San Juan overpowers Bulacan in 53-point MPBL beatdown

MANILA, Philippines — The San Juan Knights flaunted their roster depth to annihilate the Bulacan Kuyas, 120-67, on Tuesday and close their elimination-round campaign on a bright note in the SportsPlus MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) 2026 Season at the Paco Arena in Manila.

With 14 of the 15 Knights fielded scoring, San Juan stormed to its 22nd win in 25 starts and trailed only the Abra Solid North Weavers (23-2) in the race for playoff berths in the North Division.

As No. 2 qualifier, the Knights will enjoy the home court advantage against whoever will emerge No. 7 after the play-in among the teams ranked seventh to 10th.

Homegrown Terrence Fortea paced San Juan with 15 points and three assists, followed by AC Soberano, Reyland Torres and Nikko Panganiban with 11 points each.

Orlan Wamar, Harold Alarcon and JP Boral also contributed in San Juan's third straight win with nine points each.

With the outcome beyond doubt, the Knights took turns sniping from long distance, with Fortea sinking five of six attempts, Wamar three of four, Torres, three of five, and Soberano three of six. Overall, they converted 19 of 38 triple attempts for a high 50%. 

Also-ran Bulacan, which tumbled to 5-18, got 13 points, four rebounds, four assists and four blocks from Joshua Moralejo; 12 points, five rebounds and three assists from Jeremy Cruz; and 11 points, four rebounds and three assists from Jonathan Medina. 

San Juan barely missed a coast-to-coast victory as Bulacan led, 7-16, for 17 seconds.

The tournament returns to the Batangas City Coliseum on Friday, featuring the 7 p.m. game between the Batangas City Tanduay Athletics and the GenSan Warriors. They are tied at 18-5, and whoever wins will place third in the South eliminations, behind the Binan Tatak Gel (21-4) and Quezon Province (19-4). Also-ran Bulacan and Marikina clash at 5 p.m. (Pool story)

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