AFTER a head-scratching loss to Basilan, Mark Meneses had all the answers for Cebu against Bataan in the continuation of the the MPBL 2026 tournament, Saturday, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Meneses delivered a season-high double-double of 31 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four three-pointers, fueling the Greats’ 91-84 victory.
“Nagalit po yung boss namin dahil wala po, lamang na lamang na, biglang natalo pa. Nag step up po kami lahat, kaya ayan po," he said.
And even with Jun Manzo—who was formerly part of Mindoro—still sidelined, Brian Heruela held it down on the backcourt as he flanked meneses with 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
“Tiwala siya sa akin, tiwala din po ako sa kanya. Pinaghirapan po namin talaga yung ginagawa namin ngayon kasi galing kami sa talo.”
The pair took turns in dealing damage to the Risers’ defensive schemes, which already started off on the wrong foot as they endured a 27-7 first-quarter barrage from Cebu.
But from Meneses’ shooting alone, Cebu already surpassed their horrendous scoring performance in their previous match, where they clanked 27 triples in 31 attempts.
Alfred Flores’ delivered a hot shooting night despite the loss, as he had 20 points while lacing all but one triple. Meanwhile, Hubert Cani and Robbi Darang flanked him with 14 and 10, respectively.
In the earlier game, Mindoro finally evened its 1-2 recordd with a 119-71 drubbing of Parañaque.
The Tamaraws blasted home a 45-point third quarter, bolstered by five triples between Joseph Sedurifa and their homegrown gunner JJ Caspe.
Sedurifa finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, and four assists built on six triples, joining fellow starter Bam Gamalinda in the top scorers as the latter delivered an also-efficient 21 points and four boards.
Rodel Vaygan also had a field day off the bench with 17 points of his own, a stark contrast to the Patriots, who’s biggest contributor was ex-pba champion Alvin Pasaol, who had nine points in their sixth straight loss.
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