Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL)

Upcoming season or competition: 2025 MPBL season
Sport	Basketball
Founded	August 29, 2017;7 years ago (2017-08-29)
Founder	Manny Pacquiao
First season	2018
COO	Zaldy Realubit
Commissioner	Kenneth Duremdes
Motto	Ang Liga Ng Bawat Pilipino (The League of Every Filipino)
No. of teams	29
Country	Philippines
Headquarters	Pasig
Continent	FIBA Asia (Asia)
Most recent champion(s)	Pampanga Giant Lanterns (2nd title)
Most titles	Pampanga Giant Lanterns (2 titles)
TV partner(s)	Cignal TV Media Pilipinas TV Pilipinas Live Facebook YouTube

The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines consisting of 29 teams as of the 2024 season.

Founded in 2017 by eight-division boxing world champion Manny Pacquiao, the MPBL is not intended to be a competitor to the top-flight Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), but rather to provide a gateway for local, homegrown talents to showcase their skills. The league uses a home-and-away format, similar to the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association. ^[1] The MPBL started an amateur league before being granted professional status in 2021 by the Games and Amusements Board. ^[2]

The MPBL is the oldest in a series of leagues under the Maharlika Pilipinas name. It is followed by the Junior MPBL, ^[3] the Maharlika Pilipinas Volleyball Association (MPVA), ^[4] and the upcoming Women's Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (WMPBL). ^[5]

The Pampanga Giant Lanterns are the current defending champions, beating the Quezon Huskers in three games during the 2024 MPBL finals. They are also the team with the most championships with two. ^[6]

History

Founding

Pacquiao formally launched the MPBL on August 29, 2017, with the intent to feature both the commercial and barangay-level side, with teams on the commercial side to have a home locality in addition to a corporate sponsor. ^{[7] [8]} The plan was for the league to begin with Luzon-based teams only and then expand to Visayas and Mindanao later on. The expanded league would have two divisions, North and South, where one team from both divisions face in a finals series similar to the format of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in North America. ^[1] The league was planned to start as early as September 23, 2017 with at least six teams. ^[9] A preseason tournament was held with the Bulacan Kuyas finishing as champions. ^[10] Snow Badua was the league's inaugural commissioner, but he did not take on the role when the first season eventually began as six-time PBA champion Kenneth Duremdes succeeded Badua as league commissioner on November 22, 2017.

Amateur era

The Smart Araneta Coliseum (left) served as the venue for the league's inaugural gameday on January 25, 2018. The Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum (right) is home to the Zamboanga Master Sardines, one of sixteen teams that joined during the league's national expansion.

The MPBL began its inaugural season on January 25, 2018, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. The inaugural season featured ten teams, all based in Luzon, with the requirement of each team having three homegrown players. ^{[11] [12]} In the opening game, the Parañaque Patriots scored a 70–60 victory over the Caloocan Supremos. ^[13] The playoffs only had eight teams due to the small size, concluding with the Batangas City Athletics winning the inaugural title in the 2018 finals against the Muntinlupa Cagers.

In the 2018–19 season, the league added sixteen expansion teams, bringing the total to 26 teams. Five of the sixteen expansions are based in Visayas and Mindanao, thus marking the league's national expansion. ^{[14] [15]} The North and South Divisions were introduced and the playoff pool doubled to sixteen teams, eight per division. ^[16] The league also placed roster restrictions on teams, only allowing one Filipino-foreigner and up to five ex-professional players. This season also saw the inaugural edition of the MPBL All-Star Game, which was held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. The San Juan Knights would win the title that season against the Davao Occidental Tigers in the 2019 national finals, which is to date, the only series to go the full length of five games.

John Wilson was a key player in San Juan's 2019 championship run and, in 2020, became the first player in the league to score 1,000 points.

The following 2019–20 season featured 31 teams participating in the league, the most the league had in its history, adding six expansion teams but also saw its first departing team, the Mandaluyong El Tigre. Roster restrictions were also relaxed, allowing more Filipino-foreigners and ex-professional players to play in the league. ^[18] In December 2019, Chooks-to-Go of Bounty Agro Ventures became the title sponsor of the league under what was initially a five-year deal. ^[19] This season also saw the debut of the International Invasion series, which saw games being played in the United Arab Emirates and in Canada.

