Alanes fires 20 as Valenzuela rallies past Meycauayan

Valenzuela City Darkhorse climbed further up the standings in the 2026 Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) Season after rallying past the Meycauayan Marilao Gems, 85-81, on Friday at the Pasay Astrodome.

Shaquille Alanes spearheaded the comeback with 20 points, pouring in 16 during the third quarter to spark Valenzuela's turnaround. He also dished out four assists and grabbed two rebounds as the Darkhorse improved to 8-7 in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division tournament.

After trailing by as many as 15 points early, Valenzuela took control in the second half. The Darkhorse outscored the Gems behind the combined efforts of Angelo Obuyes and Ian Melencio in the fourth quarter, extending their lead to 72-62 before fending off Meycauayan's late rally.

Obuyes finished with 15 points on four three-pointers, along with four assists and two rebounds, while Melencio contributed 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Carl Joshua Alattica added 13 points, three rebounds, and three assists, and Jay Collado chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds.

Meycauayan dropped to 8-6 despite a strong outing from Jayson Apolonio, who tallied 19 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. Jimboy Pasturan added 17 points, six assists, and four rebounds, while another teammate contributed 16 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.

The Gems came out firing and built a commanding 32-17 lead, but Valenzuela answered with a game-changing 13-0 run before completing the comeback with a dominant second-half performance.

The MPBL resumes on Saturday at the Olivarez College Gym, with Pasig facing Gensan at 4 p.m., Zamboanga taking on Bacolod at 6 p.m., and Manila battling Imus at 8 p.m.