2025 MPBL season
The 2025 MPBL season was the seventh season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League and its fourth under professional status. The regular season began on March 8, 2025 with the opening ceremony at the Capital Arena in Ilagan, Isabela. The season ended on December 16, 2025 with the 2025 MPBL finals between Abra Solid North Weavers and Quezon Huskers.
This season features 30 teams. The league expanded to the Cagayan Valley region for the first time with the addition of the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys. Three teams made their comebacks. This season will also see the introduction of the league's play-in tournament to be held in between the regular season and playoffs.
The Pampanga Giant Lanterns are two-time defending champions and reigning North Division champions, while the Quezon Huskers are the reigning South Division champions.
This season also marked the first of what would have been a new two-year title sponsorship deal with gambling company 1xbet. However, the sponsorship was dropped midway through the season.
Format changes
Postseason changes
On February 2, 2025, the league announced a couple of changes to its playoff format, the biggest being the addition of a play-in tournament similar to the NBA's play-in round, which will be contested by teams ranked seventh through tenth in their respective divisions. The seventh and eighth-ranked teams will play for the seventh seed in the playoffs. The losing team will face the winner of the game between the ninth and tenth-ranked teams for the eighth seed and the final playoff spot. Due to this change, only the top six teams will directly advance to the playoffs.In addition, the division finals is made a best-of-five series from the best-of-three series in previous seasons. These changes mark the first since the league expanded the playoffs to a 16-team pool due to the league's national expansion in 2019.
Preseason Invitational cancellation
On January 22, the league announced that it will not host a Preseason Invitational tournament this season, so that the competing teams can focus on building their rosters. This will mark the first time in the professional era that the league will not host such a tournament.Teams
Teams were given until February 1 to submit their intent to compete, although some were given extensions. This season, 30 teams will compete, one more than the 29 teams of the previous two seasons. This makes it the second-biggest team pool in league history, only behind the 2019–20 season, which had 31 teams compete. However, the final lineup of teams as well as the division alignment is currently unannounced.Expansions, returnees, and contractions
On January 16, commissioner Kenneth Duremdes announced that an expansion team based in Ilagan, Isabela will join the regional league this season. The team, later named the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys, was formally established on February 1, marking the first time the league has a team based in the Cagayan Valley region and will continue the expansion into Northern Luzon, following additions of the Pangasinan Heatwaves and the Abra Weavers last season.Three teams also made their return. After being absent in the last three seasons, the Basilan's MPBL team is set to return this season as the Basilan Viva Portmasters, having competed in the 2019–20 season as the Basilan Steel, and as a guest team in the 2021 Preseason Invitational as the Basilan Jumbo Plastic. Similarly, Cebu's MPBL team will also return for the first time since 2020, now known as the Cebu Classic. The Pasig City MPBL team is the last team to make its return, after not competing in the previous season.
On the other hand, three teams made their departures. The Bicolandia Oragons and Iloilo United Royals left the league after competing in three of the last four seasons while the Negros Muscovados depart after two seasons. This means that Bicol Region and Western Visayas won't have any representatives for their respective regions.
Realignment
The Ilagan Isabela Cowboys were placed in the North Division alongside Pasig City while the Basilan Viva Portmasters and Cebu Classic were placed in the South Division. To balance both divisions, the Rizal Golden Coolers were realigned back to the South, its fourth realignment in history and first since 2023.Team name changes
| Previous team name | New team name |
| Abra Weavers | Abra Solid North Weavers |
| Bacolod City of Smiles | Bacolod Tubo Slashers |
| Basilan Steel | Basilan Starhorse Basilan Viva Portmasters |
| Cebu Casino Ethyl Alcohol | Cebu Classic Cebu Greats |
| Imus Agimat | Imus Braderhood |
| Manila SV Batang Sampaloc | Manila Batang Quiapo |
| Marikina Shoemasters | Marikina Verdiamonds Jewellers Marikina Shoemasters |
| Pasig City MCW Sports | Pasig City |
| Quezon City Toda Aksyon | Quezon City Galeries Taipan |
| Sarangani Marlins | Sarangani Gripper Motorcycle Tire |
| South Cotabato Warriors | GenSan Warriors |
| Valenzuela Classic | Val City Magic |
| Zamboanga Master Sardines | Zamboanga Sikat |
Transactions
Player transactions
; Rookie signings- The Abra Solid North Weavers signed CJ Austria and Joshua David, and Jack Cruz-Dumont.
