The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a professional basketball league in the Philippines. Since its establishment in 2017, the league has played through six seasons and currently consists of 29 teams.
Five different teams have finished with the league's top seed. Four of them did so as a member of the North Division. The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards are the only team to accomplish an undefeated regular season, doing so in 2022.
Regular season | Playoffs | Finals | No. of teams | No. of games | Notes | Ref. | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Top seed | Record | Year | North champion | South champion | Year | Champion | ||||
2018 Rajah Cup | Batangas City Athletics | 8–1 (.889) | 2018 | — [lower-alpha 1] | 2018 | Batangas City Athletics | 10 | 9 | Inaugural season; started with 10 teams | [1] | |
2018–19 Datu Cup | Bataan Risers | 23–2 (.920) | 2019 | San Juan Knights | Davao Occidental Tigers | 2019 | San Juan Knights | 26 | 25 | 16 expansion teams joined | [2] |
2019–20 Lakan Season | San Juan Knights [lower-alpha 2] | 26–4 (.867) | 2020–21 | San Juan Knights | Davao Occidental Tigers | 2021 | Davao Occidental Tigers | 31 | 29–30 [lower-alpha 3] | 1 team departed; 6 expansion teams joined | [3] |
2020–21 | Season cancelled [lower-alpha 4] |
Regular season | Playoffs | Finals | No. of teams | No. of games | Notes | Ref. | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Top seed | Record | Year | North champion | South champion | Year | Champion | |||||
2022 | Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards | 21–0 (1.000) | 2022 | Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards | Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines | 2022 | Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards | 22 | 21 | 9 teams departed | [5] | |
2023 | Pampanga Giant Lanterns | 26–2 (.929) | 2023 | Pampanga Giant Lanterns | Bacoor City Strikers | 2023 | Pampanga Giant Lanterns | 29 | 27–28 [lower-alpha 5] | 2 expansion teams joined; 5 teams returned | [6] [7] | |
2024 | San Juan Knights [lower-alpha 6] | 26–2 (.929) | 26–2 | 2024 | To be determined | 2024 | To be determined | 29 [lower-alpha 7] | 28 | 2 expansion teams joined; 1 team returned; 3 teams departed | [9] |
The San Juan Knights, also known as the San Juan Knights – Go For Gold for sponsorship reasons, are a Filipino professional basketball team based in San Juan. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. They are one of three teams based in Metro Manila's Eastern District and play their home games at Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Mark Yee is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Abra Weavers of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).
Robby Cruz Celiz is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was drafted 17th overall in the 2013 PBA draft by the Tropang Texters. He has played in multiple basketball leagues such as the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL), and Pilipinas Super League (PSL).
The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines consisting of 29 teams.
The Pampanga Giant Lanterns, also known as Pampanga Giant Lanterns – AMG3 Construction for sponsorship reasons, are a Filipino professional basketball team based in the province of Pampanga. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. They are one of five teams based in the Central Luzon region and split their home games between Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando and AUF Sports and Cultural Center in Angeles City.
The 2018–19 MPBL season, also known as the MPBL Datu Cup, was the second season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. The regular season began on June 12, 2018 with the opening ceremonies Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, and ended on March 11, 2019. The league also held its first ever All-Star Game at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay on March 2, 2019. The playoffs then began on March 12, 2019 and ended on April 25, 2019 when the San Juan Knights defeated the Davao Occidental Tigers in five games in the 2019 MPBL finals.
The 2019–20 MPBL season, also known as the MPBL Lakan Season or the Chooks-to-Go MPBL Lakan Season for sponsorship reasons, was the third season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. It was also the last season of the league's amateur era, as they would turn professional in December 2021. The regular season began June 12, 2019 with the opening ceremonies at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, and ended on February 12, 2020. The 2020 MPBL All-Star Game was also held at the same venue on February 13, 2020. The playoffs then began on February 15, 2020.
The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards are a Filipino professional basketball team based in the province of Nueva Ecija. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. They are one of five teams based in the Central Luzon region and play their home games at Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Palayan.
The 2022 MPBL season was the fourth season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and the first as a professional league. The regular season began on April 25, 2022 with opening ceremonies at the Batangas City Sports Coliseum in Batangas City, Batangas, and ended on October 13. The 2022 MPBL All-Star Game was also held at the Batangas City Coliseum on October 2. The playoffs then began on October 15 and ended on December 12 when the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards defeated the Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines in four games in the 2022 MPBL finals.
The 2023 MPBL playoffs was the postseason tournament of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League's 2023 season, the league's fifth overall, and the fourth under the 16-team format. The postseason tournament began on October 6, three days after the end of the regular season, and ended on December 2, 2023.
Michael Vincent Galang Juico is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Pangasinan Heatwaves of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was drafted 30th overall in the 2017 PBA draft by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. Although he had a short PBA career, he has since won titles in other leagues, both in the amateur and professional level.
The 2024 MPBL season is the sixth season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and its third under professional status. The regular season began on April 6, 2024 with the opening ceremonies at the Calasiao Sports Complex in Calasiao, Pangasinan, and ended on October 1. The 2024 MPBL All-Star Game was held at the Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum in Zamboanga City on September 7. The playoffs are expected to begin on October 5.
The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards and San Juan Knights first met in 2019 in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, but the rivalry began getting fierce as both teams became contenders. Following their title clash in the 2022 FilBasket Summer Championship, both teams have fought for North Division contention in the MPBL, playing each other in back-to-back playoff series.
The 2022 Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards season was the second season of the franchise in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).
Billy Ray Robles is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).
The MPBL national finals or MPBL finals is the annual championship series of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). The North and South Division champions compete in a best-of-five series to determine the league champion.