The 2023 MPBL season was the fifth season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and the second as a professional league. The regular season began on March 11, 2023, with the opening ceremonies at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena. The 2023 MPBL All-Star Game was held at Bataan People's Center in Balanga, Bataan on September 16. The league took two breaks during the regular season, during Holy Week and during the Philippines' co-hosting of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. The playoffs then began on October 6 and ended on December 2 when the Pampanga Giant Lanterns defeated the Bacoor City Strikers in three games in the 2023 MPBL finals.
This season featured 29 teams, which included two expansion teams: the Negros Muscovados and the Quezon Huskers.
OKBet continued to be the league's title sponsor throughout the regular season.
Teams
Expansion This season featured two new expansion teams. After competing in the 2021 Invitational, the Negros Muscovados marked their full-time arrival this season. The Quezon Huskers also made their league debut, giving every province in the Calabarzon region at least one team. Five teams also made their return to the league, which includes the Bicol Volcanoes, Bulacan Kuyas, Iloilo United Royals, Parañaque Patriots and Pasay Voyagers. This increased the total number of teams from 22 to 29.
Every returning team is allocated to its previous division, with both Negros and Quezon being placed in the South Division. The Rizal Golden Coolers were realigned back to the North Division.
Arenas Expansion team Returning team Team switched divisions New arena
North Division Team Arena Capacity Bataan Risers Bataan People's Center 4,000 Bulacan Kuyas Baliwag Star Arena 5,000 Caloocan Batang Kankaloo Caloocan Sports Complex 3,000 Makati OKBet Kings colspan="2" Manila Stars San Andres Sports Complex 3,000 Marikina Shoemasters Marikina Sports Center 7,000 Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards Nueva Ecija Coliseum 3,000 Pampanga Giant Lanterns Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center 3,000 Parañaque Patriots Olivarez College Gymnasium 3,500 Pasay Voyagers Cuneta Astrodome 12,000 Pasig City MCW Sports Ynares Sports Arena 3,000 Quezon City Toda Aksyon colspan="2" Rizal Golden Coolers Ynares Center 7,400 One Arena N/A San Juan Knights Filoil EcoOil Centre 6,000 Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. WES Arena N/A
South Division Team Arena Capacity Bacolod City of Smiles colspan="2" Bacoor City Strikers Strike Gymansium 1,500 Batangas City Embassy Chill Batangas City Sports Coliseum 2,500 Batangas State University Gymnasium 4,000 Bicol Volcanoes colspan="2" GenSan Warriors Lagao Gymnasium 6,000 Iloilo United Royals Passi City Arena 2,000 Imus SV Squad Imus City Sports Complex 1,000 Laguna Heroes Santa Rosa Sports Complex 5,700 Laguna Sports Complex 2,500 Mindoro Disiplinados Sentrong Pangkabataan N/A Muntinlupa Cagers Muntinlupa Sports Center 3,000 Negros Muscovados La Salle Coliseum 8,000 Quezon Huskers Quezon Convention Center 8,000 Sarangani Marlins colspan="2" Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum 12,000
Neutral Event Arena Capacity Paco Arena 1,000 Notes Only used for the 2023 Preseason Invitational. Despite the presence of the Manila Stars, the arena was not used by the team during the season.
Name changes The Batangas City Embassy Chill temporarily changed its name to Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters during the 2023 Preseason Invitational. The Imus City Bandera changed its name to Imus SV Squad before the 2023 Preseason Invitational. The Bacolod Bingo Plus changed its name to Bacolod City of Smiles before the start of the season. The team is alternatively known as the Bacolod Maskaras. The Caloocan Excellence changed its name to Caloocan Batang Kankaloo before the start of the season. The Laguna Heroes Krah Asia changed its name to Laguna Krah Asia before the start of the season. The Makati × MNL Kingpin changed its name to Makati OKBet Kings before the start of the season. The Mindoro Tams changed its name to Oriental Mindoro Disiplinados before the start of the season, then later changed to Mindoro Disiplinados in June 2023. The Quezon City MG changed its name to Quezon City Gaz N Go before the start of the season, then later changed to Quezon City Toda Aksyon in June 2023.
Coaching changes Off-seasonTeamOutgoing coachIncoming coachBacolod City of Smiles Alexander AngelesMonel KallosBulacan KuyasKerwin McCoy Alvin GreyBacoor City StrikersWillie GeneralaoAlexander AngelesBicol VolcanoesMonel KallosVis ValenciaGenSan Warriors Marlon MartinJesus Ramon PidoImus SV Squad Renniel CabreraJinino ManansalaIloilo United RoyalsEric GonzalesManu InigoMakati OKBet Kings Vis ValenciaDon Dulay Manila Stars Maximino Dayandante Jr. Tylon DarjuanMuntinlupa Cagers Vincent SalvadorJack AzcuetaPasig City MCW Sports Ogie Gumatay Boyet Fernandez Quezon City Toda Aksyon Alvin GreyTeng TorcuatorValenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc.Lester Alvarez Jhon VelasquezMid-seasonBacolod City of Smiles Monel KallosVincent Salvador Bataan Risers Ricky DandanAlex CalluengBicol VolcanoesVis ValenciaJason SantiagoBulacan Kuyas Alvin Grey Jerry Codinera Jerry Codinera Joseph Mabagos Caloocan Batang Kankaloo Ronnie Dojillo Robert SisonGenSan Warriors Jesus Ramon PidoRich Alvarez Iloilo United Royals Manu InigoMC AbolucionManila Stars Tylon Darjuan Bam LedesmaBam Ledesma Bimbot AnquiloMuntinlupa Cagers Jack AzcuetaAldrin Morante Negros Pau MuscovadosRolando Aledron Jr. Bonnie GarciaQuezon City Toda Aksyon Teng Torcuator Weng AdinaWeng Adina Egay MacarayaSan Juan Knights Randy AlcantaraJinggoy Estrada Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. Jhon VelasquezEric Martinez Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines Vic YcasianoLouie Alas
Pre-season
This season was preceded by the 2023 MPBL Preseason Invitational, which used a similar format to the 2021 Invitational, but downsized because of the smaller eight-team pool. The tournament ran for one week from February 21–27, 2023 at the Lagao Gymnasium in General Santos, the home arena of the GenSan Warriors.
