2025 MPBL Season

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.

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.

This season will also mark the first of a new two-year title sponsorship deal with gambling company 1xbet.

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.

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.

Teams

Teams were given until February 1 to submit their intent to compete, although some were given extensions. 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.

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. 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.

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. Similarly, Cebu's MPBL team will also return for the first time since 2020, now known as the Cebu Classic. 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 depatures. 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

Transactions

Player transactions

; Rookie signings

* The Abra Solid North Weavers signed CJ Austria and Joshua David ( De La Salle), and Jack Cruz-Dumont ( UE).

; Free agent signings
* The Abra Solid North 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.
* 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.
* 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.

; Transfers
* The Abra Solid North Weavers signed all-star Encho Serrano from the Pampanga Giant Lanterns.
* 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). Basilan also signed PBA great Arwind Santos from the Pampanga Giant Lanterns.
* The Cebu Classic signed two-time all-star Paulo Hubalde from the Valenzuela Classic.
* The Ilagan Isabela Cowboys signed former Finals MVP and Ilagan native Val Acuña from the South Cotabato Warriors.
* 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.

; 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.

Coaching changes

Arenas

Arena changes

* The Capital Arena in Ilagan, Isabela became the primary home venue of the expansion Ilagan Isabela Cowboys.
* The Ynares Center in Rodriguez, Rizal became the new primary home venue of the Rizal Golden Coolers. The team played at the Ynares Center for the past five seasons in Antipolo, since the 2018–19 season.
* The Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Malate, Manila became a new alternate venue for the Manila Batang Quiapo.
* The Robert B. Estrella Sr. Memorial Stadium in Calasiao, Pangasinan became a new alternate venue for the Pangasinan Heatwaves.
* The Marikina Sports Center returned as the primary home venue of the Marikina Shoemasters. It was last used in the 2023 season.
* The Filoil EcoOil Center in San Juan, home of the San Juan Knights, was renamed to the Playtime Filoil Centre in May 2025.

Regular arenas

* The Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center (Pampanga Giant Lanterns), Imus City Sports Complex ( Imus Braderhood), Sentrong Pangkabataan (Mindoro Tamaraws) are currently scheduled to be used in the future.

Other arenas

Regular season

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. 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.

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.

Standings

; North Division

; South Division

Results table

; 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.

Home-and-away records

; Notes

Statistics

Individual leaders

''As of April 27, 2025''

Team leaders

''As of June 14, 2025''

Awards

Player of the Week

Notable events

* On March 8, 2025, the league held its first games at the Capital Arena in Ilagan, Isabela. It was also the first home venue used by the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys.
* On March 10, 2025, the league held its first games at Robert B. Estrella Sr. Memorial Stadium in Rosales, Pangasinan. It was also the second home venue used by the Pangasinan Heatwaves.
* On March 20, 2025, the league held its first games at Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila. It was the fourth home venue used by the Manila Batang Quiapo.
* On April 1, 2025, the league held its first games at Ynares Center Montalban in Rodriguez, Rizal. It was the third home venue used by the Rizal Golden Coolers.
* On April 14, 2025, the Bacolod Tubo Slashers won against the Marikina Verdiamonds Jewellers, 80–79, ending the longest losing streak in league history at 27 games dating back to the previous season.
* On April 28, 2025, the Bulacan Kuyas lost to the Bataan Risers, 48–73, tying Bacolod's 27-game losing streak, also dating back to the previous season.
* On May 5, 2025, the Bulacan Kuyas lost to the Sarangani Gripper Motorcycle Tire, 111–148, breaking the record for longest overall losing streak at 28 games. Also, Sarangani set an MPBL all-time record of most team total points scored in a game.

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 Bacolod–Imus on September 27, 2024.

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.

Junior MPBL tournaments

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

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 broadcast all games on its social media platforms.

References

{{2025 MPBL season by team

MPBL
MPBL