Greats rally past Huskers on Camacho’s late heroics

The Cebu Greats staged a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback to edge the Quezon Huskers, 80-79, on Monday and strengthen their push for a top-four finish in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) 2026 Season at the Mandaluyong City College of Science and Technology Gym.

Trailing by nine points late in the contest, Cebu unleashed a decisive 12-2 run, capped by Simon Camacho’s go-ahead layup with 46 seconds remaining. The Greats then held the Huskers scoreless the rest of the way to improve to 16-5 in the round-robin elimination phase of the 26-team tournament.

The victory kept Cebu within striking distance of the South Division’s top four. The Greats remained fifth behind Batangas City (13-3), Quezon Province (13-3), Biñan (16-4), and Gensan (14-4), with the top four teams earning homecourt advantage in the quarterfinals.

Former Quezon standout Alfrancis Tamsi paced Cebu with 25 points, including seven three-pointers, and added two assists to earn Best Player of the Game honors.

"We worked hard for this," said Tamsi. "After struggling in our home games, we made adjustments and our game improved."

Mark Meneses recorded a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds, while Wowie Escosio contributed 10 points and five boards. Ichie Altamirano and Limuel Tampus added eight points apiece.

Quezon had chances to reclaim the lead in the closing seconds, but a turnover by Cyrus Tabi and an inbound violation by Joshua Yerro proved costly.

Camacho also helped secure the win at the free-throw line. After converting his first attempt with 2.2 seconds remaining, he intentionally missed the second to prevent the Huskers from getting a final shot.

Despite leading for 33 minutes and 54 seconds and holding a lead as large as 14 points, Quezon came up short.

Cedric Manzano led the Huskers with 17 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, while Joshua Yerro added 12 points. Chris Lalata chipped in nine points, six rebounds, and two assists.

In the nightcap, Gensan defeated Quezon City, 88-72.

Anton Eusebio led the Warriors with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and two steals, while Joshua Fontanilla added 14 points and five rebounds.

Hesed Gabo finished with 10 points, 10 assists, and three rebounds, while also becoming the latest player to reach the 1,000-point milestone after previously joining the league’s 1,000-assist club. RJ Minerva contributed 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists.

Kobe Monje paced Quezon City with 11 points and four rebounds, while Rey Publico and Pat Buena scored 10 points each.