Knights cruise past Batang Quiapo

San Juan routed Manila while Mindoro stunned Marikina with a late fourth-quarter rally in the 2026 Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) Season on Monday at the Paco Arena in Manila.

The San Juan Knights overwhelmed the Manila Batang Quiapo, 124-75, in the nightcap to improve to 16-2 and strengthen their push for a higher playoff seeding in the North Division.

Led by Patrick Sleat and Harold Alarcon, the Knights built a commanding 43-point lead at 82-39 on their way to their 16th victory.

San Juan remained behind the Abra Solid North Weavers (18-1) and Caloocan Batang Kankaloo (17-2) in the North Division standings.

Sleat, a former Perpetual Help Altas standout, paced San Juan with 21 points, four rebounds, and two assists, highlighted by a two-handed slam.

Alarcon, a former UP Fighting Maroons standout, narrowly missed a triple-double with 10 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists.

Michael Calisaan added 14 points and eight rebounds, while Nikko Panganiban contributed 12 points and five rebounds. Dexter Maiquez finished with 10 points, six assists, and four rebounds.

In the other game, Mindoro erased a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter before escaping Marikina, 71-69, to strengthen its playoff push in the South Division.

The victory improved the Mindoro Tamaraws to 11-9 and put them in strong position to secure a play-in berth. Teams finishing seventh through 10th in each division will compete for the final playoff spots.

Mindoro trailed by as many as 15 points, 62-47, before mounting a 12-point run late in the fourth quarter to pull within 65-64.

Marikina restored a 69-64 lead with four free throws with 28.3 seconds remaining, but the Tamaraws responded with a dramatic sequence.

Jayjay Caspe hit a crucial three-pointer before stealing the ball from Marikina's RR Casajeros on the next possession. Casajeros was assessed an unsportsmanlike foul, sending Mindoro's Drick Acosta to the free-throw line.

Acosta split his free throws before Bambam Gamalinda knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer to put Mindoro ahead, 71-69, with 10.7 seconds remaining.

Casajeros then missed two free throws with 4.8 seconds left, allowing Mindoro to escape with the victory.

JC Recto led the Tamaraws with 15 points, 11 rebounds, three steals, and three assists, while Caspe added 14 points and five rebounds. Marion Magat contributed 11 points and eight rebounds.

Mindoro survived despite shooting just 16-of-38 from the free-throw line. Recto was particularly inefficient, going 0-of-7 from the stripe.

Marikina fell to 6-15 despite 14 points from Jeepy Faundo, 13 from Jethro Escoto, and 12 from Jomel Landayan.

The MPBL resumes Tuesday at the Caloocan Sports Complex, with Bataan facing Sarangani at 3 p.m., Zamboanga taking on Valenzuela at 5 p.m., and Caloocan battling Gensan at 7 p.m.