| 2019–20 MPBL season | |
| League: | Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League |
| Sport: | Basketball |
| Duration: | Regular season: June 12, 2019 – February 12, 2020 Playoffs: February 15 – March 11, 2020 (before suspension) March 10–16, 2021 (resumption) Finals: March 17–21, 2021 |
| No Of Games: | 464 (regular season) 35 (playoffs) |
| No Of Teams: | 31 |
| Tv: | ABS-CBN (S+A, Liga, A2Z, The Filipino Channel, iWantTFC) Fox Sports |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Top Seed: | San Juan Knights |
| Mvp: | John Wilson (San Juan) |
| Mvp Link: | MPBL Most Valuable Player award |
| Playoffs: | Playoffs |
| Playoffs Link: | 2020–21 MPBL playoffs |
| Conf1: | North Division |
| Conf1 Champ: | San Juan Knights |
| Conf1 Runner-Up: | Makati Super Crunch |
| Conf2: | South Division |
| Conf2 Champ: | Davao Occidental Tigers |
| Conf2 Runner-Up: | Basilan Steel |
| Finals: | Finals |
| Finals Champ: | Davao Occidental Tigers |
| Finals Runner-Up: | San Juan Knights |
| Finals Mvp: | Mark Yee (Davao Occidental) |
| Finals Mvp Link: | MPBL Finals Most Valuable Player award |
| Seasonslist: | List of MPBL seasons |
| Seasonslistnames: | MPBL |
| Prevseason Link: | 2018–19 MPBL season |
| Prevseason Year: | 2018–19 |
| Nextseason Link: | 2022 MPBL season |
| Nextseason Year: | 2022 |
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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
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.
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.
| Expansion team | ||
| Team switched divisions | ||
| New arena |
| Team | Arena | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Division | |||
| Bataan People's Center | 4,000 | ||
| Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium | 5,000 | ||
| Baliwag Star Arena | 5,000 | ||
| Malolos Sports and Convention Center | 5,000 | ||
| 3,000 | |||
| 12,000 | |||
| 3,000 | |||
| 2,500 | |||
| 7,000 | |||
| Navotas Sports Complex | 1,000 | ||
| colspan="2" | |||
| 3,000 | |||
| 3,500 | |||
| 12,000 | |||
| Pasig Sports Center | 2,500 | ||
| 7,500 | |||
| JCSGO Seed Dome | 1,000 | ||
| 7,400 | |||
| 5,500 | |||
| Valenzuela Astrodome | 3,000 | ||
| South Division | |||
| 8,000 | |||
| Strike Gymansium | 1,500 | ||
| Lamitan Capitol Gymansium | 3,000 | ||
| Batangas City Sports Coliseum | 4,000 | ||
| 2,500 | |||
| Ibalong Centrum for Recreation | 8,000 | ||
| Albay Astrodome | 8,000 | ||
| 6,500 | |||
| 5,700 | |||
| 6,500 | |||
| 7,000 | |||
| Rizal Memorial Colleges Gymnasium | 2,000 | ||
| 2,500 | |||
| 6,000 | |||
| N/A | |||
| Lagao Gymnasium | 6,000 | ||
| 5,000 | |||
| Passi City Arena | 2,000 | ||
| Imus City Sports Complex | 1,000 | ||
| colspan="2" | |||
| Muntinlupa Sports Center | 3,000 | ||
| Sarangani Capitol Gymnasium | N/A | ||
| Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum | 12,000 | ||
| Neutral | |||
| 15,000 | |||
| 15,000 | |||
| rowspan="2" | 15,000 | ||
| N/A | |||
| El Salvador City Gymnasium | N/A | ||
| Subic Bay Gymnasium | N/A | ||
After receiving criticism for its previous set of changes, the player limits were increased to allow more players to join the league.[4]
The opening ceremony took place on June 12, 2019 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.[5] Some teams had a muse to represent the team, who are as follows:
| 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 |
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.
For the first time in MPBL history, the league held regular season games in international venues under its existing Invasion series.
| Date | Teams | Arena | Location | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPBL Dubai Invasion | |||||
| September 27, 2019 | Davao Occidental Tigers vs. Batangas City Athletics | Hamdan Sports Complex | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | ||
| September 28, 2019 | Batangas City Athletics vs. Imus Bandera | ||||
| MPBL Canada Invasion | |||||
| December 27, 2019 | Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines vs. Imus Bandera | Winsport Arena | Calgary, Alberta, Canada | [6] | |
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.
See main article: 2020–21 MPBL 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.
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.
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In the Division Semifinals, the highest seeded team hosts games 1 and 3, while the second-highest seeded team hosts game 2.
Due to San Juan advancing after game 2, Manila instead hosted game 3.
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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 (IATF-EID) to host a bubble at the Subic Bay Gymnasium in Olongapo, Zambales, where all remaining games were played.
