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2025 MPBL season

7th season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The 2025 MPBL season is the seventh season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and its fourth under professional status. The regular season began on March 8, 2025 with the opening ceremony at the Capital Arena in Ilagan, Isabela. The season will end in December with the 2025 MPBL finals.

Quick facts League, Sport ...

This season features 30 teams. The league expanded to the Cagayan Valley region for the first time with the addition of the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys. Three teams (Basilan Viva Portmasters, Cebu Classic, and Pasig City) made their comebacks. This season will also see the introduction of the league's play-in tournament to be held in between the regular season and playoffs.

The Pampanga Giant Lanterns are two-time defending champions and reigning North Division champions, while the Quezon Huskers are the reigning South Division champions.[1][2]

This season also marked the first of what would have been a new two-year title sponsorship deal with gambling company 1xbet.[3] However, the sponsorship was dropped midway through the season.

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Format changes

Postseason changes

On February 2, 2025, the league announced a couple of changes to its playoff format, the biggest being the addition of a play-in tournament similar to the NBA's play-in round, which will be contested by teams ranked seventh through tenth in their respective divisions. The seventh and eighth-ranked teams will play for the seventh seed in the playoffs. The losing team will face the winner of the game between the ninth and tenth-ranked teams for the eighth seed and the final playoff spot. Due to this change, only the top six teams will directly advance to the playoffs.

In addition, the division finals is made a best-of-five series from the best-of-three series in previous seasons. These changes mark the first since the league expanded the playoffs to a 16-team pool due to the league's national expansion in 2019.[4]

Preseason Invitational cancellation

On January 22, the league announced that it will not host a Preseason Invitational tournament this season, so that the competing teams can focus on building their rosters. This will mark the first time in the professional era that the league will not host such a tournament.[5]

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Teams

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Teams were given until February 1 to submit their intent to compete, although some were given extensions.[5] This season, 30 teams will compete, one more than the 29 teams of the previous two seasons. This makes it the second-biggest team pool in league history, only behind the 2019–20 season, which had 31 teams compete. However, the final lineup of teams as well as the division alignment is currently unannounced.[6]

Expansions, returnees, and contractions

On January 16, commissioner Kenneth Duremdes announced that an expansion team based in Ilagan, Isabela will join the regional league this season.[7] The team, later named the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys, was formally established on February 1, marking the first time the league has a team based in the Cagayan Valley region and will continue the expansion into Northern Luzon, following additions of the Pangasinan Heatwaves and the Abra Weavers last season.[8]

Three teams also made their return. After being absent in the last three seasons, the Basilan's MPBL team is set to return this season as the Basilan Viva Portmasters (initially the Basilan Starhorse), having competed in the 2019–20 season as the Basilan Steel, and as a guest team in the 2021 Preseason Invitational as the Basilan Jumbo Plastic.[9] Similarly, Cebu's MPBL team will also return for the first time since 2020, now known as the Cebu Classic.[10] The Pasig City MPBL team is the last team to make its return, after not competing in the previous season.

On the other hand, three teams made their departures. The Bicolandia Oragons and Iloilo United Royals left the league after competing in three of the last four seasons while the Negros Muscovados depart after two seasons. This means that Bicol Region and Western Visayas won't have any representatives for their respective regions.

Realignment

The Ilagan Isabela Cowboys were placed in the North Division alongside Pasig City while the Basilan Viva Portmasters and Cebu Classic were placed in the South Division. To balance both divisions, the Rizal Golden Coolers were realigned back to the South, its fourth realignment in history and first since 2023.

Team name changes

More information Previous team name, New team name ...

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Transactions

Player transactions

Rookie signings
Free agent signings
Transfers
Departures

Coaching changes

More information Team, Departing coach ...
More information Team, Departing coach ...
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Arenas

Arena changes

Regular arenas

More information Bataan Risers, Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters ...
More information Ilagan Isabela Cowboys, Manila Batang Quiapo ...
More information Mindoro Tamaraws, Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards ...
More information Pasay Voyagers, Quezon Huskers ...

