2023 MPBL playoffs
The 2023 MPBL playoffs is the postseason tournament of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League's 2023 season, the league's fifth overall, and the fourth under the 16-team format. The postseason tournament began on October 6, three days after the end of the regular season.[1]
| 2023 Nexus88 MPBL Playoffs presented by Xtreme | |
| Country | Philippines |
|---|---|
| Dates | October 6, 2023 – TBA |
| Teams | 16 |
| Defending champions | Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards |
For sponsorship reasons, this playoff series is known as the 2023 Nexus88 MPBL Playoffs presented by Xtreme.
Overview
Updates to playoff appearances
- The Pampanga Giant Lanterns entered the playoffs for the third consecutive season and also clinched the best record in the league for the first time.[2]
- The Bacoor City Strikers entered the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season and also clinched the best record in the South Division for the first time.
- The Batangas City Embassy Chill entered the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season, currently the longest active playoff streak in the MPBL.
- The GenSan Warriors, San Juan Knights, and Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines entered the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
- Pasig City MCW Sports entered the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
- The Marikina Shoemasters, Muntinlupa Cagers, and Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards entered the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
- The Quezon Huskers entered the playoffs for the first time in team history.
- The Iloilo United Royals, Makati OKBet Kings, and Pasay Voyagers entered the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
- The Caloocan Batang Kankaloo and Imus SV Squad entered the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
- The Bataan Risers missed the playoffs for the first time since entering the league in 2018.
- The Laguna Heroes and Parañaque Patriots missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, currently the longest active playoff droughts in the MPBL.
Notable events
- With the elimination of Bataan, Batangas City is now the only founding team to have never missed the playoffs.
- Quezon is the first team in the professional era to make the playoffs in its inaugural season.
- Both Cavite teams (Bacoor City and Imus) enter the playoffs in the same season for the first time since 2019.
First Round
- Iloilo became the first 8-seed to lead a playoff series against a 1-seed.
- Game 2 of the Makati–San Juan series was the first playoff game in league history to go into double overtime.
- General Santos's series win against Muntinlupa marked the first time a Soccsksargen-based team has won a playoff series.
Format
The top eight teams from each division advance to the playoffs. Seeding is based on wins, with tiebreaker rules applied should multiple teams have the same record. The single-elimination bracket consists of four rounds with no reseeding. The first three rounds being best-of-three series and the National Finals being a best-of-five series.
During the first two rounds, two games within the same division are played in a gameday, with homecourt advantage alternating between the higher-seeded teams of each series. A traditional homecourt format is then used for the last two rounds, with the Division Finals using a 1–1–1 format and the National Finals using a 2–2–1 format. The designated home team may not be able to play within its home locality. Should it occur, the gameday may take place elsewhere.
Division standings
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North Division
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South Division
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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.
| First Round (Best-of-3) | Division Semifinals (Best-of-3) | Division Finals (Best-of-3) | National Finals (Best-of-5) | ||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Pampanga | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| N8 | Marikina | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Pampanga | ||||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Caloocan | ||||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Caloocan | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| N5 | Pasig City | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| North Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Nueva Ecija | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| N7 | Pasay | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Nueva Ecija | ||||||||||||||||||
| N6 | San Juan | ||||||||||||||||||
| N3 | Makati | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| N6 | San Juan | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Bacoor City | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| S8 | Iloilo | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| S1 | Bacoor City | ||||||||||||||||||
| S4 | Zamboanga | ||||||||||||||||||
| S4 | Zamboanga | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| S5 | Quezon | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| South Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Batangas City | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| S7 | Imus | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| S2 | Batangas City | ||||||||||||||||||
| S3 | General Santos | ||||||||||||||||||
| S3 | General Santos | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| S6 | Muntinlupa | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
First Round
(1) Pampanga Giant Lanterns vs. (8) Marikina Shoemasters
October 6 08:00 pm |
| Marikina Shoemasters | 70–82 | Pampanga Giant Lanterns |
| Scoring by quarter: 21–21, 11–19, 20–14, 18–28 | ||
| Pts: Joe Gomez de Liaño 22 Rebs: Jason Strait, Aldzahar Udjan 9 Asts: Felipe Chavez 6 |
Pts: Archie Concepcion 26 Rebs: Justine Baltazar 21 Asts: Justine Baltazar 7 | |
| Pampanga leads series, 1–0 | ||
This game featured the MPBL debut of 9-time PBA champion and Pampanga homegrown Arwind Santos. Santos only scored four points, including the buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the game.[1]
Media Pilipinas TV |
October 13 06:00 pm |
| Pampanga Giant Lanterns | 81–61 | Marikina Shoemasters |
| Scoring by quarter: 28–15, 18–17, 13–14, 22–15 | ||
| Pts: Justine Baltazar 22 Rebs: Justine Baltazar 11 Asts: Archie Concepcion 7 |
Pts: Mark Atabay 16 Rebs: Mark Atabay 13 Asts: Deo Timajo 5 | |
| Pampanga wins series, 2–0 | ||
| Head-to-head matchup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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This is the first playoff meeting between Pampanga and Marikina.
