Abra Solid North Weavers and San Juan Knights Open North Division Semifinals in MPBL 2025

The North Division semifinals of the 747 Live presents Manny Pacquiao MPBL 2025 season commenced on Tuesday at the Governor Andres B. Bernos Memorial Gymnasium in Bangued, Abra, featuring intense matchups between top-tier teams. The Abra Solid North Weavers, holding the top seed and an extraordinary 28-game winning streak, are set to compete against the resilient Caloocan Batang Kankaloo at 6 p.m., following an earlier clash at 4 p.m. between the 2019 champions, San Juan Knights, and the rising Pangasinan squad.

The Weavers enter the semifinal round strongly favored, having decisively defeated the Pampanga Giant Lanterns 2-0 in the quarterfinals. Led by standout player Dave Ildefonso, Abra boasts a deep lineup including Encho Serrano, Mike Ayonayon, Raven Gonzales, Jolo Mendoza, John Uduba, and Jason Brickman. Meanwhile, Caloocan, which lacks a dedicated center, will rely heavily on sharp shooters Jeff Manday, Jeramer Cabanag, Chris Bitoon, Rommel Calahat, Paul Sanga, and Reil Cervantes in their drive to advance.

In the earlier semifinal match, San Juan holds a slight advantage over Pangasinan, who recently upset the 2022 champions Nueva Ecija in a 2-1 quarterfinal series victory. The Knights will lean on the talents of Orlan Wamar, Agem Miranda, Michael Calisaan, Dexter Maiquez, and AC Soberano, following their narrow 73-66 win over the Heatwaves during the elimination round of this originally 30-team, two-division competition.

Pangasinan aims to continue their surprising playoff run with key contributions from Vic Manuel, Jorey Napoles, Alyn Bulanadi, Chris Bitoon, Hesed Gabo, and Michael Mabulac, seeking to overcome the seasoned San Juan team and secure a spot in the finals.