Manila Batang Sampaloc

"Manila Stars" redirects here. For the defunct MBA team, see Manila Metrostars.

Manila Batang Sampaloc
2024 Manila Batang Sampaloc season
League	MPBL (2018–present) PSL (2022–2024)
Founded	2018;7 years ago (2018)
History	Manila Stars 2018–2024 (MPBL) Manila CityStars 2022–present (PSL) Manila Batang Sampaloc 2024–present (MPBL)
Arena	San Andres Sports Complex Paco Arena
Location	Sampaloc, Manila
Team colors
Main sponsor	Strong Group Athletics Awesam Smile
Head coach	Ariel Vanguardia

The Manila Batang Sampaloc, officially referred to as Manila SV Batang Sampaloc SGA , are a Filipino professional basketball team based in the Manila district of Sampaloc. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. They are the lone representative of Metro Manila's Capital District and split their home games between San Andres Sports Complex in the district of Malate and Paco Arena in Paco Manila, Paco.

The team was founded as an expansion team for the 2018–19 MPBL season as the Manila Stars. The team also competed in the Pilipinas Super League since 2022 under the name Manila CityStars.

History

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League

2019–2020: The Bitoon–Dionisio era

The nation's capital joined the MPBL for the 2018–19 season, and in its first season, made an instant impact. Led by the duo of Chris Bitoon and Aris Dionisio, the team finished 20–5, tying with San Juan and Davao Occidental for the league's third-best record, as the Stars clinch the fourth seed in the 2019 playoffs. After getting past Caloocan in the First Round, they met with the league-leading Bataan Risers in the North Division Semifinals. Although Bataan won game 1, Manila pushed through the next two games to finish the upset and advance to the North Division Finals against San Juan. The series went in a similar way but in the opposite manner, as Manila won game 1 but with San Juan winning the next two to advance to the National Finals and eventually win the championship. At the end of the season, Dionisio won MPBL Defensive Player of the Year. He and Bitoon were also selected to the All-MPBL First Team and declared all-stars. ^[1]

Manila came back stronger for the 2019–20 season, finishing 25–5, clinching the second seed in the 2020 playoffs. The team first beat Pasig in the First Round, but feel short in the Division Semifinals against Makati. Once again, Manila won game 1, yet Makati won the rest of the series. Dionisio became a two-time all-star while he and Bitoon both made the All-MPBL Second Team. ^[2]

2021–2023: Out of contention

For the 2021 Invitational, Manila tapped Pocholo Villanueva as their head coach, but only finished third in Group D, failing to make the playoffs. Villanueva would later depart for the Batangas City Embassy Chill. ^[3] Following the departures of both Bitoon and Dionisio, Manila spent the next two seasons missing the playoffs, finishing 6–15 and 4–23 in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, respectively.

2024–present: Return to form

In the 2024 season, the team gained the backing of the Strong Group Athletics organization, and would later be renamed as the Manila Batang Sampaloc, or officially, the Manila SV Batang Sampaloc SGA. Their 2024 campaign is noted for their acquisition of four-time PBA champion Greg Slaughter among other ex-PBA players. ^[4] With their new acquisitions, the team finished the season 20–8 for their best output since 2020 and once again claiming a top-4 position. Slaughter and Rabeh Al-Hussaini were declared all-stars in the 2024 MPBL All-Star Game.

However, despite that, Manila fell short in the playoffs, losing to the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo in a division quarterfinals sweep, with both games being separated by one point. After the series, the organization stated that they are unsure if they will return for the 2025 MPBL season, citing financial difficulties and "uneven officiating". ^{[5] [6]}

Pilipinas Super League

The Stars came to the PSL for the 2022 DUMPER Cup during the MPBL's off-season. Finishing 9–6 in the conference, Manila tied with Boracay and Bulacan for seventh. The team managed to settle for eighth but lost to the San Juan Kings in the quarterfinals.

Team identity

The original Stars name can be traced back to the Manila Metrostars of the now-defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association. The team's logos until 2023 featured silhouettes of some of Manila's historic landmarks, such as the Rizal Monument and Manila Cathedral. Manila's color scheme has always used blue as the primary color.

Home venues

The Manila franchise has played most of their home games at San Andres Sports Complex since joining the MPBL. In 2022 and 2024, a portion of their home slate was played at Paco Arena.