(2) Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards vs. (7) Pasay Voyagers
October 9 08:00 pm |
| Pasay Voyagers | 81–85 | Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards |
| Scoring by quarter: 17–21, 23–19, 22–21, 19–24 | ||
| Pts: Dhon Reverente 20 Rebs: Dhon Reverente 13 Asts: Elvin Chan, Laurenz Victoria 4 |
Pts: Chris Bitoon 18 Rebs: Michael Mabulac 15 Asts: John Raymundo, Chris Bitoon 4 | |
| Nueva Ecija leads series, 1–0 | ||
Nueva Ecija Coliseum, Palayan, Nueva Ecija |
Media Pilipinas TV |
October 16 06:00 pm |
| Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards | 71–62 | Pasay Voyagers |
| Scoring by quarter: 15–12, 23–13, 15–15, 18–22 | ||
| Pts: Chris Bitoon 16 Rebs: JR Taganas 8 Asts: Philip Manalang 5 |
Pts: Brian Hilario 26 Rebs: Dhon Reverente 12 Asts: Laurenz Victoria 6 | |
| Nueva Ecija wins series, 2–0 | ||
| Head-to-head matchup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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This is the first playoff meeting between Nueva Ecija and Pasay.
(3) Makati OKBet Kings vs. (6) San Juan Knights
This series marked the third meeting of coaches Don Dulay (Makati) and Randy Alcantara (San Juan). Both coaches met in back-to-back National Finals and split one championship each, with Alcantara winning in 2019 for San Juan, and Dulay winning in 2021 for Davao Occidental.
Media Pilipinas TV |
October 9 06:00 pm |
| Makati OKBet Kings | 84–95 | San Juan Knights |
| Scoring by quarter: 15–22, 16–21, 30–34, 23–18 | ||
| Pts: Keith Agovida 19 Rebs: Keith Agovida 8 Asts: JC Cullar 6 |
Pts: Orlan Wamar 23 Rebs: Kevin Villafranca 7 Asts: Adrian Nocum 6 | |
| San Juan leads series, 1–0 | ||
Nueva Ecija Coliseum, Palayan, Nueva Ecija |
October 16 08:00 pm |
| San Juan Knights | 95–92 (2OT) | Makati OKBet Kings |
| Scoring by quarter: 27–18, 13–19, 18–28, 17–10, Overtime: 20–17 | ||
| Pts: Adrian Nocum 22 Rebs: Zach Huang 12 Asts: Orlan Wamar 7 |
Pts: Robby Celiz, Emman Calo 24 Rebs: Billy Ray Robles 12 Asts: Emman Calo 7 | |
| San Juan wins series, 2–0 | ||
The game was the first in MPBL playoffs history to feature more than one overtime period, with both Makati and San Juan causing multiple lead changes and deadlocks throughout the entire game.