COVID-19 disruption

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, the league suspended play on March 12, 2020. Nearly a year later, on March 6, 2021, the league announced the resumption of its playoffs. The remainder of the league's 2020 playoffs was held at a bubble at the Subic Bay Gymnasium. ^[20] In a rematch of the 2019 national finals series, the Davao Occidental Tigers won the 2021 national finals against the San Juan Knights.

Because of the restrictions imposed by the government due to the pandemic, the league's 2020–21 season would be cancelled. The league's fourth season would be postponed multiple times before it eventually began in 2022. ^{[21] [22]} In October 2021, Chooks-to-Go took over the league's basketball operations. ^[19]

Professional era

On November 9, 2021, it was announced that the MPBL would turn into a professional league. A month later, on December 9, 2021, the MPBL was granted professional status by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB). ^[2] This also allowed the league to feature collegiate players on team rosters, as long as the player itself is a Special Guest Licensee. The league's first professional event was the 2021 Invitational. During which, all roster restrictions were lifted. ^{[23] [24]}

The 2022 season would finally begin over a year after last season's conclusion, which featured 22 of the 31 teams from the previous season. The season marked a new sponsorship with sports betting platform OKBet, succeeding Chooks-to-Go as the title sponsor. ^[25] The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards became the first team to achieve a regular season sweep and subsequently won the 2022 national finals against the Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines. The succeeding 2023 season featured 29 teams, including two expansion teams and five returning teams. ^[26] The season culminated with the homegrown-laden Pampanga Giant Lanterns sweeping the Bacoor City Strikers in the 2023 national finals.

During this time, a trend began of teams participating in other leagues during the MPBL offseason. This first occurred in FilBasket during the Subic 2021 and Summer 2022 championships, which saw multiple teams participate due to the long gap between the 2019–20 and 2022 seasons. ^{[27] [28]} In recent years, teams that were eliminated for the season would compete in the Pilipinas Super League (PSL) during the offseason. ^[29] It is also around this time where multiple PBA prospects, such as Justine Baltazar, CJ Cansino, and Adrian Nocum, began playing in the MPBL before declaring for the draft. ^{[30] [31] [32]}

Justine Baltazar (pictured with the Converge FiberXers) led Pampanga to back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024.

The 2024 season featured 29 teams, which includes the arrival of two expansion teams but also the departure of three teams. The ex-professional player limit was removed, allowing teams to sign any number of professional players onto their rosters. ^[33] In April 2024, the league began exploring the possibility of joining the East Asia Super League. ^[34] However, this was later refuted by EASL CEO Henry Kerins in October that year, stating that "there were no exploratory talks" while also sharing his respect for the league. ^[35] The season culminated with the first back-to-back championship after Pampanga defeated the Quezon Huskers in three games in the 2024 MPBL finals. ^[36]

Further developments

Following the success of the MPBL, Pacquiao has made further developments in grassroots-based sports. On June 15, 2023, the Junior MPBL was unveiled in a press conference. The youth-oriented league's inaugural season began on July 9, 2023, with teams competing in 14-under, 16-under, and 18-under divisions. ^[37] The junior league will soon feature a 21-under division, billed as the "Junior MPBL D-League", which will commence in May 2024. In the same press conference announcing the junior league, Pacquiao also shared intent to create a volleyball counterpart similar to the MPBL that will cater to female players. ^[3] That league would be known as the Maharlika Pilipinas Volleyball Association (MPVA) and began on October 22, 2023, with eight teams. ^{[4] [38]} On October 27, 2024, it was reported that a direct women's counterpart, the Women's Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, will begin its inaugural campaign in January 2025. UST Growling Tigers coach Haydee Ong is set to be the first commissioner of the women's league. ^[5]

On November 7, 2023, the league launched its social arm, the MPBL Kalinga, with the goal of providing medical assistance to MPBL players, former and current, as well as league officials and staff. ^[39] In October 2024, a party-list sharing the same acronym, the Maharlikang Pilipino sa Bagong Lipunan party-list, was created in an effort to extend their grassroots program into other sports. ^[40]

Teams

See also: Timeline of the MPBL

MPBL expansion and contraction

Season	No.	Exp.	Dep.	Diff.
2018	10	10	—	10
2018–19	26	16	0	16
2019–20	31	6	1	5
2022	22	0	9	9
2023	29	7	0	7
2024	29	4	4	0
2025	TBA	2	TBA	TBA

As of 2024, the league has 29 active teams divided into two geographic divisions: the North and the South Division. The Abra Weavers and Pangasinan Heatwaves are the two newest expansion teams having joined the league that same year, with Ilagan City joining in 2025.