- The Abra Solid North Weavers signed two-time all-star and former All-MPBL Team selection Leo Najorda. He last played for the Koponang Lakan ng Bulacan of the Pilipinas Super League in 2023.
- The Pangasinan Heatwaves signed 2018 PBA Mr. Quality Minutes Vic Manuel. He last played for the Terrafirma Dyip of the Philippine Basketball Association in 2025.
- The Sarangani Marlins signed two-time all-star and 2022 Rookie of the Year Kyt Jimenez. He last played for the San Miguel Beermen of the PBA in 2024. Notably, Jimenez also recorded the elusive quadruple-double while playing for Sarangani in 2022.
- The Abra Solid North Weavers signed all-star Encho Serrano from the Pampanga Giant Lanterns.
- The Basilan Starhorse signed two-time All-Star Game MVP Jeff Viernes alongside fellow all-stars Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Emman Calo. Basilan also signed PBA great Arwind Santos from the Pampanga Giant Lanterns.
- The Cebu Classic signed two-time all-star Paulo Hubalde from the Valenzuela Classic.
- The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards signed the Marcelino twins, Jaycee and Jayvee, from the Zamboanga Master Sardines. The former won Most Valuable Player in 2022 and was selected to three All-MPBL First Teams while with Zamboanga.
- Two-time season MVP and two-time finals MVP Justine Baltazar departed the league after two seasons, both with the Pampanga Giant Lanterns, to sign with the Converge FiberXers of the PBA.
Coaching changes
| Team | Departing coach | Incoming coach |
| Basilan Starhorse | Mac Tan | Rich Alvarez |
| Bulacan Kuyas | Elgin Espina | Terence Reyes |
| Caloocan Batang Kankaloo | Gabby Espinas | Myk Saguiguit |
| Cebu Greats | Voltaire Ora | Junthy Valenzuela |
| Davao Occidental Tigers | Arvin Bonleon Clive Castillo | Clive Castillo Arvin Bonleon |
| Marikina Shoemasters | Eric Sy | Angelo Nebres |
| Mindoro Tamaraws | Rodney Santos | Bengie Teodoro |
| Parañaque Patriots | Myk Saguiguit Stephen Mopera | Stephen Mopera Melquiades Villanueva |
| Sarangani Gripper Motorcycle Tire | John Kallos | Ronnie Dojillo |
Arenas
Arena changes
- The Capital Arena in Ilagan, Isabela became the primary home venue of the expansion Ilagan Isabela Cowboys.
- The Ynares Center in Rodriguez, Rizal became the new permanent home venue of the Rizal Golden Coolers. The team played at the Ynares Center for the past five seasons in Antipolo, since the 2018–19 season.
- The Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Malate, Manila became a new alternate venue for the Manila Batang Quiapo.
- The Robert B. Estrella Sr. Memorial Stadium in Rosales, Pangasinan became a new alternate venue for the Pangasinan Heatwaves.
- The Marikina Sports Center returned as the primary home venue of the Marikina Shoemasters. It was last used in the 2023 season.
- The Filoil EcoOil Center in San Juan, home of the San Juan Knights, was renamed to the Playtime Filoil Centre in May 2025.
Regular arenas
| Parañaque Patriots | Pasay Voyagers | Quezon Huskers | Rizal Golden Coolers | San Juan Knights |
| Olivarez College Parañaque | Cuneta Astrodome Pasay | Quezon Convention Center Lucena | Ynares Center Montalban Rodriguez, Rizal | Playtime Filoil Centre San Juan |
| Capacity: 3,500 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 7,000 | Capacity: 8,000 | Capacity: 6,000 |
| Val City Magic |
| WES Arena Valenzuela |
| Capacity: N/A |
Regular season
Opening ceremony
The regular season began on March 8, 2025. As has been the case since 2023, the season opener and opening ceremony was hosted by an expansion team from the current season, this time being the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys at the Capital Arena in Ilagan, Isabela. The opening doubleheader will feature the Biñan Tatak Gel and the Abra Weavers in the first game, followed by the Sarangani Marlins and the home team Cowboys in the second game.Format
Similar to previous seasons, all participating teams will play in a single round-robin tournament for the regular season, playing one game against every other team. The league's 30 teams will each play 29 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.Under the new postseason format, the top six teams in each division will advance directly to the 2025 MPBL playoffs, while teams ranked seventh through tenth will compete in a play-in tournament for the final two spots.