During the second overtime period, San Juan went on a 7–1 scoring run culminating in a three-point field goal by Wamar as the Knights led by 5 heading into the final minute. Calo cut the lead to three with two free throws, and then Cullar attempted a three-pointer to potentially cause triple overtime, but the ball went in and out of the rim. San Juan kept the ball in possession for the remaining seconds as the Knights advance to their fourth consecutive Division Semifinals appearance.[3]
| Head-to-head matchup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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This is the second playoff meeting between Makati and San Juan, with San Juan winning the previous meeting.
| San Juan leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(4) Caloocan Batang Kankaloo vs. (5) Pasig City MCW Sports
Media Pilipinas TV |
October 6 06:00pm |
| Caloocan Batang Kankaloo | 71–69 | Pasig City MCW Sports |
| Scoring by quarter: 20–17, 7–17, 23–14, 21–21 | ||
| Pts: Reil Cervantes 16 Rebs: Gabby Espinas 12 Asts: Joco Tayongtong 5 |
Pts: Robbie Manalang 17 Rebs: Pierce Chan 9 Asts: Ryan Costelo 5 | |
| Caloocan leads series, 1–0 | ||
With the game tied at 69–69, Gabby Espinas hit the mid-range jumper on Jason Ballesteros to give Caloocan the lead with 0.7 seconds left on the clock. Following two timeouts from Pasig City, Kenny Rocacurva gave the inbound pass to Ryan Costelo, who failed to score a potential game-tying field goal.[4]
October 13 08:00 pm |
| Pasig City MCW Sports | 65–61 | Caloocan Batang Kankaloo |
| Scoring by quarter: 16–11, 11–18, 19–16, 19–16 | ||
| Pts: Robbie Manalang 23 Rebs: Jason Ballesteros 10 Asts: Ryan Costelo 3 |
Pts: Paul Sanga 12 Rebs: Rey Cervantes, Gabby Espinas 7 Asts: Alejandro Iñigo 4 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
October 20 08:00 pm |
| Caloocan Batang Kankaloo | 68–60 | Pasig City MCW Sports |
| Scoring by quarter: 17–16, 10–17, 20–14, 21–13 | ||
| Pts: Gabby Espinas 15 Rebs: Gabby Espinas, Paul Sanga 7 Asts: Irven Palencia 5 |
Pts: Robbie Manalang, Rey Peralta 10 Rebs: Jason Ballesteros 17 Asts: three players 3 | |
| Caloocan wins series, 2–1 | ||
| Head-to-head matchup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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This is the first playoff meeting between Caloocan and Pasig.
(1) Bacoor City Strikers vs. (8) Iloilo United Royals
October 7 08:00pm |
| Iloilo United Royals | 89–86 | Bacoor City Strikers |
| Scoring by quarter: 19–31, 18–26, 32–9, 20–20 | ||
| Pts: Lorenzo Navarro 16 Rebs: Omar Larupay, Joshua Flores 10 Asts: Lorenzo Navarro 14 |
Pts: Jhan Nermal, James Kwekuteye 23 Rebs: Mark Yee 14 Asts: Yvan Ludovice 4 | |
| Iloilo leads series, 1–0 | ||
Strike Gymnasium, Bacoor, Cavite |
At the end of the first half, Bacoor City had a 20-point lead on Iloilo. In the third quarter, Iloilo took the lead as the United Royals scored 32 points over Bacoor City's 9. With the game tied at 86–86, and with just under three seconds on the game clock, CJ Catapusan scored a three-point field goal to give Iloilo the lead with .17 seconds remaining. Bacoor City had no timeouts left as Chito Jaime attempted a half-court shot that hit the right side of the backboard, giving Iloilo the upset victory.[5]
Media Pilipinas TV |
October 14 06:00 pm |
| Bacoor City Strikers | 92–52 | Iloilo United Royals |
| Scoring by quarter: 20–11, 25–16, 22–10, 25–15 | ||
| Pts: Chito Jaime 16 Rebs: Jhaymo Eguilos 10 Asts: Aaron Jeruta 9 |
Pts: CJ Catapusan 11 Rebs: CJ Catapusan, Omar Larupay 6 Asts: Lorenzo Navarro 7 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum, Zamboanga City |
Media Pilipinas TV |
October 21 8:00 pm |
| Iloilo United Royals | 61–72 | Bacoor City Strikers |
| Scoring by quarter: 12–22, 17–19, 15–17, 17–14 | ||
| Pts: Joshua Flores 15 Rebs: CJ Catapusan 9 Asts: Lorenzo Navarro 8 |
Pts: James Kwekuteye 15 Rebs: Jhaymo Eguilos, Jhan Nermal 12 Asts: Aaron Jeruta 6 | |
| Bacoor City wins series, 2–1 | ||
Strike Gymnasium, Bacoor, Cavite |
| Head-to-head matchup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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This is the first playoff meeting between Bacoor City and Iloilo.
