Basketball
Palmera-Dy, Lim spark Akari surge as Sparks seize share of WMPBL lead
Akari-Rizal shook off a sluggish start to fend off RK Hoops-Quezon City 10ACT, 89-72, and take a share of the lead in the 2026 Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League on Wednesday afternoon at the Victoria Sports Center.
Trailing by as many as 12 points after a scoreless first quarter, longtime teammates Raiza Palmera-Dy and Allana Lim joined forces to turn things around and power Akari to its third consecutive win.
Palmera-Dy led the way with 26 points on 6-of-10 shooting from three, along with nine assists, three rebounds, and two steals, while Lim added 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting, plus five steals, four rebounds, and two assists.
With their combined efforts, the Sparks tied Batangas-New Zealand Bluefire at the top of the six-team field in the tournament backed by Aktive, both holding identical 5-1 win-loss records.
(C) WMPBL
“We did not start well the way I was expecting them to do. We were not running our offense. They were good shots, but we were not getting better shots. Mentally, we were not ready to play them right away — we ran away from what we were doing. As I have said, we have to make up for it on the other end, and that’s what we did, we played well defensively,” Akari head coach Derrick Pumaren said.
“We were able to clamp down on defense, that’s why we won the game,” he added.
Determined to bounce back from a lackluster opening period—where the Sparks fell into a 5-17 hole, missed all 14 field goal attempts, and committed eight turnovers—Akari responded with a dominant second quarter. The Sparks outscored RK Hoops 35-16, highlighted by three consecutive triples from Jhenn Angeles and a Lim floater, to take a 40-33 halftime lead.
Akari then broke the game open in the third quarter, with Lim scoring the team’s first nine points before Palmera-Dy added 11 straight points of her own, pushing the Rizal-based squad to a commanding 63-44 lead with 2:39 remaining in the period.
RK Hoops-Quezon City 10ACT managed to cut the deficit to 13, but an Angel Anies layup followed by another Palmera-Dy triple restored a 79-60 cushion for the Sparks with 5:35 left.
Anies finished with 14 points, three assists, two rebounds, and two steals, while Mar Prado added 13 points, six rebounds, and two assists. Angeles contributed 12 points, including three triples, along with five assists and two steals.
(C) WMPBL
Meanwhile, RK Hoops Quezon City-10ACT absorbed a tough setback, slipping to fourth place with a 2-5 record.
University of Santo Tomas alumna Tantoy Ferrer led the Quezon City-based squad with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, along with 10 rebounds, six assists, and two steals, while Caryl Molina and Faith Panti added 11 points each in the loss.
Mikee Antonio chipped in 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and one steal, while Natasha Alcantara added eight points.
The Scores:
Akari-Rizal (89) – Palmera-Dy 26, Lim 17, Anies 14, Prado 13, Angeles 12, Sambile 4, Abatayo 3, Ventura 0, Nagma 0, Galicia 0, Salapong 0, Candelario 0, Flor 0, Del Prado 0.
RK Hoops-Quezon City (72) – Ferrer 17, Molina 11, Panti 11, Antonio 10, Alcantara 8, Larosa 8, Dela Cruz 3, Dampios 3, Buendia 1, Cayco 0, Isip 0.
Quarterscores: 5-17, 40-33, 63-50, 89-72.
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NLEX took the solo lead in Group A following a convincing 110-96 victory over the erstwhile perfect San Miguel to extend its unbeaten run to four in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
In a game where they showed a bit of everything, the Road Warriors went on a tear in the second chapter, inflated the lead to its biggest at 25 in the third, and then displayed solid poise in the defining chapter to put the Beermen away.
Robert Bolick connected on a four, then came Robbie Herndon with a triple not long after as that 7-0 spurt pushed their lead back to 99-84 with 6:23 to go, and that proved to be enough to restore order after their foes cut the gap to eight.
DeQuan Jones took over afterward to lead the strong closeout as they went on to become the lone team without a loss thus far as the Beermen fell to 3-1.
In what’s becoming a trend since Coach Jimmy Alapag arrived, NLEX leaned on another balanced attack that saw a five finish in double figures
Jones himself led the way with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Deschon Winston finished with 24 points, four rebounds, and four assists as he triggered the 14-0 run in the second chapter for a 44-27 lead that set the tone for the rout.
Tony Semerad had 15 points as his long bombs helped put together the solid finish. Bolick came just short of a triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds, and 12 assists while Herndon added 13 markers to lead the bench mob.
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Joseph Yeo and Chris Tiu rekindled their legendary partnership as Xavier School edged the James Yap-led Hua Siong College-Iloilo, 75-72, in Game 1 of the 40 Years Division finals of the Fil-Chinese Athletic Association Inc. on Friday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Though no longer as quick or explosive as they were in their prime, the Powersox-AcroCity-backed Xavier stars remained deadly from beyond the arc, delivering clutch baskets down the stretch to topple the defending champions in the opener of their best-of-three title series before a sizable crowd.
The Golden Stallions now stand one win away from the championship and a measure of revenge after falling to Hua Siong in last year’s finals. They can seal the title with another victory on Monday.
Yeo turned back the clock with a game-high 30 points, highlighted by four three-pointers, to outduel fellow PBA great James Yap. He scored Xavier’s final seven points, including a crucial triple that stretched the lead to 71-66 late in the contest.
Yap answered with 18 points, knocking down two booming three-pointers, but his efforts were not enough as the Lamtex Pipes-backed Hua Siong absorbed its first loss after sweeping all eight elimination-round games. Hua Siong had also cruised past GT Radial-Grace Christian College, 108-74, in the semifinals.
Tiu also played a key role in the victory, finishing with 17 points while sinking two of Xavier’s 13 three-pointers. Hua Siong, meanwhile, connected on nine triples.
In the battle for third place, Grace Christian College rolled past SCAG-St. Stephen’s, 60-40, behind Allan Anson Tan’s 20-point performance to finish third in the nine-team tournament.
With Yap struggling to find his rhythm late, Ken Bono tried to keep Hua Siong within striking distance, but Xavier would not be denied.
The league is backed by Smart Sports, Tanduay Athletics, Genius Hardware, Ultraforce Tires, Cellboy, PGFlex Linoleum, Boysen, Lamtex Pipes, Jiang Nan, Hangry Pares, Powerhouse Tools, L.F. Fireworks, BYD Valenzuela, BAIC, Jetour, Yong Kee Roasting House, 1118 Autospa, and TCL.
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Ramon Cao asserted himself in the endgame to help Macau complete a 132-126 comeback win over Titan Ultra to break through in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup, Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The reliable big man finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds as he basically took it upon himself to bring the Giant Risers home after seeing themselves staring at a 120-119 deficit with 1:52 remaining.
He scored seven straight to give themselves the 126-120 lead with 31.1 seconds left, which were enough to put them ahead permanently while the opposition could only try to answer back but to no avail
De’Vondre Perry helped him out to keep their foes at bay before Cao applied the final blow with a cleanup from point-blank as the former Bay Area Dragons forward produced 11 of Macau’s last 13 points of the bout.
With this, the guest team improved to 1-4 while sending Titan crashing back to earth after beating TNT previously.
The post PBA: Ramon Cao powers Macau’s stunning comeback to first win at Titan’s expense appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
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