Current season, competition or edition: 2024 MPBL playoffs | |
 | |
| Sport | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Founded | August 29, 2017 |
| Founder | Manny Pacquiao |
| First season | 2018 |
| COO | Zaldy Realubit |
| Commissioner | Kenneth Duremdes |
| Motto | Ang Liga Ng Bawat Pilipino (The League of Every Filipino) |
| No. of teams | 29 |
| Country | Philippines |
| Headquarters | Pasig |
| Continent | FIBA Asia (Asia) |
| Most recent champion(s) | Pampanga Giant Lanterns (1st title) |
| Most titles | 5 teams (1 title each) |
| TV partner(s) | Cignal TV Media Pilipinas TV Pilipinas Live YouTube |
The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines consisting of 29 teams.
Founded in 2017 by eight-division boxing world champion Manny Pacquiao, the MPBL is not intended to be a competitor to the top-flight Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), but rather to provide a gateway for local, homegrown talents to showcase their skills. The league uses a home-and-away format, similar to the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association.[1] The MPBL started an amateur league before being granted professional status in 2021 by the Games and Amusements Board.[2]
Further developments include the youth-oriented Junior MPBL, which launched in July 2023,[3] and a volleyball counterpart called the Maharlika Pilipinas Volleyball Association (MPVA), which launched in October 2023.[4]
The Pampanga Giant Lanterns are the current defending champions, beating the Bacoor City Strikers in three games during the 2023 MPBL finals.
- ^ Henson, Joaquin (September 3, 2017). "MPBL won't compete with PBA". The Philippine Star. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
:3was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Escarlote, Mark (August 12, 2023). "Pacquiao launching volleyball tournament". Daily Tribune Sports. Retrieved August 25, 2023.