The 2022 MPBL season was the fourth season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and the first as a professional league. The regular season began on April 25, 2022, with opening ceremonies at the Batangas City Sports Coliseum in Batangas City, Batangas, and ended on October 13. The 2022 MPBL All-Star Game was also held at the Batangas City Coliseum on October 2. The playoffs then began on October 15 and ended on December 12 when the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards defeated the Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines in four games in the 2022 MPBL finals.
This season featured 22 teams, the first time the number of teams decreased from the previous season, as nine teams departed from the league.
This season also marked the first season of a partnership with sports betting platform OKBet as title sponsor of the league.
Background This was the MPBL's first full season following the events of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, which caused the league's year-long suspension last season. Before the pandemic, the league was going to schedule a 2020–21 season for its fourth running beginning on June 12, 2020, but those plans were cancelled, and the fourth season was then moved to June 12, 2021. The June 2021 opening, however, didn't push through due to the prevailing restrictions, and the opening was postponed to the third quarter of 2021.
On November 9, 2021, the MPBL announced that the league would be given professional status, which was granted by the Games and Amusement Board one month later. League commissioner Kenneth Duremdes then announced that the season opener is once again postponed to 2022. To make up for the long gap, Duremdes also announced that an invitational tournament would be held in December 2021 to help teams prepare for the then-upcoming season.
Teams
Team changes This season saw the departure of nine teams. The Basilan Steel and Davao Occidental Tigers moved to other leagues while the Bicol Volcanoes, Bulacan Kuyas, Cebu Casino Ethyl Alcohol, Navotas Uni-Pak Sardines, Iloilo United Royals, Parañaque Patriots, and Pasay Voyagers all became inactive. The Negros Muscovados took part in the 2021 Invitational, but did not return for the regular season. This brought the team lineup down to 22 teams, the first time the league has contracted in size. It was also the first time there were no expansion teams. To balance the divisions, the Rizal Golden Coolers were realigned back to the South Division.
Arenas Team switched divisions New arena
Team Arena CapacityNorth Division Bataan Risers Orion Sports Complex N/A Caloocan Excellence Caloocan Sports Complex 3,000 Makati × MNL Kingpin colspan="2" Manila Stars Paco Arena 1,000 San Andres Sports Complex 3,000 Marikina Shoemasters colspan="2" Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards Nueva Ecija Coliseum 3,000 Pampanga Giant Lanterns Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center 3,000 Pasig City MCW Sports Ynares Sports Arena 3,000 Quezon City MG colspan="2" San Juan Knights Filoil EcoOil Centre 6,000 Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. Bahayang Pag-asa Sports Complex N/ASouth Division Bacolod Bingo Plus La Salle Coliseum 8,000 Bacoor City Strikers Strike Gymansium 1,500 Batangas City Embassy Chill Batangas City Sports Coliseum 4,000 GenSan Warriors Lagao Gymnasium 6,000 Imus City Bandera colspan="2" Laguna Heroes Alonte Sports Arena 6,500 Laguna Sports Complex 2,500 Mindoro Tamaraws colspan="2" Muntinlupa Cagers Muntinlupa Sports Center 3,000 Rizal Golden Coolers Ynares Center 7,400 Sarangani Marlins Sarangani Capitol Gymnasium N/A Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum 12,000Neutral Marikina Sports Center 7,000 San Jose del Monte Sports Complex N/A Notes Despite the presence of the Marikina Shoemasters, the arena was not used by the team during the season.
Name changes The Biñan City Luxxe White changed its name back to Laguna Heroes during the 2021 Invitational. The Caloocan Supremos changed its team name to Caloocan Excellence during the 2021 Invitational. The Bacolod Master Sardines changed its name to Bacolod Bingo Plus before the start of the season. The Batangas City Athletics changed its name to Batangas City Embassy Chill before the start of the season. The Imus Bandera - Luxxe Slim changed its name to Imus City Bandera before the start of the season. The Makati Super Crunch changed its name to Makati × MNL Kingpin before the start of the season. The Mindoro Tamaraws changed its name to Mindoro Tams before the start of the season. The Valenzuela Classic changed its name to Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. before the start of the season. The Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors changed its name to Pasig City before the start of the season, then later as Pasig City MCW Sports before the playoffs.
Coaching changes
Off-season / Mid-season TeamOutgoing coachIncoming coach1Bataan RisersJonas Villanueva JR VillanuevaJR Villanueva Ricky Dandan Bacolod Bingo PlusVic YcasianoAlexander AngelesBacoor City StrikersChris Gavina Rey MendezRey Mendez Willie GeneralaoBatangas City Embassy Chill Woody CoPocholo Villanueva Caloocan ExcellenceJohn Kallos Rene Baena Rene Baena Ronnie DojilloGenSan WarriorsRonnie DojilloMarlon MartinImus BanderaRaymund Valenzona Manuel Torralba Jr. Manuel Torralba Jr. Renniel Cabrera Laguna HeroesDennis MirandaNath GregorioMakati × MNL KingpinBeaujing AcotVis ValenciaManila StarsTino PinatMaximino Dayandante Jr.Mindoro TamsJustin Tan Drake SantosDrake Santos Jonathan Reyes Muntinlupa Cagers Bonnie Garcia Jules HidalgoJules Hidalgo Vincent SalvadorNueva Ecija Rice VanguardsCharles Tiu Jerson CabiltesPampanga Giant LanternsBong Ramos Jordan VirayJordan Viray Dennis Pineda Pasig City MCW SportsBong Dela CruzOgie GumatayQuezon City MGChristian CoronelAlvin GreyRizal Golden CoolersJayvee Gayoso Jonathan BanalSarangani MarlinsManuel TorralbaJohn KallosValenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc.Ronjay Enrile Aldrin MoranteAldrin Morante Lester Alvarez Zamboanga Family's Brand SardinesBritt ReromaVic Ycasiano
Roster regulation changes
Since the MPBL became a professional league, multiple changes were made to the roster regulations: Teams are now allowed to sign up to five collegiate players into the roster. The only requirement is for the player to be given a Special Guest License from the Games and Amusement Board (GAB). The ex-professional player limit was replaced by an ex-PBA player limit. Still, teams are only allowed to sign seven players with previous experience in the Philippine Basketball Association. The classification for Filipino-foreigners was changed, with the only requirement is for the player to be a holder of a Philippine passport. The 6'4" height limit was also removed. The maximum number of players per roster was increased from 20 to 24 to accommodate the bigger pool of players.