Standings
; North Division; South Division
Results table
; Notes- Any game details are subject to change. The full schedule is revealed over time as the season progresses.
- Games that are played home or away are indicated by the superscript after the opposing team's abbreviation. Games with no superscript are neutral-site.
- The Bacolod-Pangasinan game was stopped before the opening of the second half due to the report of three players having no Special Guest Athlete license from Games and Amusements Board. Final score was 50–30 in favor of Pangasinan via default.
- The last two games of Muntinlupa Cagers were decided to forfeit due to some players were injured and commitment to play in 2025–26 PBA season.
- The Pasig City were decided to forfeit the game against GenSan Warriors
- The Parañaque Patriots were decided to forfeit the game against Manila Batang Quiapo. Thus, both teams were eliminated.
- All games scheduled from July 21 to 24 was postponed due to heavy rains affecting Greater Manila Area and nearby areas.
- All games scheduled from August 22 and 26 was postponed due to heavy rains affecting Greater Manila Area and nearby areas.
Home-and-away records
; NotesPlay-in tournament
In each division, the seventh-place team will play against the eighth-place team with the winning team clinching the seventh seed in the playoffs. On the other hand, the ninth-place team will play against the tenth-place team with the losing team being eliminated from playoff contention. The loser of the 7–8 game will then face-off against the winner of the 9–10 game for the eighth seed in the playoffs, with the losing team being eliminated. The first two play-in games in each division are hosted by the seventh-place team in each division, while the final play-in gameday will be hosted by the highest-ranked play-in team remaining.Teams in bold won the game indicated. Teams in italics have homecourt advantage under the aforementioned rules. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's regular season ranking in its division, while the numbers to the right indicate the number of points the team scored in that game.
Playoffs
The 2025 MPBL playoffs started in October 2025. The first two rounds, the division quarterfinals and semifinals, are best-of-three series, while the last two rounds, the division finals and national finals, are best-of-five series.Bracket
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. Teams in italics have homecourt advantage for the series. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its division, while the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round.All-Star Game
The 2025 MPBL All-Star Game, the league's sixth overall, was take placed on September 6 at Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna, the home arena of the Biñan Tatak Gel.Coaches
A head coach from each division, usually from a higher-ranked team, is selected to represent their respective divisions. On August 26, Yong Garcia of the Abra Solid North Weavers and Eric Gonzales of the Quezon Huskers were announced as this season's all-star coaches. The latter was coached his second all-star team.Lineups
The starters were announced on August 25. In the North Division, Jaycee Marcelino was selected as an all-star starter for the fourth consecutive season and his first with the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards. Orlan Wamar of the San Juan Knights was maked his third appearance as an all-star starter. Abra's Dave Ildefonso, Jeff Manday of the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo, and Larry Muyang of the Pampanga Giant Lanterns was all maked their all-star debuted. In the South Division, Levi Hernandez of the Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters was maked his third all-star appearance and his first as a starter while Quezon's Ljay Gonzales was maked his second appearance as a starter. Making their debuted in the All-Star Game was Eric Camson of the Rizal Golden Coolers, Abdul Sawat of the Zamboanga Sikat, and Kyle Tolentino of the GenSan Warriors.Statistics
Individual leaders
End of Regular season| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
| Points per game | Dave Ildefonso | Abra Weavers | 18.2 |
| Rebounds per game | Larry Muyang | Pampanga Giant Lanterns | 10.5 |
| Assists per game | Orlan Wamar Jr. | San Juan Knights | 7.6 |
| Steals per game | Jaycee Marcelino | Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards | 2.4 |
| Blocks per game | Raven Gonzales | Abra Weavers | 1.8 |
Team leaders
As of September 13, 2025| Category | Team | Statistic |
| Points per game | Abra Weavers | 90.1 |
| Rebounds per game | Abra Weavers | 52.5 |
| Assists per game | Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards | 27.0 |
| Steals per game | Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards | 10.8 |
| Blocks per game | Abra Weavers | 5.0 |
| Turnovers per game | Cebu Classic | 16.5 |
Awards
Individual season awards
The league's individual awards were given out on December 16, 2025 before game 3 of the national finals series at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena. The Finals Most Valuable Player award|Finals Most Valuable Player] and Coach of the Year will be awarded at the conclusion of the national finals.| Award | Recipient | Team |
| Most Valuable Player | Dave Ildefonso | Abra Weavers |
| Finals Most Valuable Player | Jason Brickman | Abra Weavers |
| Defensive Player of the Year award|Defensive Player of the Year] | Antonio Bonsubre, Jr. | Caloocan Batang Kankaloo |
| Rookie of the Year | Raven Gonzales | Abra Weavers |
| Homegrown Player of the Year | Prince Casin | Caloocan Batang Kankaloo |
| Most Improved Player | Warlo Batac | Pasig City |
| Coach of the Year | Yong Garcia | Abra Weavers |
| Executive of the Year | Angelo Alonte | Biñan Tatak Gel |
| Sportsmanship award | Nikko Panganiban | San Juan Knights |
Notable events
- On March 8, 2025, the league held its first games at the Capital Arena in Ilagan, Isabela. It was also the first home venue used by the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys.