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.
|}
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.
|}
See main article: 2021 MPBL finals. Neither team had homecourt advantage due to all games being held at the Subic Bay Gymnasium.
|}
| 2020 MPBL All-Star Game | |
| Visitor: | North All-Stars |
| Home: | South All-Stars |
| Visitor Total: | 122 |
| Visitor Per1: | 23 |
| Visitor Per2: | 28 |
| Visitor Per3: | 28 |
| Visitor Per4: | 33 |
| Visitor Ot: | 10 |
| Team1 Coach: | Randy Alcantara |
| Home Total: | 126 |
| Home Per1: | 28 |
| Home Per2: | 23 |
| Home Per3: | 29 |
| Home Per4: | 32 |
| Home Ot: | 14 |
| Team2 Coach: | Don Dulay |
| Date: | February 13, 2020 |
| Arena: | SM Mall of Asia Arena |
| City: | Pasay |
| Mvp: | Jeff Viernes |
| Previous: | 2019 |
| Next: | 2022 |
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.[7]
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.
| Starters | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred Batino | Bataan Risers | align=center | 1 | |
| Aris Dionisio | Manila Stars | align=center | 2 | |
| Michael Juico | Pampanga Giant Lanterns | align=center | 1 | |
| Jai Reyes | Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards | align=center | 1 | |
| John Wilson | San Juan Knights | align=center | 1 | |
| Reserves | ||||
| Cedric Ablaza | Makati Super Crunch | align=center | 2 | |
| Mark Benitez | Rizal Golden Coolers | align=center | 1 | |
| Clark Derige | Quezon City Capitals | align=center | 1 | |
| Paulo Hubalde | Val City Carga Backload Solution | align=center | 2 | |
| Dhon Reverente | Pasay Voyagers | align=center | 1 | |
| Paul Sanga | Caloocan Supremos | align=center | 1 | |
| Jayboy Solis | Parañaque Patriots | align=center | 1 | |
| Jay-R Taganas | Bulacan Kuyas | align=center | 2 | |
| Marwin Taywan | Navotas Uni-Pak Sardines | align=center | 1 | |
| Jeric Teng | Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors | align=center | 1 | |
| Ato Ular | Marikina Shoemasters | align=center | 1 | |
| Head coach: Randy Alcantara (San Juan Knights) | ||||
| Starters | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gab Banal | Bacoor City Strikers | align=center | 2 | |
| Allyn Bulanadi | Basilan Steel | align=center | 1 | |
| Will McAloney | Cebu Casino Ethyl Alcohol | align=center | 1 | |
| Jeff Viernes | Batangas City Athletics | align=center | 2 | |
| Mark Yee | Davao Occidental Tigers | align=center | 2 | |
| Reserves | ||||
| Gerald Anderson | Imus Bandera | align=center | 2 | |
| Ronjay Buenafe | Bicol Volcanoes | align=center | 1 | |
| Robby Celiz | GenSan Warriors | align=center | 1 | |
| Richard Escoto | Iloilo United Royals | align=center | 1 | |
| Pao Javelona | Bacolod Master Sardines | align=center | 1 | |
| Pari Llagas | Sarangani Marlins | align=center | 1 | |
| Allan Mangahas | Biñan City Luxxe White | align=center | 1 | |
| Alvin Pasaol | Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines | align=center | 1 | |
| Rodel Vaygan | Mindoro Tamaraws | align=center | 1 | |
| GJ Ylagan | Muntinlupa Cagers | align=center | 1 | |
| Head coach: Don Dulay (Davao Occidental) | ||||
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.
On March 12, 2020, the league announced the suspension of the 2019–20 season due to the impending COVID-19 pandemic. The league had just concluded with the second games of both division finals series, with both series being forced into a do-or-die third game.[2] Commissioner Kenneth Duremdes stated in June that the suspended playoffs would continue once restrictions on contact sports have been lifted by the government. The suspension lasted nearly one year, as the league announced on March 6, 2021 that it would finally resume its 2020 playoffs in a bio-secure bubble at the Subic Bay Gymnasium on March 10.[8] The 2020–21 season was also cancelled, with the league instead intending to start its fourth season in June 2021 before ultimately settling for 2022.[9]
Most of the league's individual awards were given out before game 4 of the national finals at the Subic Bay Gymnasium.[10] The Finals Most Valuable Player and Coach of the Year were awarded at the conclusion of the series.[11]
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Week | Player | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=center | June 12−15, 2019 | Mark Cruz (Pampanga Giant Lanterns) | ||
| align=center | June 17−22, 2019 | Aris Dionisio (Manila Stars) | ||
| align=center | June 24−29, 2019 | Aaron Black (Quezon City Capitals) | ||
| align=center | July 1–6, 2019 | Allan Mangahas (Biñan City Heroes) | ||
| align=center | July 8–13, 2019 | |||
| align=center | July 15–20, 2019 | Mark Yee (Davao Occidental Tigers) | ||
| align=center | July 22–27, 2019 | |||
| align=center | July 29 – August 3, 2019 | Edzel Mag-isa (Muntinlupa Cagers) | ||
| align=center | August 5–10, 2019 | Jeric Teng (Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors) | [12] | |
| align=center | August 12–17, 2019 | |||
| align=center | August 19–24, 2019 | |||
| align=center | August 26–31, 2019 | |||
| align=center | September 2–7, 2019 | Michael Juico (Pampanga Giant Lanterns) | ||
| align=center | September 9–14, 2019 | |||
| align=center | September 16–21, 2019 | |||
| align=center | September 23–28, 2019 | |||
| align=center | September 30 – October 5, 2019 | |||
| align=center | October 7–12, 2019 | RJ Ramirez (Bacoor City Strikers) | [13] |
This season marked the third and final year of both ABS-CBN's and Fox Sports Asia's broadcast rights with the league.
For ABS-CBN, games were broadcast on S+A, Liga, and The Filipino Channel, while iWantTFC served as the network's international streaming platform. A2Z also broadcast the bubble games of the 2020–21 playoffs. The network's broadcast rights came to an end after the network's franchise was expired. On the other hand, Fox Sports Asia continued to broadcast Monday games as the league's cable partner. The network itself shut down on October 1, 2021.
IBC and TAP DMV would take over the television rights in the 2021 Invitational, while Cignal TV acquired the rights beginning with the succeeding 2022 season.
The league continued to broadcast all of the games on its official Facebook page.