| MPBL finals | |
| Status: | Active |
| Genre: | Sporting event |
| Date: | Late November – December (since 2022) |
| Frequency: | Annual |
| Country: | Philippines |
| Free Label: | Most titles |
| Free Text: | Five teams (1 title each) |
The MPBL national finals or MPBL finals is the annual championship series of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). The North and South Division champions compete in a best-of-five series to determine the league champion.
The MPBL finals is structured in a 2–2–1 format, where the first two games and, if necessary, the fifth and final game are hosted by the team with homecourt advantage, being the team with the better regular season record.
Five teams have won the MPBL finals with no team winning it more than once. The Pampanga Giant Lanterns won the most recent series in 2023. Since the introduction of divisions in the 2018–19 season, the North Division claimed three of the four titles.
The first finals series was played in April 2018 between the Batangas City Athletics and Muntinlupa Cagers. Batangas City won the series, beating Muntinlupa in four games.[1]
The 2019 and 2021 series mark the only back-to-back matchup between the same two teams to date: the Davao Occidental Tigers and San Juan Knights. The 2019 series is currently the only such to go the full five games with both teams alternating wins leading to a winner-take-all game 5. In the final minute of the game with the Davao Occidental Tigers leading by three, Jhonard Clarito made two crucial shots that lifted the San Juan Knights up by one point.[2] San Juan would go on to win the championship.[3]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 series ended up being postponed to 2021. For safety measures, the entire 2021 series took place at the MPBL's bubble at the Subic Bay Gymnasium.[4] Davao Occidental and San Juan met once again, but this time with the Tigers getting their revenge, beating San Juan in four games.[5] In a similar fashion to the previous series, Mark Yee helped clinch the title with a three-pointer in the final moments of game 4, removing a two-point San Juan lead.[6]
As the league gained professional status, the next two final series would feature dominance from Central Luzon-based teams. In the 2022 series, the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards came off a 21–0 regular season and beat the Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines in four games while the following 2023 series saw the first-ever national finals sweep, with the Pampanga Giant Lanterns defeating the Bacoor City Strikers in three games.[7] [8]
| Team | No. | W | L | PCT | Most recent appearance | Most recent title | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | San Juan | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2019 | align=left | In 2019, San Juan became the first non-first seed to win a championship. | |||
| align=left | Davao Occidental | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2021 | align=left | Team did not participate in 2022 and 2023. | |||
| align=left | Pampanga | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2023 | align=left | ||||
| align=left | Batangas City | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2018 | align=left | ||||
| align=left | Nueva Ecija | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2022 | align=left | ||||
| align=left | Muntinlupa | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | align=left | ||||
| align=left | Zamboanga | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | align=left | ||||
| align=left | Bacoor City | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | align=left | Team departed after the 2023 season. | |||
| align=left | Quezon | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | align=left |
| Team | GP | W | L | PCT | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | Davao Occidental | 9 | 5 | 4 | align=left | Won 3–1 in their last national finals appearance in 2021. | ||
| align=left | San Juan | 9 | 4 | 5 | align=left | Lost 1–3 in their last national finals appearance in 2021. | ||
| align=left | Batangas City | 4 | 3 | 1 | align=left | Won 3–1 in their last national finals appearance in 2018. | ||
| align=left | Nueva Ecija | 4 | 3 | 1 | align=left | Won 3–1 in their last national finals appearance in 2022. | ||
| align=left | Muntinlupa | 4 | 1 | 3 | align=left | Lost 1–3 in their last national finals appearance in 2018. | ||
| align=left | Zamboanga | 4 | 1 | 3 | align=left | Lost 1–3 in their last national finals appearance in 2022. | ||
| align=left | Pampanga | 3 | 3 | 0 | align=left | In 2023, Pampanga recorded the first national finals sweep in league history; won 3–0 in their last national finals appearance in 2023. | ||
| align=left | Bacoor City | 3 | 0 | 3 | align=left | Lost 0–3 in their last national finals appearance in 2023. Team departed after the 2023 season. |