The 2025 MPBL season is the upcoming seventh season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and its fourth under professional status. The regular season will begin on March 8, 2025 with the opening ceremony at the Capital Arena in Ilagan, Isabela.
The league will expand to the Cagayan Valley region for the first time with the addition of the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys. The Basilan Starhorse and the Cebu Classic are also announced to make their comebacks. This season will also see the introduction of the league’s play-in tournament 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]
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.[3]
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.[4]
Expansion and potential contraction
This season, teams were given until February 1 to submit their intent to compete, although some were given extensions.[4] On January 16, commissioner Kenneth Duremdes announced that an expansion team based in Ilagan, Isabela will join the regional league this season.[5] 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.[6]
After being absent in the last three seasons, the Basilan's MPBL team is set to return this season as 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.[7] Similarly, Cebu's MPBL team will also return for the first time since 2020, now known as the Cebu Classic.[8] The organization of the Manila Batang Sampaloc is considering departing from the league following their division quarterfinals exit in the last season's playoffs.[9][10] On January 3, the league announced that the Bacolod City of Smiles doesn't have any representatives heading into this season.[11]
Team name changes
| 2024 team name | 2025 team name |
|---|---|
| Basilan Steel (2019–20) | Basilan Starhorse |
| Cebu Casino Ethyl Alcohol (2019–20) | Cebu Classic |
| Valenzuela Classic | Val City Magic |
Transactions
- Rookie signings
- The Abra Weavers signed CJ Austria and Joshua David (De La Salle), Jack Cruz-Dumont (UE), and Filipino-foreigner Kascius Small-Martin (Brock).[12][13]
- Free agent signings
- The Abra Weavers signed two-time all-star and former All-MPBL Team selection Leo Najorda. He last played for the Koponang Lakan ng Bulacan of the Pilipinas Super League (PSL) in 2023.[14]
- The Pangasinan Heatwaves signed 2018 PBA Mr. Quality Minutes Vic Manuel. He last played for the Terrafirma Dyip of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in 2025.[15]
- The Sarangani Marlins signed two-time all-star and 2022 Rookie of the Year Kyt Jimenez. He last played for the San Miguel Beermen of the PBA in 2024. Notably, Jimenez also recorded the elusive quadruple-double while playing for Sarangani in 2022.[16]
- Transfers
- The Abra Weavers signed all-star Encho Serrano from the Pampanga Giant Lanterns.[17]
- The Basilan Starhorse signed two-time All-Star Game MVP Jeff Viernes (from Pampanga) alongside fellow all-stars Rabeh Al-Hussaini (from Manila) and Emman Calo (from Nueva Ecija).[18] Basilan also signed PBA great Arwind Santos from the Pampanga Giant Lanterns.[19]
- The Cebu Classic signed all-stars Greg Slaughter (from Manila) and Paulo Hubalde (from Valenzuela).[20]
- The Ilagan Isabela Cowboys signed former Finals MVP and Ilagan native Val Acuña from the South Cotabato Warriors.[21]
- The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards signed the Marcelino twins, Jaycee and Jayvee, from the Zamboanga Master Sardines. The former won Most Valuable Player in 2022 and was selected to three All-MPBL First Teams while with Zamboanga.[22]
- Departures
- Two-time season MVP and two-time finals MVP Justine Baltazar departed the league after two seasons, both with the Pampanga Giant Lanterns, to sign with the Converge FiberXers of the PBA.[23]
Coaching changes
| Team | Departing coach | Incoming coach |
|---|---|---|
| Basilan Starhorse | — | Mac Tan |
| Ilagan Isabela Cowboys | — | Louie Gonzalez |
| Mindoro Tamaraws | JR Cawaling | Rodney Santos |
Playing venues
- New venues for this season are indicated with bold text.