(2) Batangas City Embassy Chill vs. (7) Imus SV Squad
October 10 08:00 pm |
| Imus SV Squad | 71–78 | Batangas City Embassy Chill |
| Scoring by quarter: 8–21, 20–23, 15–16, 28–18 | ||
| Pts: Carlo Lastimosa 18 Rebs: Marc Pingris 10 Asts: six players 2 |
Pts: Juneric Baloria 17 Rebs: John Ambulodto 10 Asts: Jeckster Apinan 5 | |
| Batangas City leads series, 1–0 | ||
Batangas City Coliseum, Batangas City |
Marc Pingris made his return to Imus after only playing for the team in five games during the regular season.
Media Pilipinas TV |
October 17 06:00 pm |
| Batangas City Embassy Chill | 61–59 | Imus SV Squad |
| Scoring by quarter: 13–14, 15–18, 15–11, 18–16 | ||
| Pts: Cedrick Ablaza 13 Rebs: Juneric Baloria 9 Asts: Juneric Baloria, Cedrick Ablaza 6 |
Pts: Carlo Lastimosa 11 Rebs: Marc Pingris 10 Asts: Jayjay Helterbrand 6 | |
| Batangas City wins series, 2–0 | ||
Strike Gymnasium, Bacoor, Cavite |
| Head-to-head matchup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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This is the second playoff meeting between Batangas City and Imus, with Batangas City winning the previous meeting.
| Batangas City leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(3) GenSan Warriors vs. (6) Muntinlupa Cagers
Media Pilipinas TV |
October 10 06:00 pm |
| GenSan Warriors | 79–70 | Muntinlupa Cagers |
| Scoring by quarter: 21–13, 24–13, 18–19, 16–25 | ||
| Pts: Jervy Cruz 16 Rebs: John Wilson 12 Asts: John Wilson 7 |
Pts: Dave Moralde 12 Rebs: Dave Moralde, Ian Melencio 10 Asts: Dave Moralde, Ian Melencio 4 | |
| General Santos leads series, 1–0 | ||
Batangas City Coliseum, Batangas City |
October 17 08:00 pm |
| Muntinlupa Cagers | 99–91 | GenSan Warriors |
| Scoring by quarter: 27–21, 31–20, 28–22, 13–28 | ||
| Pts: Dave Moralde 18 Rebs: Ian Melencio 14 Asts: Ian Melencio 8 |
Pts: Mark Cruz 19 Rebs: Felix Apreku, Larry Rodriguez 6 Asts: Nico Elorde 6 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Strike Gymnasium, Bacoor, Cavite |
TBA |
October 24 07:00 pm |
| GenSan Warriors | 85–78 | Muntinlupa Cagers |
| Scoring by quarter: 26–19, 18–15, 22–19, 19–25 | ||
| Pts: John Wilson 22 Rebs: Hafer Mondragon 8 Asts: three players 5 |
Pts: John Amores 17 Rebs: JP Sarao 14 Asts: Ian Melencio 7 | |
| General Santos wins series, 2–1 | ||
Paco Arena, Manila |
| Head-to-head matchup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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This is the first playoff meeting between General Santos and Muntinlupa.