The tournament was won by the Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines after beating the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards in the final game with a score of 88–80, with Dexter Maiquez winning MVP honors.
Regular season
Opening ceremony The opening ceremony was held on March 11, 2023, at Quezon Convention Center in Lucena, Quezon. Rapper Andrew E. and singer Marcelito Pomoy were both among the performers to kick off the regular season. Like previous seasons, a muse contest followed wherein some teams took part in.
The first game was between the Rizal Golden Coolers and the Bataan Risers, while the first home game featured the two expansion teams this season, with the Quezon Huskers hosting the Negros Muscovados.
Format The 29 teams play in a single round-robin format, playing one game against all other teams in the league for a total of 28 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 will advance 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.
Postponed and cancelled games The Bacoor City–Bataan and Quezon–Marikina games, originally scheduled for September 22, 2023 at Marikina Sports Center, were postponed due to health concerns brought by volcanic smog. Both were then postponed to October 3, 2023, while the venue remained unchanged. The Laguna–Manila game, also originally scheduled for September 22, 2023, was later cancelled due to it having no effect on playoff standings.
Standings
North Division
South Division
Results Each team plays every team once. Number of asterisks after each score denotes number of overtimes played.
Playoffs
The 2023 MPBL playoffs began on October 6, 2023.
Bracket 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 homecourt advantage, the higher-seeded team, are shown in italics.
Division quarterfinals North Division
South Division
Division semifinals North Division
South Division
Division finals North Division
South Division
MPBL finals
All-Star Game
The 2023 MPBL All-Star Game, the league's fourth overall, took place on September 16, 2023, at the Bataan People's Center in Balanga, Bataan, the home arena of the Bataan Risers. The North Division finally won against the South Division after three seasons, with a score of 99–91, with All-Star MVP honors going to Justine Baltazar.
Records and milestones Records May 30, 2023 – Justine Baltazar of the Pampanga Giant Lanterns broke the single-game rebounding record, with 27 rebounds against the Bataan Risers. June 3, 2023: Jeff Viernes of the Sarangani Marlins broke the single-game scoring record, with 50 points against the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards, beating the previous record held by John Wilson in 2019. Sarangani won 134–123, putting an end to Nueva Ecija's 32-game regular season winning streak, which began at the start of the 2022 season. The 257 total points scored between the two teams is also the most such in a single game. August 2, 2023 – Poypoy Actub of the Imus SV Squad broke the single-game dunking record, with 7 dunks against the Bulacan Kuyas. September 30, 2023 – The Pampanga Giant Lanterns tied the record for most wins in a single season, earning its 26th win against the San Juan Knights. The San Juan Knights and Davao Occidental Tigers both had 26 wins in the 2019–20 season.
Milestones March 11, 2023 – James Castro becomes the 14th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points. March 20, 2023 – Chito Jaime becomes the 15th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points. March 25, 2023 – Allan Mangahas becomes the 16th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points. March 27, 2023 – Alwyn Alday becomes the 17th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points. March 30, 2023 – Felix Apreku becomes the 2nd player to reach 1,000 MPBL career rebounds. April 14, 2023 - Jay-R Taganas becomes the 3rd player to reach 1,000 MPBL career rebounds. May 6, 2023 – Chris Bitoon becomes the 18th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points. May 10, 2023 – Dhon Reverente becomes the 19th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points. May 22, 2023 – Mark Montuano becomes the 20th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points. June 7, 2023: Paul Sanga becomes the 21st player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points. Reil Cervantes becomes the 22nd player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points. June 8, 2023 - James Martinez becomes the 23rd player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points. June 21, 2023 - Dhon Reverente becomes the 4th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career rebounds. Dhon Reverente also becomes the second player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points and rebounds. July 5, 2023 – Jeff Viernes becomes the 24th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points. August 14, 2023 – Robin Roño becomes the 25th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points. September 18, 2023 – Paolo Hubalde becomes the 26th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points. October 24, 2023 – Dave Moralde becomes the 27th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points. October 28, 2023: Jeckster Apinan becomes the 5th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career rebounds. Jeckster Apinan also becomes the third player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points and rebounds. Jhaymo Eguilos becomes the 28th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.
Statistics
Individual statistical leaders