- On March 10, 2025, the league held its first games at Robert B. Estrella Sr. Memorial Stadium in Rosales, Pangasinan. It was also the second home venue used by the Pangasinan Heatwaves.
- On March 20, 2025, the league held its first games at Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila. It was the fourth home venue used by the Manila Batang Quiapo.
- On April 1, 2025, the league held its first games at Ynares Center Montalban in Rodriguez, Rizal. It was the third home venue used by the Rizal Golden Coolers.
- On April 14, 2025, the Bacolod Tubo Slashers won against the Marikina Verdiamonds Jewellers, 80–79, ending the longest losing streak in league history at 27 games dating back to the previous season.
- On April 28, 2025, the Bulacan Kuyas lost to the Bataan Risers, 48–73, tying Bacolod's 27-game losing streak, also dating back to the previous season.
- On August 12, 2025, Michole Sorela of GenSan Warriors was permanently banned and fined due to assaulting Jonas Tibayan of Mindoro Tamaraws during the August 11 game in which resulted in serious physical injuries.
- During the PBA season 50 draft on September 7, 2025, Geo Chiu became the second MPBL player to be selected first overall in the PBA draft after Justine Baltazar last season.
Records and milestones
Records
- May 5, 2025:
- * The Sarangani Gripper Motorcycle Tire broke the record for most points scored by a single team in a game with 148 points, surpassing the previous record set by the San Juan Knights on September 13, 2022.
- * In the same game, Sarangani and the Bulacan Kuyas combined for 259 points, which is the most combined points scored between two teams in a game. The previous record was 257, which was shared between two pairings: Sarangani–Nueva Ecija on June 3, 2023 and Bacolod–Imus on September 27, 2024.
- * In the same game, Bulacan Kuyas' loss to the Sarangani Gripper Motorcycle Tire broke the record for longest overall losing streak at 28 games. The streak was eventually ended on 29 games after Bulacan won over Parañaque.
- September 10 – Orlan Wamar of San Juan Knights sets an all-time assist record in league's history with 25 assists against Sarangani Gripper Motorcycle Tire.
- September 22 – The Abra Solid North Weavers broke the record for the longest regular season winning streak, surpassing the previous record set by the Pampanga Giant Lanterns with 23 straight wins.
- September 30 – The Abra Solid North Weavers set the record for the longest regular season winning streak with 26 straight wins.
Milestones
- March 10, 2025 – John Wilson became the first player to reach 2,000 MPBL career points.
- March 15, 2025 – Marco Balagtas became the 50th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.
- April 9, 2025 – Ryan Costelo became the 51st player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.
- April 10, 2025 – Yves Sazon became the second player to reach 2,000 MPBL career points.
- May 15, 2025 – Domark Matillano became the 52nd player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.
- May 22, 2025 – Axel Iñigo became the 53rd player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.
- June 3, 2025 – Val Acuña became the 54th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.
- July 30, 2025 – Michael Cañete became the 55th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.
- August 14, 2025 – Gab Dagangon became the 56th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.
- August 23, 2025 - Jan Jamon became the 57th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.
- September 1, 2025 - Encho Serrano became the 58th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.
- September 22, 2025 - Kenny Rocacurva became the 59th player to reach 1,000 MPBL career points.