(4) Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines vs. (5) Quezon Huskers
Media Pilipinas TV |
October 7 06:00 pm |
| Quezon Huskers | 68–77 | Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines |
| Scoring by quarter: 18–17, 15–22, 18–20, 17–18 | ||
| Pts: Christopher Lagrama 16 Rebs: RJ Minerva 13 Asts: Thomas Torres 4 |
Pts: Jaycee Marcelino 20 Rebs: Jaycee Marcelino 10 Asts: Jaycee Marcelino 7 | |
| Zamboanga leads series, 1–0 | ||
Strike Gymnasium, Bacoor, Cavite |
October 14 08:00 pm |
| Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines | 58–65 | Quezon Huskers |
| Scoring by quarter: 18–25, 15–5, 10–12, 15–23 | ||
| Pts: Jaycee Marcelino 19 Rebs: Jaycee Marcelino 8 Asts: Jaycee Marcelino 3 |
Pts: Alex Tamsi 13 Rebs: Rodel Guevarra 9 Asts: Christopher Lagrama 5 | |
| Series tied, 1–1 | ||
Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum, Zamboanga City |
Media Pilipinas TV |
October 21 06:00 pm |
| Quezon Huskers | 76–88 | Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines |
| Scoring by quarter: 16–21, 21–28, 22–25, 17–14 | ||
| Pts: Mon Abundo, Rodel Gravera 14 Rebs: Rodel Gravera 11 Asts: Mon Abundo 7 |
Pts: Judel Fuentes 19 Rebs: Joseph Gabayni 7 Asts: Jaycee Marcelino 13 | |
| Zamboanga wins series, 2–1 | ||
Strike Gymnasium, Bacoor, Cavite |
| Head-to-head matchup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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This is the first playoff meeting between Zamboanga and Quezon.
Division Semifinals
(1) Pampanga Giant Lanterns vs. (4) Caloocan Batang Kankaloo
Media Pilipinas TV |
November 3 06:00 pm |
| Pampanga Giant Lanterns | vs. | Caloocan Batang Kankaloo |
Nueva Ecija Coliseum, Palayan, Nueva Ecija |
| Head-to-head matchup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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This is the first playoff meeting between Pampanga and Caloocan.
(2) Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards vs. (6) San Juan Knights
November 3 08:00 pm |
| San Juan Knights | vs. | Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards |
Nueva Ecija Coliseum, Palayan, Nueva Ecija |
| Head-to-head matchup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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This is the second playoff meeting between Nueva Ecija and San Juan, with Nueva Ecija winning the previous meeting.
| Nueva Ecija leads 1–0 in all-time playoff series |
|---|
(1) Bacoor City Strikers vs. (4) Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines
October 28 08:00 pm |
| Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines | vs. | Bacoor City Strikers |
Strike Gymnasium, Bacoor, Cavite |
Media Pilipinas TV |
TBA |
| Bacoor City Strikers | vs. | Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines |
Batangas City Coliseum, Batangas City |
| Head-to-head matchup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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This is the first playoff meeting between Bacoor City and Zamboanga.
(2) Batangas City Embassy Chill vs. (3) GenSan Warriors
Media Pilipinas TV |
October 28 06:00 pm |
| Batangas City Embassy Chill | vs. | GenSan Warriors |
Strike Gymnasium, Bacoor, Cavite |
| Head-to-head matchup | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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This is the first playoff meeting between Batangas City and General Santos.
References
- "Pampanga beats Marikina in Arwind Santos MPBL debut". Spin.ph. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- "Pampanga, Makati trounce MPBL rivals". The Manila Times. September 14, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
- "San Juan outlast Makati in 2 OTs, takes on Nueva Ecija in MPBL semis". Philippine Star. October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- Masoy, Niel Victor C. (October 8, 2023). "Espinas shines as Caloocan downs Pasig". The Manila Times. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
- "Iloilo shocks Bacoor; Zamboanga thwarts Quezon in MPBL playoffs". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
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| Playoffs | |||||
| Finals | |||||
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