CALOOCAN Batang Kankaloo held steady under pressure and stunned Pampanga, 90-87, on Tuesday in the MPBL 2025 Season at the Orion Sports Complex in Bataan.
Trailing almost the entire game, the Giant Lanterns finally seized the lead, 85-84, as Raymond Binuya bunched seven points against two free throws by Batang Kankaloo Paul Sanga.
MPBL: Dave Ildefonso, Joshua David lead Abra romp over Bacolod
Batang Kankalo responded with back-to-back layups by Ronnie Matias and Jeramer Cabanag, the last with 15.9 seconds left.
Larry Muyang missed from under, got fouled, and converted both charities to move reigning back-to-back champion Pampanga to within 87-88 in the dying seconds.
Caloocan's Paul Sanga, however, canned two more charities with 1.2 seconds left to seal the Batang Kankaloo's eighth win against four losses in the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team tournament.
Pampanga saw its six-game run broken and fell to 9-2, trailing pacesetter Nueva Ecija, first-game winner Abra (10-1), San Juan (9-1) and Zamboanga (10-2) in the race for playoff spots.
Sanga posted 19 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, 3 steals and 2 assists for Caloocan, which got the biggest lift from Matias with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.
Other Batang Kankaloos who delivered for new Caloocan coach Mike Saguiguid, formerly of the Paranaque Patriots, were Rommel Calahat with 17 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists, and Cabanag with 14 points and 2 assists.
Pampanga drew 24 points, 15 in the third quarter, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks from Muyang, 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists from Binuya, and 10 points plus 3 rebounds from CJ Delfino.
The Ilagan Isabela Cowboys thwarted the Bataan Risers, 69-67, in the nightcap to level their slate at 6-6.
Allen Mina's triple with 17.3 seconds left enabled the Cowboys to complete the wire-to-wire victory despite missing injured Top Gun Arth Dela Cruz and converting only nine of 23 free throws.
The Risers threatened at 67-68 following a triple by Hubert Cani with 5.5 ticks to go, but the Cowboys held on as Joshua Guiab made his first free throw and missed the second for the final count.
Mark Dyke led the Cowboys with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, followed by Macoy Marcos with 11 points and 2 assists, Mina with 10 points, Sean Quitevis with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, and Guiasb with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Abra Solid North Weavers battered the Bacolod Tubo Slashers, 108-77.
Powered by former Ateneo standout Dave Ildefonso and former La Salle star Joshua David, Abra led by as far as 97-58 in notching its eighth straight win.
The MPBL goes to the Olivarez College Gym in Paranaque on Tuesday, with games pitting Batangas against Sarangani at 4 p.m., Quezon Province against Valenzuela at 6 p.m., and Pasig against Paranaque at 8 p.m.
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