Batang Kankaloo remain undefeated, seize solo MPBL lead

Caloocan Batang Kankaloo continued their unbeaten run after dominating Ilagan Isabela, 100-91, from start to finish on Saturday at the One Arena in Cainta, Rizal, to take sole possession of the top spot in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) 2026 Season.

Behind the hot shooting of Jeff Manday, Caloocan raced to a huge 31-9 opening-quarter lead and withstood multiple comeback attempts by the Cowboys to notch its ninth straight victory in the round-robin elimination phase of the 28-team tournament.

Manday buried five three-pointers and poured in 21 of his 23 points in the first half before Kymani Ladi and Eric Camson took over in the latter stages to help deal Ilagan Isabela its third consecutive defeat and drop the Cowboys to 5-4.

Aside from his scoring explosion, Manday also handed out four assists to earn Best Player of the Game honors over Ladi, who delivered 11 second-half points to finish with 15 markers, four assists, two rebounds, and two steals.

Jammer Jamito chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds, while Camson added 11 points and three boards for Caloocan, which moved ahead of Gensan (8-0) and further strengthened its edge over Quezon Province (5-0) in the playoff race.

The Batang Kankaloo displayed impressive accuracy from long range, converting 11 of 23 attempts from beyond the arc for a 47.8-percent clip. Manday led the charge with a 5-of-8 shooting performance from deep, while Jielo Razon and Camson both went a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point territory.

Jerie Pingoy sparked Ilagan Isabela’s fightback in the second half, scoring 17 of his 19 points on five triples as he joined forces with Arth Dela Cruz and Alex Cabagnot to cut the deficit to single digits late in the game.

Cabagnot finished with 16 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals, while Donald Gumaru added 11 points and two assists for the Cowboys.

The MPBL resumes on Monday at the Novadeci Sports Complex in Novaliches, Quezon City, with Manila taking on Cebu at 4 p.m., Gensan facing Pasay at 6 p.m., and Quezon Province meeting Bulacan at 8 p.m.