Other arenas

More information Neutral ...
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Regular season

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Opening ceremony

The regular season began on March 8, 2025. As has been the case since 2023, the season opener and opening ceremony was hosted by an expansion team from the current season, this time being the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys at the Capital Arena in Ilagan, Isabela.[7] The opening doubleheader will feature the Biñan Tatak Gel and the Abra Weavers in the first game, followed by the Sarangani Marlins and the home team Cowboys in the second game.[15]

Format

Similar to previous seasons, all participating teams will play in a single round-robin tournament for the regular season, playing one game against every other team. The league's 30 teams will each play 29 games. In each gameday, a series of games is played in a designated home arena, with the home team usually playing in the final game.

Under the new postseason format, the top six teams in each division will advance directly to the 2025 MPBL playoffs, while teams ranked seventh through tenth will compete in a play-in tournament for the final two spots.[4]

Standings

More information Pos, Pld ...

Results table

More information Team, Game ...
Source: Schedule
Legend: Blue = win; Red = loss; Matches with lighter background shading were decided after overtime. (*) Number of asterisks denotes number of overtime periods
Notes
  • Any game details are subject to change. The full schedule is revealed over time as the season progresses.
  • Games that are played home or away are indicated by the superscript after the opposing team's abbreviation (H for home and A for away). Games with no superscript are neutral-site.
  • The Bacolod-Pangasinan game was stopped before the opening of the second half due to the report of three players having no Special Guest Athlete (SGA) license from Games and Amusements Board. Final score was 50–30 in favor of Pangasinan via default.
  • The last two games of Muntinlupa Cagers were decided to forfeit due to some players were injured and commitment to play in 2025–26 PBA season.
  • The Pasig City were decided to forfeit the game against GenSan Warriors
  • The Parañaque Patriots were decided to forfeit the game against Manila Batang Quiapo. Thus, both teams were eliminated.
Postponed games
  • All games scheduled from July 21 to 24 was postponed due to heavy rains affecting Greater Manila Area and nearby areas.
  • All games scheduled from August 22 and 26 was postponed due to heavy rains affecting Greater Manila Area and nearby areas.

Home-and-away records

More information Team, Division ...
Notes
  1. The remaining two games of Muntinlupa were decided to forfeit against Pampanga and Quezon.
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Play-in tournament

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In each division, the seventh-place team will play against the eighth-place team with the winning team clinching the seventh seed in the playoffs. On the other hand, the ninth-place team will play against the tenth-place team with the losing team being eliminated from playoff contention. The loser of the 7–8 game will then face-off against the winner of the 9–10 game for the eighth seed in the playoffs, with the losing team being eliminated. The first two play-in games in each division are hosted by the seventh-place team in each division, while the final play-in gameday will be hosted by the highest-ranked play-in team remaining.

Teams in bold won the game indicated. Teams in italics have homecourt advantage under the aforementioned rules. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's regular season ranking in its division, while the numbers to the right indicate the number of points the team scored in that game.

North Division

Play-in gamesNo. 8 seed gameFinal seeds
7Pangasinan (OT)987PangasinanNo. 7 seed
8Ilagan Isabela91No. 8 seed
8Ilagan Isabela
9Bataan
9Bataan99
10Pasig City78

South Division

Play-in gamesNo. 8 seed gameFinal seeds
7Zamboanga717ZamboangaNo. 7 seed
8Mindoro62No. 8 seed
8Mindoro
10Cebu
9Davao Occidental57
10Cebu65
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Playoffs

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The 2025 MPBL playoffs is expected to begin in October 2025. The first two rounds, the division quarterfinals and semifinals, are best-of-three series, while the last two rounds, the division finals and national finals, are best-of-five series.

Bracket

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. Teams in italics have homecourt advantage for the series. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its division, while the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round.