In the maps below, blue pegs indicate North Division teams while red pegs indicate South Division teams. Yellow pegs indicate expansion and returning teams.

Caloocan Manila Marikina Muntinlupa Parañaque Pasay Quezon City San Juan Valenzuela class=notpageimage| Locations of teams based in Metro Manila

Abra Bataan Batangas City Bicolandia Bulacan Imus Biñan Ilagan City (2025) Nueva Ecija Mindoro Pampanga Pangasinan Quezon Rizal class=notpageimage| Locations of teams based in Luzon

Bacolod and Negros Iloilo class=notpageimage| Locations of teams based in Visayas

Basilan (2025) Davao Occ. Sarangani S. Cotabato Zamboanga class=notpageimage| Locations of teams based in Mindanao

Overview of MPBL teams

Division	Team	Location	Primary venue	Capacity	Founded (lineage)	Joined	Head coach [a]
North	Abra Weavers	Bangued, Abra	University of Abra	1,500	2024		Yong Garcia
	Bataan Risers	Balanga, Bataan	Bataan People's Center	4,000	2018		Goody Ilagan
	Bulacan Kuyas	Baliwag, Bulacan	Baliwag Star Arena [b]	5,000	2017	2018	Jonathan Reyes
	Caloocan Batang Kankaloo	Caloocan	Caloocan Sports Complex	3,000	2017	2018	Alexander Angeles
	Manila Batang Sampaloc	Manila [c]	San Andres Sports Complex	3,000	2018		Ariel Vanguardia
	Marikina Shoemasters	Marikina	Marikina Sports Center [b]	7,000	2018		Rysal Castro
	Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards	Palayan, Nueva Ecija	Nueva Ecija Coliseum	3,000	2019		Don Dulay
	Pampanga Giant Lanterns	San Fernando, Pampanga	Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center	3,000	2018		Dennis Pineda (de facto) Frederick Dimatulac (acting)
	Pangasinan Heatwaves	Calasiao, Pangasinan	Calasiao Sports Complex	4,000	2024		Jerson Cabiltes
	Pasay Voyagers	Pasay	Cuneta Astrodome	12,000	2018		Marlon Martin
	Quezon City Toda Aksyon	Quezon City	Amoranto Arena	2,000	2018		Egay Macaraya
	Rizal Golden Coolers	Antipolo, Rizal	Ynares Center	7,400	2018		Ralph Rivera
	San Juan Knights	San Juan	Filoil EcoOil Centre	5,500	2018 (1999)	2018	Jinggoy Estrada (de facto) Randy Alcantara (acting)
	Valenzuela Classic	Valenzuela	WES Arena	1,100	2017	2018	Eric Martinez
South	Bacolod City of Smiles	Bacolod	La Salle Coliseum [b]	8,000	2019		Vacant
	Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters	Batangas City, Batangas	Batangas City Sports Coliseum	4,000	2018		Cholo Villanueva
	Bicolandia Oragons	Legazpi, Albay	Ibalong Centrum for Recreation [b]	8,000	2019		Raymond Valenzona
	Biñan Tatak Gel	Biñan, Laguna	Alonte Sports Arena	6,500	2018		Boyet Fernandez
	Davao Occidental Tigers	Davao City [d]	Davao City Recreation Center [b]	2,500	2018		Manu Iñigo
	Iloilo United Royals	Passi, Iloilo	Passi City Arena [b]	2,000	2019		MC Abolucion
	Imus Agimat	Imus, Cavite	Imus Sports Complex [b]	1,000	2018		Eric Sy
	Mindoro Tamaraws	Pola, Oriental Mindoro	Pola Gymnasium	N/A	2019		Rodney Santos
	Muntinlupa Cagers	Muntinlupa	Muntinlupa Sports Center [b]	3,000	2018		Mixson Ramos
	Negros Muscovados	Bacolod	La Salle Coliseum [b]	8,000	2021	2023	Bonnie Garcia
	Parañaque Patriots	Parañaque	Olivarez College	3,500	2017	2018	Michael Saguiguit
	Quezon Huskers	Lucena	Quezon Convention Center	7,000	2023 (2004)	2023	Eric Gonzales
	Sarangani Marlins	Alabel, Sarangani	Sarangani Capitol Gymnasium [b]	1,000	2019 (1998)	2019	John Kallos
	South Cotabato Warriors	General Santos	Lagao Gymnasium [b]	6,000	2018 (2005)	2018	Elvis Tolentino
	Zamboanga Master Sardines	Zamboanga City	Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum	12,000	2019 (2018) [e]	2018	Louie Alas

