The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines that was founded in 2017 and began play in 2018. As of 2024, there have been eight teams that are no longer active members.
The Basilan Steel joined the league in the 2018–19 season and last played in the following 2019–20 season. In the latter season, Basilan made the division finals where they would end up tying the Davao Occidental Tigers in the best-of-three season. As the league resumed play on the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Steel were the only team to not fully recover from the virus, causing the league to rule Basilan out of the playoffs' resumption.[1] Basilan would later change its name to the Basilan Peace Riders as the team moved on from the MPBL.[2]
After their last season in regular MPBL play, Basilan would take part in the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, where in the 1st Conference, they would win their first and only league championship, earning a spot in the 2021 MPBL Invitational as a direct qualifier. Basilan would end up winning the first edition of the Invitational in overtime against the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards.
Afterwards, Basilan took part in the Pilipinas Super League, where the team would last play in. The Basilan-based franchise is the only such, current and former, to be based in the Bangsamoro region.
Joining as Cavite's second team, the Bacoor City Strikers' tenure in the MPBL lasted for four seasons from 2018–19 to 2023. The Strikers made the playoffs in every season they took part in, including a run to the 2023 MPBL finals, where the team was swept by the Pampanga Giant Lanterns.[3] Gab Banal won the 2019 Most Valuable Player award while playing for Bacoor.[4]
First going by the Cebu City Sharks, the team that last went by the Cebu Casino Ethyl Alcohol joined the league in the 2018–19 season and last took part in the 2019–20 season. The team made the playoffs in 2019 as the eighth seed, losing to the Davao Occidental Tigers in a sweep. In the lead-up to the 2023 season, Cebu was listed among the returning teams for that season, yet their return did not materialize with no reason given.[5]
The Cebu-based franchise is the only such, current and former, to be based in the Central Luzon region.
During Makati's four-year run, the team has been consistent contenders in the league, going top-three in the North Division in all but the 2022 season. Despite that, the team has never made a Finals appearance. In 2020, Makati made the division finals against San Juan Knights, however, the COVID-19 pandemic brought financial trouble to the franchise, causing contract issues with key players. Makati would lose to San Juan in game 3 by a 77-point margin.[6] The last went by the Makati OKBet Kings in 2023.[7]
The Mandaluyong El Tigre is the first team to go inactive as well as the league's shortest-tenured, having only taken part in one season: the 2018–19 season. That season, Mandaluyong finished 8–17, ranked 11th in the North Division, and missing the playoffs. Mandaluyong is notable for acquiring Bobby Ray Parks Jr., who won the ASEAN Basketball League Finals MVP in 2018 right before joining the MPBL.[8] Mid-season, Parks was drafted second overall by the Blackwater Elite in the 2018 PBA draft.
The Navotas Uni-Pak Sardines are the only founding member in this list, as the Navotas Clutch. Navotas made the playoffs twice in 2018 and in 2019, but didn't make past the first round of either. Navotas' tenure in the league lasted for three seasons, ending with the 2019–20 season.
The team joined as the Pasig Pirates, making them the second incarnation of the former team that played in the Metropolitan Basketball Association. It also makes them the oldest MPBL team that isn't active. Despite a rough 2018–19 campaign that saw the team finish with the worst record that season, the team has made the playoffs in the three seasons since. Their best season came in 2022 when they clinched the second-seed in the North Division, but feel short against the San Juan Knights in the division semifinals. The team last took on the moniker of Pasig City MCW Sports.[9]
The Tarlac United Force is a special case, as they didn't take part in league play. The team was set to compete in the 2024 season as an expansion team, but due to financial concerns, the league pulled the team out on April 16, 2024. Still, the league mentioned the province of Tarlac as a potential expansion location, which could pave the way for the re-establishment of the franchise.[10]
| Team | Seasons | First season | Last season | Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Won | Lost | |||||||||||
| align=left | Bacoor City Strikers | 4 | 104 | 69 | 35 | 4 | 22 | 12 | 10 | |||||
| align=left | 2 | 2019–20 | 55 | 27 | 28 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 3 | |||||
| align=left | 2 | 2019–20 | 55 | 26 | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||
| align=left | Makati OKBet Kings | 4 | 2023 | 104 | 66 | 38 | 3 | 12 | 5 | 7 | ||||
| align=left | 1 | 2018–19 | 25 | 8 | 17 | 0 | – | – | – | |||||
| align=left | 3 | 2019–20 | 63 | 24 | 39 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |||||
| align=left | Pasig City MCW Sports | 4 | 2023 | 104 | 55 | 49 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 6 | ||||
| align=left | Tarlac United Force | 0 | 2024 (withdrew) | 0 | – | – | 0 | – | – | – | ||||