Division quarterfinals
(best-of-3)
Division semifinals
(best-of-3)
Division finals
(best-of-5)
National finals
(best-of-5)
            
N1 Abra
N8  
 
 
N4 Caloocan
N5 Pampanga
 
North Division
 
N2 Nueva Ecija
N7 Pangasinan
 
 
N3 San Juan
N6 Pasay
 
 
S1 Quezon
S8  
 
 
S4 Basilan
S5 General Santos
 
South Division
 
S2 Batangas City
S7 Zamboanga
 
 
S3 Rizal
S6 Biñan

Division quarterfinals

North Division

More information Team 1, Series ...

South Division

More information Team 1, Series ...
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All-Star Game

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Quick facts North All-Stars, South All-Stars ...

The 2025 MPBL All-Star Game, the league's sixth overall, was take placed on September 6 at Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna, the home arena of the Biñan Tatak Gel.

Coaches

A head coach from each division, usually from a higher-ranked team, is selected to represent their respective divisions. On August 26, Yong Garcia of the Abra Solid North Weavers and Eric Gonzales of the Quezon Huskers were announced as this season's all-star coaches. The latter will be coaching his second all-star team.[24][25]

Lineups

The starters were announced on August 25. In the North Division, Jaycee Marcelino was selected as an all-star starter for the fourth consecutive season and his first with the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards. Orlan Wamar of the San Juan Knights will make his third appearance as an all-star starter. Abra's Dave Ildefonso, Jeff Manday of the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo, and Larry Muyang of the Pampanga Giant Lanterns will all make their all-star debuts. In the South Division, Levi Hernandez of the Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters will make his third all-star appearance and his first as a starter while Quezon's Ljay Gonzales will make his second appearance as a starter. Making their debuts in the All-Star Game will be Eric Camson of the Rizal Golden Coolers, Abdul Sawat of the Zamboanga Sikat, and Kyle Tolentino of the GenSan Warriors.[26][27]

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Statistics

Individual leaders

As of April 27, 2025

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Team leaders

As of September 13, 2025

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Awards


Player of the Week

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Notable events

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Records and milestones

Records

  • May 5, 2025:
    • The Sarangani Gripper Motorcycle Tire broke the record for most points scored by a single team in a game with 148 points, surpassing the previous record set by the San Juan Knights (146) on September 13, 2022.
    • In the same game, Sarangani and the Bulacan Kuyas combined for 259 points, which is the most combined points scored between two teams in a game. The previous record was 257, which was shared between two pairings: Sarangani–Nueva Ecija on June 3, 2023 and BacolodImus on September 27, 2024.
  • September 10 – Orlan Wamar of San Juan Knights sets an all-time assist record in league's history with 25 assists against Sarangani Gripper Motorcycle Tire.

Milestones

  • March 10, 2025 – John Wilson became the first player to reach 2,000 MPBL career points.
  • March 15, 2025 – Marco Balagtas became the 48th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.
  • April 9, 2025 – Ryan Costelo became the 49th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.
  • April 10, 2025 – Yves Sazon became the second player to reach 2,000 MPBL career points.
  • May 22, 2025 – Axel Iñigo became the 50th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.
  • May 24, 2025 – Domark Matillano became the 51st player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.
  • June 3, 2025 – Val Acuña became the 52nd player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.
  • July 30, 2025 – Michael Cañete became the 53rd player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.
  • August 14, 2025 – Gab Dagangon became the 54th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.

Junior MPBL tournaments

The third season of the MPBL's youth league, the Junior MPBL, is expected to begin in April 2025.[52][53]

Media

This season will be the first of a new television deal with Solar Entertainment Corporation, succeeding Cignal TV, which was the league's television partner from 2022 to 2024. Solar airs a selection of "over 200 games" on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays on its Solar Sports channel throughout the season. The league continues to stream all games on its social media platforms.[54][6]

References

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