Future teams

Team	Location	Primary venue	Capacity	Founded	Joining (Returning)	Head coach
Basilan Starhorse	Lamitan, Basilan	Lamitan Capitol Gymnasium	3,000	2018	2018 (2025) [41]	Mac Tan
Ilagan City MPBL team	Ilagan, Isabela	To be announced		2025 [42]		TBA

Former teams

Team	Location	Primary venue	Capacity	Founded (lineage)	Joined	Left
Bacoor City Strikers	Bacoor, Cavite	Strike Gymnasium	1,500	2018		2023
Cebu Casino Ethyl Alcohol	Cebu City	Southwestern University	7,000	2018		2020
Makati OKBet Kings	Makati	Makati Coliseum	12,000	2018		2023
Mandaluyong El Tigre	Mandaluyong	José Rizal University	1,000	2018		2019
Navotas Uni-Pak Sardines	Navotas	Navotas Sports Complex	1,000	2018		2020
Pasig City MCW Sports	Pasig	Ynares Sports Arena	3,000	2018 (1998)	2018	2023
Tarlac United Force	Tarlac City, Tarlac	Tarlac State University	N/A	2024 [f]

Notes

1. Teams may have two head coaches: a de facto head coach and an acting head coach. For the purposes of this table, both coaches are listed.
2. The team did not play any home games in the 2024 season. The venue indicated is their primary venue from the last season they played at home.
3. Despite being named after the district of Sampaloc, the Manila Batang Sampaloc play their home games in Paco and Malate.
4. Despite being named after the province of Davao Occidental, the Davao Occidental Tigers play their home games within the Metro Davao area.
5. Should one also consider the Zamboanga Valientes, whose MPBL side split from the team to form the now-Zamboanga Master Sardines in 2019, the team's lineage can be dated back to 2006.
6. The Tarlac United Force were pulled by the league without playing a single game due to financial issues.

Teams per region

The table below shows how the league is spread across all regions in the country, sorted from north to south. Metro Manila has the most active teams out of any region with nine followed by Calabarzon with five and Central Luzon with four. In terms of island groups, most of the teams are based in Luzon, which has 22 teams, while Mindanao and Visayas each have four and three teams, respectively.

As of 2024, twelve of the country's eighteen regions are currently being represented. Two others, Central Visayas and Bangsamoro (until 2025), previously had teams represent their respective regions. The only regions that haven't had a representing team at any point are Cagayan Valley (until 2025), Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Caraga.

Region	2018	2018–19	2019–20	2022	2023	2024
Ilocos Region	—					1
Cordillera	—					1
Central Luzon	2	3	4	3	4
Metro Manila	6	13	12	9	11	9
Calabarzon	2	5			6	5
Mimaropa	—		1
Bicol Region	—		1	—	1
Western Visayas	—		2	1	3	1
Negros Island Region [a]	—					2
Central Visayas	—	1		—
Zamboanga Peninsula	—	1
Davao Region	—	1		—		1
Soccsksargen	—	1	2
Bangsamoro [b]	—	1		—

Notes

1. The Negros Island Region was re-established in 2024. The two teams from the region at that time, Bacolod City of Smiles and Negros Muscovados, were based in Western Visayas prior to that.
2. Bangsamoro was established in 2019. The lone team from the region at that time, Basilan Steel, was based in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao prior to that.

Roster regulations

There is no draft held during the off-season, instead teams acquire their players through the signing of contracts. Teams must have a minimum of 15 players in their roster, with the maximum being 22. In each game, however, teams can only field a 15-man roster into the court. All local players are eligible, although teams can also sign up to two Filipino-foreigners. The league currently doesn't allow imports. ^[43]

Being based in the grassroots level, each team is required to have at least three homegrown players who come from the team's home locality. Since 2022, with the transition to professional status, the league has also allowed collegiate players to join as long as the player is granted a Special Guest License from the Games and Amusement Board. ^[44] Since June 1, 2024, the NCAA no longer allows SGLs to play professionally. ^{[45] [46]} The league also had an ex-professional player limit, where teams were allowed to sign limited number of players with prior professional experience. This was replaced with an ex-PBA player limit in 2022, and in 2024 the limit was scrapped in its entirety. ^[33] The league schedules a window during the middle of the season where teams can propose trades, all to be approved by the commissioner's office.

