THE Cebu Greats leaned on Kint Ariar in the homestretch to stun the Abra Solid North Weavers, 74-70, on Monday in the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Ynares Center in Montalban.
Ariar, a 6-foot-3 shooter from the Cebu Institute of Technology, drilled in a jumper and two free throws in the last 42 seconds to lift Cebu to its 19th win against five losses in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 26-team tournament.
READ Cebu Greats give floundering MPBL a much-needed feel-good story
Ron Dennison also delivered at clutch time, making two charities with 20.3 seconds left to cancel out the two free throws of Abra's Alfred Ryan Batino, only 12.3 seconds to go.
Overall, Mark Meneses carried the Greats past the defending champion Weavers, who saw their 19-win run broken, posting 26 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in 35 minutes and 29 seconds of play.
Dhon Reverente added 16 points and 4 rebounds while Aria tallied 8 points and 2 rebounds.
Abra drew 20 points, 11 rebounds and 2 assists from Dave Ildefonso; 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals from DJ Fenner; and 8 points and rebounds from John Uduba.
With Ildefonso pouring in 12 points and Uduba adding 6, Abra took the half, 38-34, negating Meneses' 16-point effort for Cebu, which is ranked fourth in the South division.
Abra remains on top of the North division with a 21-2 record, towing San Juan and Caloocan, both 18-3.
The Quezon Huskers battered Manila Batang Quiapo, 107-65, in the opener to tighten their hold of the lead in the South division with a 16-3 slate.
Manila led briefly, 17-16, as Joe Gomez De Liano knocked in his first three triple attempts. Quezon, however, clustered 28 straight points bridging the first and second quarters to regain control, 44-17, and never let go.
All 15 Huskers, with Cedric Manzano piling 16 and John Abate adding 14, scored as they surged ahead, 107-61, with 50.4 seconds left.
Also-ran Manila fell to a league-worst 1-23 card despite Mark Doligon's 20 points and De Liano's 18.
The MPBL returns to the Batangas City Coliseum on Tuesday, featuring games between Marikina and Pasig at 3 p.m., San Juan and Mindoro at 5 p.m., and Bataan and Batangas at 5 7 p.m.
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