Athletics and Gems Remain Unbeaten, Join Early Leaders

Batangas City and Meycauayan-Marilao continued their perfect starts on Friday, defeating their respective opponents to join the early leaders in the 2026 Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) season at the One Arena in Cainta, Rizal.

The Batangas City Tanduay Athletics set the pace from start to finish, securing an 85-75 win over the Bulacan Kuyas in the second game. In the nightcap, the Meycauayan-Marilao Gems held off a brief surge from Manila Batang Quiapo before pulling away for an 82-67 victory.

Both teams now stand at 2-0 in the round-robin elimination phase, joining San Juan and Caloocan as the only unbeaten squads in the two-division, 28-team tournament.

Ino Comboy led the way for Batangas with 16 points, including four three-pointers, along with seven assists and three rebounds. Rhinwill Yambing added 15 points, while Jhan Nermal posted 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. Ved Ablaza and Kraniel Viloria contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Batangas leaned heavily on its long-range shooting, hitting 11 of 25 attempts from beyond the arc, which helped offset a subpar free-throw performance (4-of-9).

Bulacan, now 1-1, got strong individual performances from Benedict Benedictos, who tallied 20 points, four rebounds, and two steals, and Mon Dizon, who had 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Kenneth Castillo added 11 points and nine rebounds in the loss.

Meanwhile, Meycauayan-Marilao regained control after Manila briefly took a 30-28 lead. The Gems answered with an 11-0 run, led by Agem Miranda, who scored nine points during that stretch.

Miranda finished with a near triple-double: 24 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals, earning his second consecutive Best Player of the Game honors. Migs Corteza added 18 points, and Robin Nayve chipped in 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

John Ashley Faa led Manila with 16 points, five assists, and three rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to secure the win.

The tournament continues Saturday at the Bataan People’s Center in Balanga, with Ilagan Isabela facing Basilan at 4 p.m., followed by Zamboanga against Marikina at 6 p.m., and Valenzuela battling host Bataan at 8 p.m.