Season format

Preseason

Main article: MPBL Preseason Invitational

Before the regular season begins, an invitational tournament is usually held as part of the preseason. The tournament is divided into two phases: the group stage and the playoffs. In the group stage, the participating teams are divided into multiple groups, where each team will play against their group opponents once. The top two teams of each group advance to a single-elimination playoffs.

Regular season

See also: List of MPBL seasons

The regular season utilizes a single round-robin tournament format, where each team plays against all of the other teams once, regardless of division alignment. The league uses FIBA rules for all of its games. The league uses the number of wins as its first metric for determining rankings and any ties are broken using the quotient system. ^[47]

Two or three games are scheduled each day to be played in a single venue, thus a majority of the league's games are considered neutral-site games. The home team typically plays in the final game, although in some occasions, it may also be a neutral-site game. Should any games be postponed or suspended, most commonly due to natural disasters like typhoons, the games would be moved towards the end of the regular season schedule. The affected games will only be played or resumed if there are any playoff implications for any of the teams involved. ^[48]

Similar to the PBA, league also schedules series of out-of-town games throughout the regular season, known as Invasion series, where consecutive gamedays take place in areas far from the Greater Manila Area, such as Visayas and Mindanao. Invasion series also cover the league's international games.

All-Star Game

Main article: MPBL All-Star Game

Near the end of the regular season, the league holds its seasonal All-Star Game. Two teams representing the North and South Divisions are composed of fifteen players from each division, all of whom are declared as the season's all-stars. Alongside the All-Star Game are the various festivities held at the same day, including the Executives' Game, Three-Point Shootout, and Slam Dunk Contest.

Playoffs

See also: MPBL finals

Since the 2018–19 season, top eight teams in each division advance to the playoffs. In the first round or the division quarterfinals, the first seed matches with the eighth seed, the second with the seventh, the third with the sixth, and the fourth with the fifth. The division semifinals will then have the winner of the 1–8 series match with the winner of the 4–5 series, and the winner of the 2–7 series with the winner of the 3–6 series. The winners of both series then meet in the division finals. All three divisional rounds are played in best-of-three series.

The champions of each division will then meet in the final round, dubbed as the MPBL finals or the MPBL national finals, where the two teams play in a best-of-five series to determine the series champion.

Homecourt advantage

During the first two rounds of the playoffs, two games from within the same division are played in the same gameday at the same venue. Because of this, a different system is used to determine homecourt advantage for those two rounds, shown in the table below. The division finals uses a 1–1–1 format, while the national finals uses a 2–2–1 format.

Seed		Court
DQF	DSF	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
1st	Highest	Home	Neutral	Home
2nd				Home or Neutral
3rd	Second-highest	Neutral	Home
4th
5th	Second-lowest	Neutral	Away	Away or neutral
6th
7th	Lowest	Away	Neutral
8th				Away

Notes

• If one or two series feature a game 3, the highest-seeded remaining team hosts the games.
• If more than two series feature a game 3, the two highest-seeded remaining teams host the games.

Awards

Main article: List of MPBL awards

A majority of the league's awards are given out during the national finals, such as the Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year awards. Two awards, the Finals MVP and Coach of the Year, are given out after the finals.

Championships

Main article: List of MPBL champions

As of 2024, five teams have won the championship, with the Pampanga Giant Lanterns being the only team to win two titles. Three teams have made two appearances in the national finals thus far.

†	Team has since departed the league

Team	Win	Loss	Total	Year(s) won	Year(s) lost
Pampanga Giant Lanterns	2	0	2	2023, 2024	—
San Juan Knights	1	1	2	2019	2021
Davao Occidental Tigers	1	1	2	2021	2019
Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters	1	0	1	2018	—
Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards	1	0	1	2022	—
Muntinlupa Cagers	0	1	1	—	2018
Zamboanga Master Sardines	0	1	1	—	2022
Bacoor City Strikers†	0	1	1	—	2023
Quezon Huskers	0	1	1	—	2024

Junior MPBL

Year	Season	Age group	Champion	Runner-up
2023	Season 1	14-Under	Cavite City Aces Solar	Mindoro Junior Disiplinados
		16-Under	Davao Red Cubs	Quezon City 828 Junior Giants
		18-Under	Mandaluyong Junior Microsmith	Davao Red Cubs
2024	Season 2	14-Under	Biñan Tatak Gel	Rizal Switch Fiber
		16-Under	San Pedro Spartans	Makabagong San Juan Mighty Warriors
		18-Under	Palawan Yurich Builders	Rizal Switch Fiber
		D-League (21-Under)	To be determined

Rivalries

Due to the league using a single round-robin format in every season thus far, the league’s rivalries mostly revolve around their playoff match-ups, where they play mutliple games in a series. Others may involve contention within the division or the league overall, or the proximity of the teams.

