Pangasinan secures MPBL playoff ticket

The Pangasinan Heatwaves defeated the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys 98-91 in an overtime game on Thursday at the Robert Estrella Sr. Memorial Gymnasium in Rosales, Pangasinan, securing their advancement to the playoffs in the Manny Pacquiao Presents MPBL 2025 Season. This victory mirrored their previous 96-94 win against the Cowboys during the round-robin elimination phase of the 30-team, two-division tournament.

Key players for the Heatwaves included Hesed Gabo, who contributed 14 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds, including crucial points in overtime, and Pedrito Galanza, who scored a game-high 23 points along with 4 rebounds. Additional standout performances came from Jorey Napoles with 17 points and 9 rebounds, and Allyn Bulanadi with 15 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals, helping the team overcome a tied score of 82-82 in regulation.

With this win, the Heatwaves clinched the seventh playoff slot in the North Division, setting up a best-of-three playoff series against the No. 2 qualifier, the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards. On the other hand, the loss for the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys, who were led by Arth Dela Cruz with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals, forces them into a do-or-die showdown for playoff contention.

The Cowboys' playoff hopes now depend on a critical match against the Bataan Risers, who earlier defeated Pasig City 99-78. In that game, Bataan avenged a previous loss, with Yves Sazon scoring 20 points, including six three-pointers, and contributions from Chris Javier, Robbi Darang, Hubert Cani, and Lorenz Capulong, leading to a dominant performance that Pasig could not recover from.

For Pasig City, Jacob Galicia recorded 21 points and 12 rebounds, Chito Jaime added 17 points and 8 rebounds, and John Felix Corpuz scored 13 points, but the team struggled to close the gap after Bataan surged ahead early in the game.