2021 MPBL Invitational

The 2021 MPBL Invitational was the preseason tournament for the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League's 2022 season and the first edition of what would become the MPBL Preseason Invitational.^[1][2] The tournament began on December 11, 2021 and ended on December 23, 2021 when the Basilan Jumbo Plastic beat the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards in overtime, 83–80. Philip Manalang, who hit the championship-winning buzzer beater for Basilan, was adjudged as the tournament Finals MVP.^[3]

2021 MPBL Invitational

Chooks-to-Go MPBL Invitational powered by TM
Tournament details
Country	Philippines
City	Pasay
Venue(s)	SM Mall of Asia Arena
Dates	December 11–23, 2021
Teams	22
Final positions
Champions	Basilan Jumbo Plastic
Runner-up	Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards
Third place	Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors
Fourth place	Imus Buracai de Laiya
Tournament statistics
Matches played	57
2023 →

All games were played at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay at 50% capacity, making it the first pro sports event in the Philippines to allow live spectators since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4][5] The tournament was contested by 22 teams, which is currently the most for a Preseason Invitational.

Chooks-to-Go continued to be the league's title sponsor after taking over the league's basketball operations in October 2021 while TM became the league's presenting sponsor, hence the tournament is officially known as the Chooks-to-Go MPBL Invitational powered by TM.

Background

After culminating its 2019–20 season in March 2021, the league looked to start the next season on June 12, 2021. However, the continuing restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines caused the league to postpone it to the third quarter of 2021.^[6] After postponing again to 2022, Duremdes announced the Invitational tournament to help "reignite" the league.^[7]

Although it wasn't the league's first preseason tournament, it was the league's first event as a professional league, being granted professional status by the Games and Amusements Board earlier in the year.^[8]

Entertainment

For the first time since the level of restriction for live musical events were relaxed, Filipino pop and R&B band South Border performed their reunion concert at the pregame ceremony of the Invitational finals, while rock band MOJOFLY performed during the halftime show.^[9]

Teams

Of the 31 teams that participated in the previous season, 21 took part in the Invitational. In addition, the Invitational also featured the first appearance of the Negros Muscovados, bringing the total to 22 teams.

List of 2021 MPBL Invitational teams

Team	2019–20 season statistics
	Record	Playoff result
All-Star Bacolod Ballers[a]	11–19 (.367)	–
Bacoor City Strikers	24–6 (.800)	Division Semifinals
Basilan Jumbo Plastic[b]	20–10 (.667)	Division Finals
Bicol Volcanoes	16–14 (.533)	Division Quarterfinals
Bulacan Kuyas	19–11 (.633)	Division Quarterfinals
Caloocan Excellence[c]	16–14 (.533)	–
GenSan Warriors	18–12 (.600)	Division Quarterfinals
Iloilo United Royals	18–12 (.600)	Division Quarterfinals
Imus Buracai de Laiya[d]	6–24 (.200)	–
Laguna Heroes[e]	12–18 (.400)	–
Makati FSD Blazers[f]	22–8 (.733)	Division Finals
Manila Stars	25–5 (.833)	Division Semifinals
Marikina Shoe City[g]	8–22 (.267)	–
Mindoro EOG Burlington[h]	9–21 (.300)	–
Muntinlupa Cagers	7–23 (.233)	–
Negros Muscovados[i]	—
Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards	10–20 (.333)	–
Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors[j]	18–12 (.600)	Division Quarterfinals
Rizal Emkai Xentromall[k]	6–23 (.207)	–
San Juan Knights	26–4 (.867)	National Finals
Sarangani Marlins	1–29 (.033)	–
Valenzuela MJAS Zenith[l]	11–19 (.367)	–

