Cebu sweeps Batangas, makes MPBL semis

Sports

LIMUEL Tampus struck hard in the fourth quarter and the Cebu Greats stunned Batangas City anew, 70-67, to advance to the semifinal round in the South Division of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) 2026 Season at the Batangas City Coliseum on Wednesday night, Oct. 14.

The 6-foot-2 Tampus scored 12 of his 14 points in the final quarter as the fifth-seeded Greats duplicated their 78-77 Game 1 victory to sweep the best-of-three series, 2-0.

"After so many struggles since the start of the season, we made it this far," said Cebu Greats team owner Sam Lato.

“Walang bitawan ito,” added Lato.

By making it to the semis, Cebu surpassed its quarterfinal appearance in the 2019 season. It will next face the winner between top-seed Quezon Province and eighth-seed Zamboanga SiKat.

Also delivering for Cebu was Mark Meneses, who finished with posted 10 points, 16 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.

Ichie Altamirano contributed 10 points, three rebounds, and three assists while Wowie Escosio added 11 points.

Batangas City, the 2018 inaugural MPBL champion and owner of eight straight playoff stints, got 14 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks from Ced Ablaza.(CCM)