Pre-season
The 2022 MPBL season was preceded by the 2021 MPBL Invitational which ran from December 11 to 23, 2021, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. The tournament was won by the Basilan Jumbo Plastic. Philip Manalang was awarded the Finals MVP after making a game-winning buzzer beater to lift Basilan over the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards, 83–80.
Regular season
Opening ceremony The opening ceremony was held on April 25, 2022, at the Batangas City Coliseum in Batangas City, Batangas, the home arena of the Batangas City Embassy Chill.
Format The 22 teams played in a single round-robin format, playing one game against all other teams in the league for a total of 21 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.
The top eight teams in each division advanced to a four-round, single-elimination playoffs, playing in best-of-three series in the first three rounds, and a best-of-five series in the national finals, with homecourt advantage alternating between the higher seeds of each series in the first two rounds.
The league also changed the ranking system this season, using wins instead of win percentage.
Standings
North Division
South Division
Results
Not all games are in home–away format. Each team plays every team once. Number of asterisks after each score denotes number of overtimes played.
Playoffs
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its division, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. Teams with home-court advantage, the higher-seeded team, are shown in italics.
Bracket
First Round
In the First Round, the first- and second-seeded teams host games 1 and 3 of its respective division, while the third- and fourth-seeded teams host game 2.
North Division First Round
Due to Nueva Ecija, Pasig City, and San Juan all advancing after game 2, Pampanga instead hosted game 3.
South Division First Round
Division semifinals
In the division semifinals, the highest seeded team hosts games 1 and 3, while the second-highest seeded team hosts game 2.
North Division semifinals
South Division semifinals
Division finals
In the division finals, the higher-seeded team hosts games 1 and 3 in its respective division, while the lower-seeded team hosts game 2.
North Division finals
South Division finals
MPBL finals
In the MPBL finals, the higher-seeded team hosts games 1, 2, and 5, while the lower-seeded team hosts games 3 and 4.
All-Star Game
The 2022 MPBL All-Star Game was an exhibition game played on October 2, 2022. It was the third edition of the MPBL All-Star Game, which took place at the Batangas City Coliseum in Batangas City, Batangas, the home venue of the Batangas City Embassy Chill, making it the first All-Star Game to be held in a team's designated home venue.
For the third consecutive season, South Division won against the North Division with a score of 109–92. Jaycee Marcelino was declared the All-Star Game MVP.
Lineups Due to the league's contraction to 22 teams, the league only placed thirteen players on each division's roster instead of fifteen. 15-man rosters would be used again in the following edition.
Cedric Ablaza of the Batangas City Embassy Chill and Mark Yee of Bacolod Bingo Plus earned their third all-star selections while Michael Mabulac of the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards, Cris Masaglang of the GenSan Warriors, and Leo Najorda of the Imus City Bandera made their second all-star appearances.
+ North All-Stars Pos Player Team No. of selectionsStarters F Arvie Bringas Bataan Risers 1 F Archie Concepcion Pampanga Giant Lanterns 1 G Judel Fuentes San Juan Knights 1 G Carlo Lastimosa Pasig City 1 C Michael Mabulac Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards 2Reserves F Bobby Balucanag Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards 1 G Genmar Bragais Quezon City MG 1 G James Castro Bataan Risers 1 F Jaymar Gimpayan Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. 1 G Lorenzo Joson Marikina Shoemasters 1 F Damian Lasco Caloocan Excellence 1 F Ronnie Matias Manila Stars 1 G Carlos Morales Makati × MNL Kingpin 1Head coach: Jerson Cabiltes (Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards)
+ South All-Stars Pos Player Team No. of selectionsStarters F Cedrick Ablaza Batangas City Embassy Chill 3 G Kyt Jimenez Sarangani Marlins 1 G Jaycee Marcelino Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines 1 F Nikko Panganiban GenSan Warriors 1 C Mark Yee Bacolod Bingo Plus 3Reserves G VJ Alarcon Batangas City Embassy Chill 1 G Biboy Enguio Muntinlupa Cagers 1 F Troy Mallillin Rizal Golden Coolers 1 G Cris Masaglang GenSan Warriors 2 F Mark Montuano Bacoor City Strikers 1 F Leo Najorda Imus City Bandera 2 F Khen Osicos Mindoro Tams 1 G Paolo Pontejos Laguna Heroes 1Head coach: Cholo Villanueva (Batangas City Embassy Chill)
Game
Pre-game events Before the game itself, a series of pre-game events was held. Returning events include the Three-Point Shootout and Slam Dunk Contest. The Executives' Game also returns after the event's absence last season. Executives' Game Champion: N/A (tied game)