MANILA, Philippines — Rizal XentroMall stunned San Juan, 94-89, in overtime to rock the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the One Arena in Cainta, Rizal.
Billy Robles, dubbed the "Ilonggo Superman," and veteran Mark Yee shone as Rizal rebounded from back-to-back losses and handed powerhouse San Juan its first loss in three games.
Trailing 72-79 with 6 minutes and 39 seconds left, the Golden Coolers unloaded 11 points, the last six from Robles, while holding the Knights to four, including Patrick Sleat's game-extending drive at 83-all.
Robles opened up the extra period with a triple, while Mike Phillips strung up six points to push the Knights back on top, 89-88.
The Knights couldn't score after that, however, while Yee canned a short jumper and made two free throws for a 92-89 Rizal lead with 8.9 seconds left.
San Juan sued for time, and in the ensuing play, James Kwekuteye missed a potential game-tying triple, and Rizal's Joel Lee Yu sprinted back home for the final count.
Robles finished with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists and was named the SportsPlus best player.
"We helped each other. We never gave up," said Robles, referring to the time Rizal was down, 47-62, in the third quarter.
Other Golden Coolers who turned hot were Yu with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, Marco Balagtas with 14 points and 5 rebounds, Jake Gaspay with 12 points and 10 rebounds, JP Sarao with 10 points and 3 rebounds, and Yee with 10 points plus 3 rebounds.
The 6-foot-8 Phillips was his dominant self with 15 points, 18 rebounds and 3 blocks, but his three free throw misses, one in the homestretch and two in overtime, may have altered the course of the game.
San Juan got 14 points and 2 assists from Terrence Fortea and 13 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds from Harold Alarcon.
Sarangani 10ACT survived Bacolod's final flurry and prevailed, 96-94, in the opener, while Imus rallied to beat Iloilo, 71-63, in the nightcap.
Eroll Soriano poured in 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter to power the Imus Yangkees, who got left behind, 26-46, but hit full throttle in the homestretch to climb to 1-1.
Ralph Robin supported Soriano with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, followed by Jordan Rios with 9 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
Iloilo fell to 0-2 as only Levi Hernandez struck back with 37 points, 16 rebounds and 2 assists.
Cruising home with a 95-80 spread, 2 minutes and 48 seconds left, the Marlins got comfortable and were held to a free throw by the Masskaras, who dropped 14 points in that span, for the shaky victory that leveled their slate at 1-1.
Carl Bryan Lacap tallied 20 points, spiked by five triples, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, for Sarangani, which led as far as 53-42, late in the second quarter.
It was Andre Duremdes who was chosen the SportsPlus best player; however, after posting 11 points, 11 rebounds and 2 assists in 14 minutes and 58 seconds of play.
King Destacamento contributed 12 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks, while Lacap chipped in 11 points and 2 rebounds for Sarangani.
Bacolod tumbled to 1-1 despite another stellar performance from Ian Melencio, who notched 37 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. The feisty guard pooled 34 points, 18 assists, 7 rebounds and 3 steals in Bacolod's come-from-behind 111-105 victory over Imus on April 14.
The Masskaras also got 21 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks from Hance Lleva.
The tournament returns to the Caloocan Sports Complex on Tuesday, featuring games between Quezon Province and Binan at 4 p.m., Abra Solid North against Paranaque at 5 p.m., and Caloocan against Mindoro at 8 p.m. TMT