Regular venues
| Ilagan Isabela Cowboys |
|---|
| Capital Arena[6] Ilagan, Isabela |
| Capacity: 10,000 |
|
Regular season
Opening ceremony
The regular season will begin on March 8, 2025. As has been the case since 2023, the season opener and opening ceremony will be hosted by an expansion team from the current season, this time being the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys at the Capital Arena in Ilagan, Isabela.[5]
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. 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.[3]
Junior MPBL tournaments
The third season of the MPBL's youth league, the Junior MPBL, is expected to begin in April 2025.[24][25]
References
- ^ "Pampanga sweeps Quezon to claim back-to-back MPBL championships". Spin.ph. December 8, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- ^ "Pampanga pulls off back-to-back MPBL title romp over Quezon". RAPPLER. December 8, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
- ^ a b "Play-ins, best-of-five division finals key MPBL format changes". Philstar.com. February 3, 2025. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
- ^ a b "MPBL cancels preseason tourney". Philstar.com. January 22, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
- ^ a b "Ilagan City newest MPBL team when Season 7 opens on March 8". Spin.ph. January 16, 2025. Retrieved January 16, 2025.
- ^ a b "Louie Gonzalez finds new home as Ilagan Isabela Cowboys join MPBL". Tiebreaker Times. February 2, 2025. Retrieved February 2, 2025.
- ^ Badua, Snow (November 27, 2024). "Basilan team making an MPBL comeback after two-year hiatus". Spin.ph. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
- ^ Badua, Snow (February 12, 2025). "Greg Slaughter eyed as cornerstone of new Cebu team in MPBL". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
- ^ "COLUMN: Manila Stars' future dim after another early playoff exit". Spin.ph. October 14, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
- ^ "Manila Stars considering withdrawal from MPBL". fastbreak.com.ph. October 9, 2024. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
- ^ Co, Adrian Stewart (January 6, 2025). "New Bacolod squad not recognized by MPBL". Panay News. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
- ^ Li, Matthew (February 6, 2025). "CJ leaves La Salle, embarks on pro career with Abra". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
- ^ Ganglani, Naveen (January 23, 2025). "La Salle's David Joins Abra Weavers in MPBL, Eyes PBA Future". ALL-STAR. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
- ^ "Abra has title aspirations in upcoming MPBL Season 7". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
- ^ "Pangasinan Heatwaves boost front court, ready for MPBL wars". Philstar.com. February 17, 2025. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
- ^ "The Comeback of "Mr. Quadruple Double" Kyt Jimenez". Sarangani Marlins. February 16, 2025. Retrieved February 16, 2025 – via Facebook.
- ^ Ramos, Gerry (January 24, 2025). "Encho Serrano nixes PBA return to sign with Abra Weavers". Spin.ph. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
- ^ "Starhorse-Basilan eyes big, memorable MPBL comeback". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
- ^ "NEW CHAPTER. SAME HEART". Starhorse Basilan. February 15, 2025. Retrieved February 15, 2025 – via Facebook.
Welcome to Starhorse Basilan family, ARWIND!
- ^ Villaruel, Emmanuel B. (February 17, 2025). "Cebu mobalik sa MPBL, Slaughter maoy mangu" [Cebu returns to MPBL, Slaughter to lead]. Philstar.com (in Cebuano). Retrieved February 19, 2025.
- ^ Joble, Rey (February 8, 2025). "The Ilagan City Cowboys are coming". The Manila Times. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
- ^ "Welcome to Nueva Ecija, Marcelino Twins!". Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards. December 5, 2024. Retrieved February 15, 2025 – via Facebook.
- ^ Dioquino, Delfin (December 11, 2024). "Top pick Justine Baltazar nears PBA debut after signing with Converge". Rappler. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
- ^ Dongiapon, Ron Andrew (January 30, 2025). "Pacquiao's Junior MPBL expands with more teams in Season 3 return". RAPPLER. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
- ^ "Junior MPBL Season 3 set for April opener". Spin.ph. January 30, 2025. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
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