By ADRIAN STEWART CO

The San Juan Knights went full throttle in the third quarter and battered Bacolod Masskaras, 128-85, to gain ground in the SportsPlus Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) 2026 Season at the Kamalig Sports Complex in Orion, Bataan on Saturday, May 16.

Ahead, 61-50 at halftime, the Knights poured in 38 points against Masskaras’ 18 in the third to pull away for good and tally their fifth win against one loss in the round-robin elimination phase of the two-division, 28-team tournament.

San Juan trailed Caloocan (7-0) in the North Division. GenSan (7-0) and Quezon Province (4-0) pace the South Division in the chase for playoff seats.

Orlan Wamar sparked San Juan’s romp, pumping in all of his 18 points on six triples in the first half, before concentrating on feeding his teammates, which led to a season-high 46 assists.

The 5-foot-6 Wamar also issued 14 assists and grabbed two rebounds to clinch the SportsPlus best player honors over Patrick Sleat, who tallied 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals; and Terrence Fortea, with 16 points and four assists.

JP Boral supported with 12 points and four rebounds; followed by AC Soberano, with 10 points and two rebounds; Mike Phillips, with nine points and 11 rebounds; and Jearico Nunez, with seven points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

Dominant on both boards, 63-33, the Knights frolicked inside with 66 points against 38 for Masskaras.

Bacolod absorbed its seventh straight loss after an initial win despite John Kobe Dalisay’s 26-point effort./ASC, WDJ