North Division

• Nueva Ecija–Pampanga rivalry
  • During the early to mid-2020s, the two teams have become consistent contenders in the North Division. With both teams being based in Central Luzon, this added geography to the rivalry. The two teams met in the playoffs twice, both in the division semifinals, with Nueva Ecija winning the 2022 meeting and Pampanga winning the 2024 meeting. ^{[49] [50]}
• Nueva Ecija–San Juan rivalry
  • Since the start of the professional era, both teams have become consistent contenders in the North Division. Although they only met in the MPBL playoffs twice, including a North Division finals match-up in 2022, ^[51] it has also extended into other leagues.
• Pampanga–San Juan rivalry
  • A notable rivalry in the early to mid-2020s, both teams faced off in the playoffs three times in four seasons from 2020 to 2024, culminating in back-to-back battles for the North Division title in the latter two seasons, with Pampanga winning both. ^{[52] [53]}

South Division

• Batangas City–Zamboanga rivalry
  • Both teams met in the playoffs in three consecutive seasons from 2019 to 2022, with all three series going the full three-game length. The culmination of this streak was a South Division finals match-up which Zamboanga won. ^{[54] [55]}

Interdivisional

• Davao Occidental–San Juan rivalry
  • A notable rivalry during the amateur era, the two teams met in the national finals in back-to-back seasons (2019 and 2021), with San Juan winning the former and Davao Occidental winning the latter. ^[56]

Defunct

• Bacoor City–Imus rivalry
  • The league's first intra-provincial rivalry, ^[57] Bacoor City and Imus fought for triumph in Cavite. The rivalry itself, however, wasn't as competitive as Bacoor City won all four meetings against Imus, none of which happened in the playoffs. The rivalry ended after the 2023 season following Bacoor City's departure.

Media coverage

Throughout the history of the MPBL, it has had multiple networks acquire the league's broadcast rights. In its first season, ABS-CBN became the league's first broadcast partner in 2018, ^[58] and aired the games on television via the main channel, S+A, Liga, its various regional stations in regional markets, and The Filipino Channel in international markets. The networ's iWantTFC streaming service aired the games worldwide. Due to the shutdown of ABS-CBN broadcasting, its last broadcast was the 2021 MPBL finals before the league had to find a new partner.

Other networks which previously held the broadcast rights include Fox Sports Asia, which held the broadcast rights for Monday games throughout the 2018–19 season. Afterwards, it was the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation broadcasting all games during the 2021 Invitational, with TAP Digital Media Ventures Corporation's TAP Go service streaming the games.

Current

Currently, Cignal TV holds the television broadcast rights. Since 2022, One PH airs the primetime game via delayed telecast while Media Pilipinas TV (MPTV) airs all games live since 2023. The games are also streamed on Cignal's Pilipinas Live streaming service. The league broadcasts all of the games online via its social media channels.

The league provides a single broadcast feed that is utilized across all platforms. It also employs its own broadcast team of commentators and analysts.

Criticisms and controversies

In 2018, ahead of its second season, the league was criticized for its classification of and restrictions on Filipino-foreigners. Intended to maintain parity and to keep in line with the league's grassroots foundations, the rule became controversial among fans, coaches, and players, particularly, Filipino-foreigners who have played in the PBA such as Rob Reyes and Abu Tratter. ^{[59] [60]}

The league's officiating has also been criticized with a focus on physicality. Following dissatisfaction from a non-call during a 2023 playoff game against Zamboanga, Quezon team manager Donn Kapunan stated that “there's no problem with a physical game; that's part of it. But intentionally hurting someone, action should be taken by the officials to be fair to every team, so that that kind of incident does not happen again.” ^[61] In 2024, Manila player Greg Slaughter described the league's physicality as "fouling that isn't called" in an interview with SPIN.ph's Homer D. Sayson. ^[62]

The league has also been noted for its game-fixing problem, which has been one of its long-standing issues. The league began cracking down on game-fixing ahead of the 2019–20 season, ^[63] a season that went on to have multiple such cases. ^{[64] [65] [66]} Ahead of the 2024 season, the league banned 47 players and officials who were allegedly involved in such acts. ^[67]

Commissioners

Kenneth Duremdes, MPBL commissioner since November 2017.

