2019–20 MPBL season
The 2019–20 MPBL season, also known as the MPBL Lakan Season or the Chooks-to-Go MPBL Lakan Season for sponsorship reasons, was the third season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. It was also the last season of the league's amateur era, as they would turn professional in December 2021. The regular season began June 12, 2019 with the opening ceremonies at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, and ended on February 12, 2020. The 2020 MPBL All-Star Game was also held at the same venue on February 13, 2020. The playoffs then began on February 15, 2020.
This season was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines as the season had to be suspended on March 11, 2020, midway through the division finals. Nearly one year later, the playoffs resumed on March 10, 2021 with a bubble in the Subic Bay Gymnasium in Subic, Zambales before finally ending on March 21, 2021 when the Davao Occidental Tigers defeated the defending champion San Juan Knights in four games in the 2021 MPBL finals.
This season featured 31 teams, which is currently the biggest the league has gotten, with six expansion teams joining and one team departing from the league.
Teams
Expansion
This season saw six expansion teams make their debut in the league. The Nueva Ecija MiGuard join from Central Luzon, while the Mindoro Tamaraws and Bicol Volcanoes became the first teams based in Mimaropa and the Bicol Region, respectively. Western Visayas is the only region with two expansion teams in the Bacolod Master Sardines and Iloilo United Royals. The last expansion team was the Soccsksargen Marlins representing the Soccsksargen region.Despite the departure of the Mandaluyong El Tigre, which marked the first time a team didn't return to compete, the number of participating teams increased from 26 to 31, currently the most for a single season in league history.
Nueva Ecija was allocated to the North Division, with the other five expansion teams being placed in the South Division. To balance the divisions, the Marikina Shoemasters, Parañaque Patriots, and Rizal Golden Coolers moved to the North Division.
Arenas
| Expansion team | |
| Team switched divisions | |
| New arena |
; Notes
- During the latter part of the 2020–21 MPBL playoffs, all playoff games at the Subic Bay Gymnasium were held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.
Name changes
- The Cebu City Sharks changed their team name to Cebu Sharks before the start of the season, then later as Cebu Casino Ethyl Alcohol in October 2019
- The Imus Bandera changed their team name to Imus Khaleb Shawarma before the start of the season, then later as Imus Bandera-Luxxe Slim in December 2019
- The Laguna Heroes changed their team name to Biñan City Krah Heroes before the start of the season, then later as Biñan City Luxxe White in November 2019
- The Navotas Clutch changed their team name to Navotas Uni-Pak Sardines in June 2019
- The Valenzuela Classic changed their team name to Valenzuela SPVTOP Marketplace in June 2019, then later as Val City-Carga Backload Solution in November 2019
- The Nueva Ecija MiGuard changed their team name to Nueva Ecija ForestLake in August 2019, then later as Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards in October 2019
- The Soccsksargen Marlins-Armor On changed their team name to Sarangani Marlins in November 2019
Coaching changes
Roster regulation changes
After receiving criticism for its previous set of changes, the player limits were increased to allow more players to join the league.- The Filipino-foreigner player limit was increased from one to two, with the height limit of 6'4" remaining intact. However, only one of them can play at a time.
- The ex-professional player limit was increased from five to seven. However, only five of them can play at a time.
Opening ceremony
| Team | Muse |
| Basilan Steel | Sharifa Akeel |
| Bataan Risers | Rolyn Angela Tungol |
| Batangas City Athletics | Jeanette Reyes |
| Davao Occidental Tigers | Vickie Rushton |
| GenSan Warriors | Pamela Sue |
| Manila Stars | Ahtisa Manalo |
| Marikina Shoemasters | Sophie Albert |
| Mindoro Tamaraws | Princess Legaspi |
| Navotas Clutch | Anne Tenorio |
| Pampanga Giant Lanterns | Zara Carbonell |
| Parañaque Patriots | Nikka Castro |
| Pasay Voyagers | Rachel May Libres |
| Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors | Mikaela Gabrielle Bañares |
| Quezon City Capitals | Samantha Bernardo |
| Rizal Golden Coolers | Patricia Reyes |
| San Juan Knights | Nadine Lustre |
| Valenzuela Classic | Abby Dizor |
| Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines | Joana Tan-Pe |
Regular season
Format
The 31 teams played in a single round-robin format, playing one game against all other teams in the league for a total of 30 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.
International games
For the first time in MPBL history, the league held regular season games in international venues under its existing Invasion series.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.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
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
Due to San Juan advancing after game 2, Manila instead hosted game 3.South Division semifinals
Division finals
Under standard rules, 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.Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the playoffs had to be suspended after both game 2s were played. The suspension lasted for a year, until the league were cleared by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to host a bubble at the Subic Bay Gymnasium in Olongapo, Zambales, where all remaining games were played.
North Division finals
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, San Juan ended up hosting games 1 and 2, the latter being held behind closed doors. Game 3 was held at a neutral site in the Subic Bay Gymnasium.South Division finals
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, game 3 would've been held at a neutral site in the Subic Bay Gymnasium.However, game 3 was defaulted because multiple Basilan Steel members were tested positive for COVID-19 inside the bubble. Thus the game and the series was won by Davao Occidental as the Tigers advanced to the MPBL finals.
MPBL finals
Neither team had homecourt advantage due to all games being held at the Subic Bay Gymnasium.All-Star Game
The 2020 MPBL All-Star Game was an exhibition game played on February 13, 2020. It was the second edition of the MPBL All-Star Game, which took place at SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, the same venue as the previous edition.For the second consecutive season, South Division won against the North Division with a score of 126–122 in overtime. Jeff Viernes was also declared the All-Star Game MVP for the second time in a row.
Lineups
Out of the 30 players selected, eight of them made their second all-star appearance. Those being Cedric Ablaza of the Makati Super Crunch, Gerald Anderson of the Imus Bandera, Gab Banal of the Bacoor City Strikers, Aris Dionisio of the Manila Stars, Paulo Hubalde of Val City Carga Backload Solution, Jay-R Taganas of the Bulacan Kuyas, Jeff Viernes of the Batangas City Athletics, and Mark Yee of the Davao Occidental Tigers.Game
Pre-game events
Before the game itself, a series of pre-game events were held. Returning events include the executives' Game, Three-Point Shootout and the Slam Dunk Contest.- Three-Point Shootout Champion: Lester Alvarez
- Slam Dunk Contest Champion: David Carlos
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic