Byron Villarias to nip Rizal Xentromall, 76-73, in the nightcap and return to the upper bracket of the standings with a 5-4 slate.
Wilson made seven points in the fourth quarter, including a triple that shattered the last deadlock at 69.
Rizal had a chance to send the game into overtime, but Joel Lee Yu travelled with 1.6 left, relegating the Golden Coolers to a 3-4 card.
Continuing his fine play this year, Wilson wound up with 15 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals, followed by Byron Villarias with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals, and Gab Cometa with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
Rizal drew 15 points and 5 assists from Jolo Mendoza, 13 points and 2 steals from Yu, 12 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals from Alwyn Alday, and 10 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists from Billy Robles.
The Pasay Voyagers flaunted their depth in a 126-82 demolition of Manila Batang Quiapo in the opener.
With all 15 Voyagers fielded scoring, Pasay cruised to its fifth straight win and climbed to 6-2.
Christian Fajarito posted 16 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists and was chosen the best player over Cyril Gonzales, who tallied 17 points and 2 rebounds.
Steve Nash Enriquez tallied 15 points and 5 rebounds, Gyle Montano 14 points and 6 rebounds, and homegrown Nico Quinal 11 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals in the wire-to-wire victory.
Pasay, with Enriquez sinking 3 of 4 triple tries, converted 12 treys, against only two for Manila. which absorbed its fifth straight defeat and tumbled to 1-7.
Powered by Gonzales’ 13 points, the Voyagers surged ahead at halftime, 68-35, and never wavered.
Back-to-back one-handed slams by Fajarito pushed the Voyagers farther ahead, 85-39 with 7 minutes and 9 seconds left in the third quarter.
Manila drew 23 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals from Alfred Sedillo, 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals from John Ashley Faa, 14 points and 11 rebounds from Jan Baltazar, 14 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds from Mark Doligon, and 13 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists from homegrown Redgimir Eusebio.
The tournament returns to the Batangas City Coliseum on Thursday, featuring games between Bataan and Mindoro at 4 p.m., Bacolod and Paranaque at 6 p.m., and Batangas and Marikina at 8 p.m.