Notes

1. Competed as Bacolod Master Sardines during the 2019–20 season. The name was later changed to Bacolod Bingo Plus for the 2022 season.
2. Competed as Basilan Steel during the 2019–20 season.
3. Competed as Caloocan Supremos during the 2019–20 season. The new name would remain for the 2022 season.
4. Competed as Imus Bandera during the 2019–20 season. The name change was only made temporary but was slightly changed to Imus City Bandera for the 2022 season.
5. Competed as Biñan City Heroes/Luxxe White during the 2019–20 season. The new name would remain for the 2022 season.
6. Competed as Makati Super Crunch during the 2019–20 season. The name was later changed to Makati × MNL Kingpin for the 2022 season.
7. Competed as Marikina Shoemasters during the 2019–20 season. The name change was only made temporary for the Invitational.
8. Competed as Mindoro Tamaraws during the 2019–20 season. The name change was only made temporary but was slightly changed to Mindoro Tams for the 2022 season.
9. The Negros Muscovados wouldn't compete full-time until the 2023 season.
10. The name was later changed to Pasig City for the 2022 season.
11. Competed as Rizal Golden Coolers during the 2019–20 season. The name change was only made temporary for the Invitational.
12. Competed as Val City Carga Backload Solution during the 2019–20 season. The name was later changed to Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. for the 2022 season.

Draw

The draw for the group stage took place on November 26, 2021 at the Crowne Plaza in Pasig, hosted by Mark Zambrano and Christian Luanzon.^[10] The 22 teams were drawn into four groups, two groups of six teams (Groups A and D) and two groups of five teams (Groups B and C).

Two teams were immediately allocated, the Basilan Jumbo Plastic was placed in Group B by virtue of winning the 2021 Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup 1st Conference. The San Juan Knights were placed in Group C as last season's finalists. The remaining 20 teams were drawn at random into the four groups.

Format

The tournament is divided into two stages: the group stage and the playoffs. Each of the four groups play in a single round-robin format, wherein each team plays one game against all other teams within the same group. The top two teams in each group advance to a three-round, single-elimination playoffs consisting of all knockout games. For this tournament only, all roster regulations were lifted.

The top three teams were given prize money based on their standings: ₱2 million for the champion, ₱500,000 for the runner-up, and ₱250,000 for the third-place team.^[11]

Group stage

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Qualification		PSG	ILO	BCD	BCR	CAL	NEG
1	Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors	5	5	0	424	330	+94	Playoffs		—	90–69	86–61	76–67	87–60	85–73
2	Iloilo United Royals	5	4	1	388	364	+24			69–90	—	85–62	71–66	80–69	83–77
3	All-Star Bacolod Ballers	5	3	2	349	374	−25			61–86	62–85	—	73–71	85–65	68–67
4	Bacoor City Strikers	5	2	3	363	356	+7			67–76	66–71	71–73	—	72–50	87–86
5	Caloocan Excellence	5	1	4	324	403	−79			60–87	69–80	65–85	50–72	—	80–79
6	Negros Muscovados	5	0	5	382	403	−21			73–85	77–83	67–68	86–87	79–80	—

Source: Schedule – via Genius Sports
Rules for classification: 1) Wins; 2a) If two teams are tied, head-to-head match-up; 2b) If three or more teams are tied, head-to-head point quotient; 3) overall point quotient; 4) coin toss.

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Qualification		BAS	BCL	MKT	MAR	LAG
1	Basilan Jumbo Plastic	4	4	0	346	322	+24	Playoffs		—	70–65	80–79	98–83	98–95
2	Bicol Volcanoes	4	3	1	317	274	+43			65–70	—	86–71	86–65	80–68
3	Makati FSD Blazers	4	2	2	337	341	−4			79–80	71–86	—	95–89	92–86
4	Marikina Shoe City	4	1	3	316	352	−36			83–98	65–86	89–95	—	79–73
5	Laguna Heroes	4	0	4	322	349	−27			95–98	68–80	86–92	73–79	—

Source: Schedule – via Genius Sports
Rules for classification: 1) Wins; 2a) If two teams are tied, head-to-head match-up; 2b) If three or more teams are tied, head-to-head point quotient; 3) overall point quotient; 4) coin toss.

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Qualification		NE	SJ	VAL	SAR	MUN
1	Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards	4	4	0	371	326	+45	Playoffs		—	88–85	100–77	99–92	84–72
2	San Juan Knights	4	3	1	344	291	+53			85–88	—	97–64	91–72	71–67
3	Valenzuela MJAS Zenith	4	2	2	294	342	−48			77–100	64–97	—	77–73	76–72
4	Sarangani Marlins	4	1	3	312	333	−21			92–99	72–91	73–77	—	75–66
5	Muntinlupa Cagers	4	0	4	277	306	−29			72–84	67–71	72–76	66–75	—

Source: Schedule – via Genius Sports
Rules for classification: 1) Wins; 2a) If two teams are tied, head-to-head match-up; 2b) If three or more teams are tied, head-to-head point quotient; 3) overall point quotient; 4) coin toss.