No.	Commissioner	Tenure
		From	To
1	Snow Badua	August 29, 2017	November 22, 2017
2	Kenneth Duremdes	November 22, 2017	incumbent

See also

• Maharlika Pilipinas Volleyball Association – the MPBL's volleyball counterpart
• List of MPBL champions
• List of MPBL records
• List of MPBL awards
• List of MPBL seasons

References

1. Henson, Joaquin (September 3, 2017). "MPBL won't compete with PBA". The Philippine Star. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
2. "Chooks-to-Go MPBL officially turns pro". Tiebreaker Times. December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
3. "Pacquiao sets up Junior MPBL". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
4. Escarlote, Mark (August 12, 2023). "Pacquiao launching volleyball tournament". Daily Tribune Sports. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
5. Valencia, Justin (October 27, 2024). "Haydee Ong aims to elevate women's basketball as WMPBL commissioner". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
6. "Pampanga sweeps Quezon to claim back-to-back MPBL championships". spin.ph. December 7, 2024. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
7. Del Rosario, Paolo (August 29, 2017). "Senator Manny Pacquiao launches new basketball league". CNN Philippines (in English and Filipino). Archived from the original on June 5, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
8. "From humble origins in GenSan, Manny Pacquiao's MPBL is now a nation-wide league". ABS-CBN Sports. June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2018. nd as the semi-professional league continues to grow, it's amazing to think that it all started with a 'pa-liga' in General Santos City.
9. Lintag, Paul (August 29, 2017). "Home-and-away games make grand return through Maharlika Pilipinas". ABS-CBN Sports. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
10. "ABS-CBN S+A is the official broadcaster of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League". January 12, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
11. Leongson, Randolph (January 22, 2018). "Maharlika basketball league tips off Thursday with 10 teams at Big Dome". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
12. Nicolas, Jino (February 8, 2018). "Tanduay Athletics locked in for grassroots basketball". BusinessWorld. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
13. Leongson, Randolph (January 25, 2018). "Pacquiao's dream league comes to reality; Parañaque wins". Inquirer.net. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
14. Lagunzad, Jerome. "20 teams, so far, in MPBL". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
15. Luarca, Roy (June 12, 2018). "MPBL: Expansion teams, new faces and stars headline Datu Cup curtain-raiser". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
16. Henson, Joaquin M. "Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League opens next joust June 12". Philstar.com. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
17. "John Wilson becomes first player to reach MPBL 1,000-point milestone". Inquirer.net. January 12, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
18. "MPBL raises limit on Fil-foreigners to two, ex-pros to seven per team". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. May 17, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
19. "Chooks-to-Go takes over MPBL's basketball operations". Tiebreaker Times. October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
20. Giongco, Mark (March 6, 2021). "MPBL set to resume division finals on March 10". Inquirer.net. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
21. Tupas, Cedelf (June 1, 2020). "MPBL cancels 2020–2021 season". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
22. Inquirer, Philippine Daily (November 17, 2021). "MPBL reboots with packed Invitational". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
23. "Chooks-to-Go MPBL set to turn pro, removes Fil-for restrictions". Tiebreaker Times. November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
24. "MPBL scraps limit on Fil-foreign players per team – for the time being". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. November 11, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
25. Ulanday, John Bryan. "MPBL seals deal with sports betting firm, puts premium on integrity". Philstar.com. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
26. "Quezon, Negros Musovados join MPBL as 5th season features 26 squads". Philstar.com. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
27. "Rhenz Abando to play for San Juan Knights in Filbasket". Spin.ph. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
28. "San Juan Knights beat Batangas City to stay unbeaten in Filbasket". Spin.ph. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
29. "Nueva Ecija hosts Davao Occidental as Pilipinas Super League heads out of town". Philstar.com. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
30. Ramos, Gerry (July 3, 2024). "Consensus No. 1 pick Justine Baltazar applies for PBA draft again". Spin.ph. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
31. Li, Matthew (June 19, 2024). "CJ Cansino, Evan Nelle enter PBA Draft". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
32. Ramos, Gerry (November 27, 2023). "Mapua product Adrian Nocum signed by Rain or Shine to two-year deal". Spin.ph. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
33. "MPBL welcomes unlimited pros, expands with two new franchises". Tiebreaker Times. February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
