The 2023–24 Pilipinas Super League season, also known as the President's Cup, was the third season of the Pilipinas Super League (PSL) Pro Division. The regular season began on November 9, 2023 with the opening ceremonies at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City and ended on March 16, 2024. The playoffs then began two days later on March 18, 2024 and ended on April 16, 2024 with the Quezon Titans winning their first league championship against the Nueva Ecija Capitals in a four-game series, with Judel Fuentes was named as the Finals MVP.
This is the first professional tournament with Cris Bautista as president and Allan Caidic as commissioner. The former previously served as commissioner of the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup.
Teams In the lead-up to the President's Cup, the league gradually revealed the teams that would take part in the tournament. The Benilde Blazers, backed by Strong Group Athletics, are the league's first collegiate representatives. Team Locality Previous tournament Best result AO Jikiri Indanan Sulu Kings Indanan, Sulu New team Bicol Spicy Oragons Bicol Region 2022–23 DUMPER Cup 7th place (2022) Biñan Tatak Gel Biñan, Laguna New team Caloocan Supremos Caloocan 2022–23 DUMPER Cup Quarterfinalist (2022–23) Cam Norte Warriors Camarines Norte New team CV Siniloan Daruma Dragons Siniloan, Laguna New team Davao Occidental Tigers Davao Occidental 2022–23 DUMPER Cup Champion (2022) JT Bulacan Taipan Bulacan New team Manila CityStars Manila 2022–23 DUMPER Cup Quarterfinalist (2022–23) MisOr Mustangs Misamis Oriental New team 1Munti XUR Homes Muntinlupa 2022–23 DUMPER Cup 12th place (2022–23) NKT Sniper New team Novaliches QC Warriors Novaliches, Quezon City New team Nueva Ecija Capitals Nueva Ecija New team Quezon Titans Quezon New team RCP–Shawarma Shack Demigods New team San Juan Kings San Juan 2022–23 DUMPER Cup Semifinalist (2022–23) San Pedro – Pablo EscoBets San Pedro, Laguna New team Strong Group Athletics – Benilde Blazers Manila New team Notes
Venues
+ Regular venues Venue Location Capacity Alonte Sports Arena Biñan, Laguna 6,500 Caloocan Sports Complex Caloocan 2,500 Central Recreation and Fitness Center Quezon City N/A Filoil EcoOil Centre San Juan 6,000 Novadeci Convention Center Quezon City N/A Paco Arena Manila 1,000 PhilSports Arena Pasig 10,000 Ynares Sports Arena Pasig 3,000
+ Special venues Venue Location Capacity Opening ceremonies Smart Araneta Coliseum Quezon City 20,000 Out-of-town venues Nueva Ecija Coliseum Palayan, Nueva Ecija 3,000 Quezon Convention Center Lucena, Quezon 7,000
Opening ceremonies The opening ceremonies took place at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. Bamboo headlined the special performance with guest Yukii Takahashi. The opening game saw the Manila CityStars beating the Cainta NKT Sniper.
Regular season The regular season began on November 9, 2023.
Format Like the previous tournament, every team will compete in a single round-robin format, playing against all other teams once. The top sixteen teams will advance to the playoffs.
Standings
Results table
Postponed games The Novaliches–Manila game, originally scheduled for November 18, 2023, was initially cancelled due to technical issues at the Novadeci Convention Center. The game was later rescheduled to January 8, 2024 and moved to the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Playoffs The playoffs began on March 18, 2024. The playoffs expanded for the second consecutive time, doubling its size to sixteen teams. The First Round and Quarterfinals give twice-to-beat advantage to the higher-seeded team. The Semifinals will be a best-of-three series and the Finals will utilize a best-of-five format.
Bracket Teams in bold advanced to the next round. Teams in italics have twice-to-beat advantage (only for the First Round and Quarterfinals). The numbers to the left indicate team's seeding. Number of asterisks denotes number of overtime periods.
First round
(1) Biñan vs. (16) RCP–Shawarma Shack
(2) San Juan vs. (15) Camarines Norte
(3) Nueva Ecija vs. (14) Manila
(4) Caloocan vs. (13) AO–Indanan
(5) Quezon vs. (12) Novaliches
(6) Davao Occidental vs. (11) Misamis Oriental
(7) SGA–CSB vs. (10) JT Bulacan
(8) 1Munti vs. (9) San Pedro
Quarterfinals
(1) Biñan vs. (8) 1Munti
(2) San Juan vs. (7) SGA–CSB
(3) Nueva Ecija vs. (6) Davao Occidental
(4) Caloocan vs. (5) Quezon
Semifinals
(1) Biñan vs. (5) Quezon
(2) San Juan vs. (3) Nueva Ecija
Battle for Third (1) Biñan vs. (2) San Juan
Finals
(3) Nueva Ecija vs. (5) Quezon
Awards The league's feted the Best Player of the Conference before Game 3 of the Finals series on April 13, 2024 at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena, Quezon. The Finals Most Valuable Player was later awarded at the conclusion of the series.
Awards Recipient Team Best Player of the Conference Will McAloney Nueva Ecija Capitals Finals Most Valuable Player Judel Fuentes Quezon Titans
Records December 4, 2023 – The San Juan Kings defeated the RCP–Shawarma Shack Demigods with a score of 121–57. The 64-point margin of victory is the biggest such in PSL history.
Statistics
Individual statistical leaders Category Player Team Statistic Points per game James Martinez Cam Norte Warriors 20.7 Rebounds per game Felix Apreku San Pedro Pablo Escobets 12.2 Assists per game Paolo Hubalde RCP–Shawarma Shack Demigods 7.8 Steals per game Paolo Hubalde RCP–Shawarma Shack Demigods 2.3 Blocks per game Jason Strait Novaliches QC Warriors 1.9 Fouls per game JR Olegario Bicol Spicy Oragons 3.5 Minutes per game Harold Arboleda 1Munti XUR Homes 32.4 FG% Shaun Umali CV Siniloan Daruma Dragons 50.0% FT% James Martinez Cam Norte Warriors 89.5% 3FG% AC Soberano San Juan Kings 51.4%
Team statistical leaders Category Team Statistic Points per game Nueva Ecija Capitals 91.8 Rebounds per game Biñan Tatak Gel 43.0 Assists per game Nueva Ecija Capitals 29.9 Steals per game Davao Occidental Tigers 10.4 Blocks per game Novaliches QC Warriors 4.4
Junior Division Following the President's Cup, the league will hold its usual Junior Division tournaments. There will be three age groups for the first time: 16-under (labelled as Born 2008), 18-under (labelled as Born 2006), and 14-under (labelled as Born 2004). The regional tournaments will be held throughout May and June, followed by the national championships in July. These tournaments will also double as qualifiers for the league's first Global Championship Challenge, set to begin in July.
Media coverage The Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) serves as the television broadcast partner for the tournament, succeeding Solar Sports. IBC previously broadcast the 2021 MPBL Invitational in December 2021. For streaming, the league partnered with Converge ICT to broadcast the league on FiberTV and Blast TV, the latter being part of a partnership with TAP DMV.
In addition to broadcasting all games on Facebook and YouTube, Bola.TV is added to the league's online portfolio, which features co-streaming with the platform's own sportscasters.
References