The

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 ...

and

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 ...

both joined 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 ...

(MPBL) as expansion teams for its 2018–19 season. The two teams have consistently faced off in the playoffs, particularly in the mid-2020s when they are battling spot in the finals of both the MPBL and the

Pilipinas Super League The Pilipinas Super League (PSL) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines. History The Pilipinas Super League (PSL) was founded in December 2021 by former officials the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, namely its former CEO Ro ...

(PSL). As of November 11, 2024, San Juan and Pampanga tied the all-time series 7–7.

History

2018–2020: First meetings

Both teams first faced each other on June 20, 2018, which happened to be their first games as expansion teams. The then-named Pampanga Lanterns hosted the game at AUF Sports and Cultural Center in

Angeles City Angeles (), officially the City of Angeles (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 462,928 people. A ...

, but San Juan beat the home team with a score of 93–70. It wouldn't be until the following season when both met in the playoffs for the first time. In the

2020–21 MPBL playoffs The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, San Juan swept the now-Giant Lanterns in the best-of-three series. Game 1 of that series also featured a game-winning layup made by

Mike Ayonayon Rian Michael S. Ayonayon (born December 8, 1992) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Abra Solid North Weavers of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was drafted 3rd overall pick in the 1st round of the 2019 PBA ...

2023–present: Fighting for contention

Entering their semifinals match-up in the 2023 PSL DUMPER Cup playoffs, San Juan has beaten Pampanga in all six of their meetings up to that point. In addition, San Juan came into the playoffs undefeated at 15–0 while Pampanga finished 10–5. On March 27, 2023, the Pampanga franchise finally reigned over the San Juan franchise on an 87–84 victory at the

Filoil EcoOil Centre The Arena, known as Playtime Filoil Centre for sponsorship reasons, is an is an indoor arena located along Bonny Serrano Avenue in San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines. History The Playtime Filoil Centre first opened as The Arena in 2006. The ...

. They then went on to win game 2 at home at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center to advance to the finals and eventually win their first professional championship against the

Davao Occidental Tigers The Davao Occidental Tigers (also known as Davao Occidental Tigers – Cocolife due to sponsorship reasons) are a Filipino professional basketball team based in the Davao metropolitan area and representing the province of Davao Occidental. The ...

. Back in the MPBL, on September 30, the Giants Lanterns won their first regular season game against San Juan, a game that would lead to Pampanga's 26th win for the winningest season in league history, a record that is shared with multiple teams, including San Juan. The two teams then found themselves on familiar ground in that year's North Division finals with a trip to the championship series at stake. Pampanga would eventually sweep San Juan once again to claim their first North Division title before winning the championship altogether against the

Bacoor City Strikers The Bacoor City Strikers were a Filipino professional basketball team, based in Bacoor, Cavite. The team last competed in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and played their home games at Strike Gymnasium. The Strikers also prev ...

. Pampanga's five-game winning streak over San Juan came to an end in the following 2024 season after San Juan defeated Pampanga, 86–82, a game that also ended Pampanga's 23-game winning streak. Both teams are expected to meet again in the playoffs, where another division championship is on the line.

History

2018–2020: First meetings

2023–present: Fighting for contention

Annual finishes

Game summaries

See also

References