34. Joble, Rey (April 25, 2024). "MPBL in EASL? League exec in exploratory talks with biggest nationwide hoop". Pinoystep.com. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
35. Anzures, Rom (October 3, 2024). "Will we see MPBL teams in the EASL soon? CEO Henry Kerins answers". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
36. "Pampanga sweeps Quezon to claim back-to-back MPBL championships". spin.ph. December 7, 2024. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
37. "Pacquiao puts spotlight on homegrown hoop talents in Junior MPBL". RAPPLER. June 16, 2023. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
38. Villanueva, Ralph Edwin. "Pacquiao-founded volleyball league to showcase homegrown talent". Philstar.com. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
39. Ulanday, John Bryan. "MPBL launches social arm to aid former players". Philstar.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
40. Panti, Llanesca T. (October 7, 2024). "Ex-PBA MVP Duremdes, Jinkee Pacquiao eye House seats". GMA News Online. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
41. Badua, Snow (November 27, 2024). "Basilan team making an MPBL comeback after two-year hiatus". Spin.ph. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
42. "Ilagan City newest MPBL team when Season 7 opens on March 8". Spin.ph. January 16, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
43. "MPBL welcomes Quezon Province, Negros Muscovados". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
44. "MPBL partners with Cignal TV for fourth season". Tiebreaker Times. April 9, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
45. "NCAA to disallow use of SGL starting Season 100". GMA Network. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
46. Li, Matthew (March 1, 2024). "NCAA to enforce SGL ban after Season 99". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
47. "FINAL: Pampanga Giant Lanterns 109-75 Gensan Bulalakaw". Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. February 24, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024– via Facebook. Quezon City Toda Aksyon also qualifies for the semifinals along with Pampanga due to a superior quotient compared to Bulalakaw and Valenzuela.
48. "MPBL postpones Thursday games due to Carina". INQUIRER.net. July 25, 2024. Retrieved July 25, 2024. According to league rules, games with potential postseason consequences can be rescheduled after the original end of the regular season, although it is also possible that the games could be played instead sometime during the home stretch.
49. "MPBL: Nueva Ecija, San Juan forge North Finals showdown". Tiebreaker Times. November 12, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
50. "Pampanga nips Nueva Ecija in OT, meets San Juan in MPBL North finals". Philstar.com. October 31, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
51. "Nueva Ecija clinches MPBL North division crown". RAPPLER. November 26, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
52. "Pampanga nips San Juan to seize MPBL North Division title". Philstar.com. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
53. "Pampanga wins North Division title, advances to MPBL Finals". Spin.ph. November 11, 2024. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
54. "Zamboanga completes huge comeback to seal MPBL Finals date vs. Nueva Ecija". Dugout Philippines. December 2, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
55. "Squeaker sends Zamboanga to national finals". Philstar.com. November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
56. Lozada, Bong (March 21, 2021). "'Payback' as Davao Occidental wins MPBL national title, tops San Juan in OT". Inquirer.net. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
57. Lim, Allan (May 22, 2018). "MPBL team number 26: Bacoor City Strikers". Hoops. Archived from the original on June 1, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
58. "ABS-CBN S+A is broadcaster of Pacman's cage league". Manila Standard. January 12, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
59. "MPBL takes a hit for 'racist' rule limiting teams to only one Fil-foreign player". Spin.ph. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
60. "Tratter: MPBL rule on Fil-foreigners taking away opportunity from players". ESPN.com. May 17, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
61. Velasco, Bill. "Protecting the players". Philstar.com. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
62. Sayson, Homer D. (October 10, 2024). "MPBL physicality is 'actually fouling that isn't called,' rues Slaughter". Spin.ph. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
63. "Pacquiao taps experts to shadow 'shady' players in MPBL game-fixing crackdown". Spin.ph. June 10, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
64. Garcia, Ma. Angelica (November 4, 2019). "MPBL's SOCCSKSARGEN Marlins suspended over alleged game-fixing". GMA News Online. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
65. Badua, Snow (March 11, 2020). "After 'internal cleansing,' Muntinlupa Cagers declare war on game-fixing". Spin.ph. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
66. Leongson, Randolph B. (March 12, 2020). "Pampanga mum after Cruz, Juico tagged in MPBL game-fixing probe". Spin.ph. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
67. "MPBL bans 47 players, officials for 'game-fixing,' lifts limit on ex-pros". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. February 6, 2024. Retrieved February 17, 2024.

External links

• Genius Sports – scores and statistics