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Qualification		IMS	MDR	MNL	BUL	RZL	GS
1	Imus Buracai de Laiya	5	4[a]	1	393	363	+30	Playoffs		—	77–70	77–83	75–65	90–79	74–66
2	Mindoro EOG Burlington	5	4[a]	1	402	382	+20			70–77	—	80–77	79–72	86–83	87–73
3	Manila Stars	5	3	2	413	379	+34			83–77	77–80	—	89–98	89–59	75–65
4	Bulacan Kuyas	5	2	3	404	412	−8			65–75	72–79	98–89	—	87–79	82–90
5	Rizal Emkai Xentromall	5	1[b]	4	373	418	−45			79–90	83–86	59–89	79–87	—	73–66
6	GenSan Warriors	5	1[b]	4	360	391	−31			66–74	73–87	65–75	90–82	66–73	—

Source: Schedule – via Genius Sports
Rules for classification: 1) Wins; 2a) If two teams are tied, head-to-head match-up; 2b) If three or more teams are tied, head-to-head point quotient; 3) overall point quotient; 4) coin toss.
Notes:

1. Imus wins tiebreaker over Mindoro by head-to-head victory.
2. Rizal wins tiebreaker over General Santos by head-to-head victory.

Playoffs

Bracket

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

A1

Pasig

70

C2

San Juan

66

A1

Pasig

72

B1

Basilan

77

B1

Basilan

77

D2

Mindoro

72

B1

Basilan

83*

C1

Nueva Ecija

80

C1

Nueva Ecija

80

A2

Iloilo

67

C1

Nueva Ecija

82

Battle for Third

D1

Imus

76

D1

Imus

74

A1

Pasig

100

B2

Bicol

57

D1

Imus

80

(*) denotes number of overtime periods

Quarterfinals

IBC

December 21 2:30 pm

Box score

Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors	70–66	San Juan Knights
Scoring by quarter: 17–20, 23–19, 14–15, 16–12
Pts: Jerald Bautista 12 Rebs: Justin Arana 11 Asts: Rudy Lingganay, Jeric Teng 3		Pts: John Michael Calma 13 Rebs: Jhonard Clarito 13 Asts: Orlan Wamar Jr. 4

SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay

IBC

December 21 5:00 pm

Box score

Basilan Jumbo Plastic	77–72	Mindoro EOG Burlington
Scoring by quarter: 17–16, 19–15, 26–17, 15–24
Pts: Jeric Encho Serrano 22 Rebs: JR Taganas 12 Asts: Philip Manalang 7		Pts: Nathaniel Cosejo 22 Rebs: Nathaniel Cosejo 11 Asts: Ryusei Koga 7

SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay

IBC

December 21 7:30 pm

Box score

Imus Buracai de Laiya	74–57	Bicol Volcanoes
Scoring by quarter: 21–19, 17–18, 18–14, 18–6
Pts: Leo Najorda 23 Rebs: Jhaymo Eguilos 15 Asts: Christian Ian Melencio 6		Pts: Zachary Huang 12 Rebs: Zachary Huang, Mark Yee 7 Asts: Mac Tallo, Jayvee Marcelino 3

SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay

IBC

December 21 10:00 pm

Box score

Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards	84–67	Iloilo United Royals
Scoring by quarter: 20–16, 23–16, 27–24, 14–11
Pts: Michael Mabulac 17 Rebs: Michael Mabulac 11 Asts: Christopher Bitoon 9		Pts: Levi Hernandez 26 Rebs: Jayson David 7 Asts: Aaron Jeruta 6

SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay

Semifinals

IBC

December 22 7:30 pm

Box score

Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors	72–77	Basilan Jumbo Plastic
Scoring by quarter: 16–24, 19–25, 18–16, 19–12
Pts: Fran Yu 22 Rebs: Cedric Ablaza 9 Asts: Fran Yu 4		Pts: Michael Juico 23 Rebs: JR Taganas 10 Asts: Philip Manalang 8

SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay

IBC

December 22 10:00 pm

Box score

Imus Buracai de Laiya	76–82	Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards
Scoring by quarter: 16–18, 19–19, 18–16, 23–29
Pts: Leo Najorda 24 Rebs: Jhaymo Eguilos 9 Asts: Christian Ian Melencio 3		Pts: Michael Mabulac 17 Rebs: Michael Mabulac 15 Asts: Justin Gutang, Michael Mabulac 5

SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay

Battle for Third

IBC

December 23 1:00 pm

Box score

Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors	100–80	Imus Buracai de Laiya
Scoring by quarter: 23–19, 30–22, 24–15, 23–24
Pts: Jeckster Apinan 16 Rebs: Jeckster Apinan 9 Asts: Jeric Teng 5		Pts: Genmar Bragais 23 Rebs: Genmar Bragais, Christian Ian Melencio 6 Asts: Jhaymo Eguilos, Christian Ian Melencio 4

SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay

Finals

IBC

December 23 8:30 pm

Box score

Basilan Jumbo Plastic	83–80 (OT)	Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards
Scoring by quarter: 17–20, 18–16, 18–16, 21–22, Overtime: 9–6
Pts: Four players 15 Rebs: JR Taganas 17 Asts: Jay Collado 7		Pts: Michael Mabulac 24 Rebs: Michael Mabulac 11 Asts: Diego Dario 5

SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay

In the final possession of the game, Philip Manalang would attempt a three-point shot which, if successful, Basilan would win the Invitational tournament, otherwise the game would go into double overtime. The shot ended up being successful, giving Basilan the lead as they won the 2021 MPBL Invitational. For his championship-winning buzzer beater, Manalang was declared the Finals MVP of the tournament.^[3]

Statistics

Individual statistical leaders

Category	Player	Team	Statistic
Points per game	James Martinez	Bulacan Kuyas	20.5
Rebounds per game	Renato Ular	Marikina Shoe City	16.0
Assists per game	Andrey Armenion	Valenzuela MJAS Zenith	6.5
Steals per game	Marte Gil	Caloocan Excellence	3.6
Blocks per game	Ramon Mabayo	Caloocan Excellence	2.0
Fouls per game	Vincent Importante	Manila Stars	4.0
Minutes per game	Ramon Mabayo	Caloocan Excellence	33.6
FG%	John Ambulodto	Manila Stars	77.8%
FT%	Ronjay Buenafe	GenSan Warriors	91.7%
3FG%	Ronjay Buenafe	GenSan Warriors	52.4%

Team statistical leaders

Category	Team	Statistic
Points per game	Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards	88.1
Rebounds per game	Basilan Jumbo Plastic	54.0
Assists per game	Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards	22.9
Steals per game	Negros Muscovados	11.4
Blocks per game	All-Star Bacolod Ballers	4.8
Turnovers per game	All-Star Bacolod Ballers	20.2
Fouls per game	Negros Muscovados	23.8

Awards

The individual league awards was given during the Semifinals of the 2021 MPBL Invitational at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.^[12] The Finals Most Valuable Player was given out after the final game.

Awards	Winner (s)	Team
Most Valuable Player	Michael Mabulac	Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards
Finals Most Valuable Player	Philip Manalang	Basilan Jumbo Plastic
Defensive Player of the Year	Renato Ular	Marikina Shoe City
All-MPBL First Team	Michael Mabulac	Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards
	Mac Tallo	Bicol Volcanoes
	Adi Santos	Imus Buracai de Laiya
	Fran Yu	Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors
	Michael Juico	Basilan Jumbo Plastic

Media coverage

While the league was looking for a new broadcast partner as a result of the shutdown of ABS-CBN broadcasting, the television broadcast rights for the inaugural Preseason Invitational were handled by the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC). The streaming rights went to TAP Digital Media Ventures Corporation, which streamed the games on its TAP Go service.^[13] The league continued to broadcast all of the games online on its Facebook page.^[14]