Camille Naredo

New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas celebrates after winning the Women's Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League championship, November 16, 2025 at the Enderun Gym. Handout/WMPBL

New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas celebrates after winning the Women's Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League championship, November 16, 2025 at the Enderun Gym.

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WMPBL

ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas outlasted Discovery-Perlas, 79-77, to crown themselves as the first-ever professional champions of the Women&#x27;s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League on Sunday night at the Enderun Gym.Fresh off being named Most Valuable Player, veteran Afril Bernardino carried the fight for Batangas before Snow Peñaranda struck the decisive blows in the closing stages.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/11/16/wmpbl-bernardino-crowned-as-mvp-after-dominant-season-for-batangas-1805">READ: Bernardino crowned as MVP after dominant season for Batangas</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/11/12/wmpbl-batangas-pulls-away-from-rizal-on-brink-of-historic-crown-1933">READ: Batangas pulls away from Rizal, on brink of historic crown</a></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1763304769845WMPBL 25 1st Reg Rizal vs. Batangas- -2451.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas celebrates after winning the Women&#x27;s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League championship, November 16, 2025 at the Enderun Gym. Handout/WMPBL" width="960"/>New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas celebrates after winning the Women&#x27;s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League championship, November 16, 2025 at the Enderun Gym. Handout/WMPBL</div>With the Valkyries ahead by six points, 76-70, Allana Lim and Raiza Palmera-Dy refused to go down easily and uncorked a 7-0 rally that gave Perlas a slim 77-76 separation with less than two minutes remaining in the match.But Peñaranda worked her way inside, scoring over the outstretched arms of Lovejoy Canderario for the go-ahead basket, giving New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas back the lead, 78-77, at the 1:30-mark.Discovery-Rizal had plenty of chances to reclaim the lead, but the rally fizzled out in the end as exhaustion set in, with Peñaranda sinking just one of her four free throws across two trips to eventually slam the door shut on the match.Peñaranda delivered another double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds, while newly-minted Season MVP Bernardino, who kept the Valkyries in the game all game long, finished with 18 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, and four steals en route to the Finals MVP award.&quot;Speechless, sobra. Pagdating pa lang dito, pagtapos pa lang ng Game 1, gusto ko na ulit matapos ‘to. Gusto ko na ulit mag-Game 2 para matapos na ‘to. Sobrang, sobrang saya ko talaga,&quot; said Peñaranda.&quot;Lagi naming iniisip na nasa iisang page kami lahat, na gusto naming manalo. Siguro ‘yung kung gaano lang kami katibay ng mga teammates ko. Sobrang effort [nila], masaya lang, walang pressure,&quot; added Bernardino.Khate Castillo caught fire in the first half before going scoreless in the second, finishing with 17 points on five triples and four rebounds, while Pringle Fabruada contributed 16 points and eight rebounds in the title-clinching win in the tournament presented by Uratex, Black Mamba, Red Dynasty, Aktiv Balls, and Pocari Sweat.&quot;I&#x27;m very proud. We&#x27;re playing in a home floor ng kalaban. The crowd was for them, but the players didn&#x27;t want to give up and they trusted each other. It&#x27;s a mixture of heart and hard work,&quot; said New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas head coach Cholo Villanueva.The Valkyries capped a dominant run to the championship with an overall 12-2 record, finishing the regular season with a league-best 8-2 record and sweeping Tagaytay-Tol in the semifinals and Discovery-Rizal in the Finals to claim the first professional title in WMPBL history.Over at the other side, Lim paced Perlas with 24 points and six rebounds.Palmera-Dy added 15 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, while Tacky Tacatac stepped up with 13 markers.However, Tantoy Ferrer was held to just seven points in the heartbreaking defeat.<div> </div><div>The Scores:</div>New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas 79 – Peñaranda 20, Bernardino 18, Castillo 17, Fabruada 16, Tongco 4, Lozada 2, Manzanares 2, Aquino 0, Claro 0, Bariquit 0Discovery-Rizal 77 – Lim 24, Palmera-Dy 15, Tacatac 13, Candelario 7, Ferrer 7, Sambile 4, Sison 3, Anies 2, Galicia 2Quarterscores: 21-22, 44-46, 64-59, 79-77

New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas outlasted Discovery-Perlas, 79-77, to crown themselves as the first-ever professional champions of the Women's Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League on Sunday night at the Enderun Gym.

New Zealand Bluefire-Batangas outlasted Discovery-Perlas, 79-77, to crown themselves as the first-ever professional champions of the Women's Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League on Sunday night at the Enderun Gym.

Batangas completes sweep of Discovery to annex WMPBL crown

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Batangas completes sweep of Discovery to annex WMPBL crown

ABS-CBN News

Published November 16, 2025 10:53 PM PHT

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Women's Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League

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Afril Bernardino

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