Since the start of the

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's regional professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of 30 teams. Founded in 2017 by eight-division boxing world champion and then-Senator Manny Pacquiao, the MPBL is ...

's (MPBL) professional era, the

Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards (shortened as NERV) are a Filipino professional basketball team based in Palayan, Nueva Ecija. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. The ...

and

Pampanga Giant Lanterns The Pampanga Giant Lanterns (shortened as PGL and also known as Pampanga Giant Lanterns – AMG3 Construction for sponsorship reasons) are a Filipino professional basketball team based in San Fernando, Pampanga. The team competes in the Maha ...

have become two of the most successful teams in the regional league. Since 2022, the two

Central Luzon Central Luzon (; ; ; ; ), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines. The region comprises seven provinces: Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga (with its capital, San Fernando City serving as the re ...

-based teams have been consistent contenders in not just the

North Division Northern Division or North Division can refer to: Sports * Northern Division (Rugby Union) Leagues of England * Queensland Rugby League Northern Division * Southern League Northern Division of the Southern Football League in England * FA Women's ...

, but also the league in general. As of 2024, they have won every North Division championship and league championship in the professional era. The two teams met in the playoffs twice, both sweeps, with Nueva Ecija winning in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and Pampanga winning in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. Pampanga currently lead the all-time series, 5–4.

History

2022: Nueva Ecija sweeps the season series

The first meeting between both teams in the professional era was on September 23, 2022 at the Nueva Ecija Coliseum in

Palayan Palayan, officially the City of Palayan (, Ilocano: ''Siudad ti Palayan''), is a component city and capital of the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 45,383 people, making it the least ...

Hesed Gabo Hesed Leo Jose Gabo (born March 21, 1992) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Pangasinan Heatwaves franchise of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and Pilipinas Super League (PSL). Gabo has won multiple champions ...

and Michael Mabulac combined for 33 points as the Rice Vanguards defeated Archie Concepcion and the Giant Lanterns for their antepenultimate win of its regular season sweep. The first playoff meeting between the two teams then occurred on November 7 during the 2022 MPBL North Division semifinals. The Nueva Ecija won that game and later swept the series on November 11, completing a 3–0 season sweep against Pampanga. Nueva Ecija then went on to defeat the

San Juan Knights The San Juan Knights (also abbreviated as SJK) are a Filipino professional basketball team based in San Juan. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. The team plays its ...

in the division finals before clinching the championship against the

Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines The Zamboanga Sikat (stylized as Zamboanga SiKAT), alternatively known as Sikat Zamboanga, is a Filipino professional basketball team based in Zamboanga City. The team currently competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a ...

in the national finals.

2023–2024: Baltazar arrives in San Fernando, Giant Lanterns shift the series

The additions of

Justine Baltazar Justine Sagaya Baltazar (born February 19, 1997), nicknamed "Balti", is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Converge FiberXers of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is listed at 6 feet 9 ½ inches (2.07 m). Baltazar ...

and Encho Serrano to the Pampanga roster brought in a new contender to the North Division for the 2023 season. On July 1, 2023, Pampanga earned their first victory against Nueva Ecija since 2020 at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in

San Fernando, Pampanga San Fernando, officially the City of San Fernando (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it h ...

. The following season, the two teams faced off in the playoffs for the second time. This time around, it was Pampanga that survived, recording a series sweep of their own against Nueva Ecija. Both playoff games were separated by three points, the latter of which went to overtime. Pampanga would eventually accomplish back-to-back championships after defeating San Juan in the division finals and the

Quezon Huskers The Quezon Huskers are a Filipino professional basketball team based in Lucena, a highly urbanized city in the province of Quezon. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's South Division. ...

in the national finals.

2025–present: Baltazar departs, Marcelinos move to Palayan

The 2025 season saw notable changes in both teams' rosters. Most notably, the departure of Baltazar from Pampanga to join the

Converge FiberXers The Converge FiberXers are a professional basketball team owned by Converge ICT. The team competes in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The franchise began after acquiring the former Alaska Aces franchise on March 23, 2022. History ...

in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

(PBA), and the arrival of the Marcelino twins, Jaycee and Jayvee, from Zamboanga to Nueva Ecija, joining their 2022 finals rivals.

Annual finishes

: ''NOTE: Preseason games are not included.''

Game summaries

References

{{MPBL rivalries MPBL rivalries Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards Pampanga Giant Lanterns