Venue	Location	2018–19	2019–20	2022	2023	2024
San Andres Sports Complex	Manila	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Paco Arena		N	N	Y	N	Y

Current roster

Manila Batang Sampaloc roster

• v
• t
• e

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 0 Gonzaga, Tonino 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Ateneo G 1 Mitchell, DJ  (FF) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Hartford G 2 Cuya, Dash 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) G 3 Pasturan, Jimboy  (SGL) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) St. Benilde G 7 Hanapi, Didat 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Adamson G 13 Tolomia, Mike 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1993–01–06 Far Eastern F 15 Sena, James 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1988–08–31 José Rizal F 17 Cruz, Carl Bryan 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1991–08–21 Far Eastern F 18 Escandor, Francis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) De La Salle C 20 Slaughter, Greg  (FF) 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 258 lb (117 kg) 1988–05–19 Ateneo G 21 Torralba, Joshua 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1993–09–09 De La Salle G 22 Flores, Raphael 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) G 23 Cantimbuhan, John 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) F 24 Jamon, Jan 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 1993–04–05 Emilio Aguinaldo C 28 Umali, Shawn  (HG, SGL) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) St. Benilde F 33 Gonzaga, Jio 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) F 88 Bataller, Ira  (HG) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Letran

Head coach Ariel Vanguardia Assistant coach(es) Charles Tiu Legend (HG) Homegrown (FF) Filipino-foreigner (SGL) Special Guest Licensee (RS) Reserve player Injured Roster – via Genius Sports Updated as of: July 19, 2024

Head coaches

#	Name	Term	Ref.
1	Philip Cezar	2018–19
2	Tino Pinat	2019–20
3	Pocholo Villanueva	2021
4	Maximino Dayandante, Jr.	2022
5	Tylon Darjuan	2023
6	Bam Ledesma	2023
7	Bimbot Anquilo	2023
8	Gabby Severino	2024

Notable players

Individual award winners

MPBL Defensive Player of the Year Aris Dionisio – 2019

All-MPBL First Team Chris Bitoon – 2019 Aris Dionisio – 2019

All-MPBL Second Team Chris Bitoon – 2020 Aris Dionisio – 2020

MPBL All-Star Day

All-Star selections Chris Bitoon – 2019 Aris Dionisio – 2019, 2020 Ronnie Matias – 2022 Rabeh Al-Hussaini – 2024 Greg Slaughter – 2024

PBA players

Ex-PBA players Marcy Arellano JR Cawaling Reil Cervantes Gabby Espinas Jeric Fortuna Marvin Hayes Carlo Lastimosa Ronnie Matias Greg Slaughter Mac Tallo Roger Yap

Drafted to PBA Aris Dionisio – 9th overall, 2019 Rey Mark Acuno – 14th overall, season 46 Mark Dyke – 11th overall, season 47 Jollo Go – 27th overall, season 47 Francis Escandor – 13th overall, season 49 Didat Hanapi – 17th overall, season 49 DJ Mitchell – 26th overall, season 49

Season-by-season records

	League champions
	Division champions
	Qualified for playoffs
	Best regular season record

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League

Season	Regular season							Playoffs
	Division	Finish	GP	W	L	PCT	GB	Stage	Results
Manila Stars
2018–19 Datu Cup	North	4th	25	20	5	.800	3	Division quarterfinals Division semifinals Division finals	won vs. Bulacan, 2–0 won vs. Bataan, 2–1 lost vs. San Juan, 1–2
2019–20 Lakan Season	North	2nd	30	25	5	.833	1	Division quarterfinals Division semifinals	won vs. Pasig, 2–0 lost vs. Makati, 1–2
2022	North	10th	21	6	15	.286	15	Did not qualify
2023	North	13th	27	4	23	.148	21.5
Manila Batang Sampaloc
2024	North	4th	28	20	8	.714	6	Division quarterfinals	lost vs. Caloocan, 0–2
All-time regular season record			131	75	56	.573		3 playoff appearances
All-time playoff record			15	8	7	.533		0 Finals appearances
All-time overall record			146	83	63	.568		0 championships

Pilipinas Super League

Season	Elimination round				Playoffs
	Finish	W	L	PCT	Stage	Results
Manila CityStars
2022–23 DUMPER Cup	8th	9	6	.600	Quarterfinals	lost vs. San Juan, 0–1
2023–24 President's Cup	14th	5	13	.278	First Round	lost vs. Nueva Ecija, 0–1
All-time elimination round record		14	19	.424	2 playoff appearances
All-time playoff record		0	1	.000	0 Finals appearances
All-time overall record		9	7	.400	0 championships

References

1. "Gab Banal beats out Mark Yee for MPBL Datu Cup MVP award". Spin.ph. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
2. "John Wilson crowned MPBL MVP". RAPPLER. March 21, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
3. "Cholo Villanueva is the new Manila coach in MPBL". ABS-CBN News. November 24, 2021.
4. "Manila triumphs over Binan as Greg Slaughter delivers in MPBL debut". Tiebreaker Times. May 25, 2024. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
5. "COLUMN: Manila Stars' future dim after another early playoff exit". Spin.ph. October 14, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
6. "Manila Stars considering withdrawal from MPBL". fastbreak.com.ph. October 9, 2024. Retrieved October 9, 2024.