2024 MPBL finals
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| Dates | December 1, 2024 – TBA | |||||||||
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| Northern finals | Pampanga def. San Juan, 2–0 | |||||||||
| Southern finals | TBD between Quezon and Batangas City | |||||||||
The 2024 MPBL finals will be the championship series of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League's (MPBL) 2024 season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The best-of-five playoff will be contested between the Pampanga Giant Lanterns and the South Division champion (either the Quezon Huskers or Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters).[1] The series will begin on December 1, 2024.
The league will play the first two games of the series in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, marking the first time a Philippine basketball league will play its championship series overseas. The league will then return home for the remaining three games, where the team with the higher regular season record gains homecourt advantage.[2]
For the second consecutive season and third time overall, both teams featured will be based in Luzon. In addition, this will also be second time overall that a returning finalist or former champion will be featured, the only other time happened in 2021.
Background
[edit]International games
[edit]The first two games of the series will be played in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, aiming to attract the country's large Filipino population, particularly in Dubai. The MPBL previously played two regular season games in Dubai in 2019 for their inaugural International Invasion series at Hamdan Sports Complex.[3] This time, the league's international games will take place at the Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall and will be organized by DJMC, the same group behind the previous leg of Dubai games.[2][4]
Pampanga Giant Lanterns
[edit]The Pampanga Giant Lanterns entered the 2024 season as defending champions, having beaten the Bacoor City Strikers in last season's finals. During the regular season, the team was able to match their 26–2 record from last season, but only finished as the second seed due to having lost their regular season game against the San Juan Knights. In the playoffs, Pampanga once again swept of their opponents on their way to the national stage, beating the expansion Abra Weavers in the division quarterfinals, their Central Luzon rival Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards in the division semifinals,[5][6] and ultimately defeating first-seeded San Juan all in two games.
Pampanga became the first team since the 2020 San Juan Knights to clinch back-to-back division championships.
Road to the finals
[edit]| Pampanga Giant Lanterns (North Division champion) | South Division champion | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Standings Notes:
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Regular season | To be determined | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Defeated 7th-seeded Abra Weavers, 2–0 | Division quarterfinals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Defeated 3rd-seeded Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards, 2–0 | Division semifinals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Defeated 1st-seeded San Juan Knights, 2–0 | Division finals |
Series summary
[edit]For this year's national finals, the Pampanga Giant Lanterns will hold homecourt advantage for the series, as they hold a better regular season record compared to all remaining South Division teams.
| Game | Date | Winning team | Result | Losing team | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | December 1 | TBD | – | TBD |  Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall
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| 2 | December 3 | TBD | – | TBD | Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall
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| 3 | TBA | TBD | – | TBD | TBA |
| 4* | TBA | TBD | – | TBD | TBA |
| 5* | TBA | TBD | – | TBD | TBA |
(*) if necessary
Game summaries
[edit]- NOTE: All times are Philippine Standard Time (UTC+8:00). If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.
Game 1
[edit]December 1
11:00 pm (07:00 pm GST) |
| Pampanga Giant Lanterns | vs. | TBD |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – | ||
Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall, Dubai
|
Game 2
[edit]December 3
11:00 pm (07:00 pm GST) |
| TBD | vs. | Pampanga Giant Lanterns |
| Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – | ||
Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall, Dubai
|
Game 3
[edit]Game 4
[edit]Game 5
[edit]Broadcast notes
[edit]This will be the third national finals series under Cignal TV's broadcast deal. The games will be broadcast on television via Media Pilipinas TV (MPTV) and will also be streamed on Pilipinas Live and the league's social media channels.
References
[edit]- ^ "Batangas dispatches South Cotabato to book MPBL South finals seat". Spin.ph. November 8, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
- ^ a b "MPBL to hold first two games of its championship in Dubai". Spin.ph. October 29, 2024. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ "Pacquiao follows 35-point showing with 42 in MPBL execs' vengeful win in Dubai". Spin.ph. September 29, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2024.
- ^ "Dubai hosts first two games of MPBL National Finals". Tiebreaker Times. October 30, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
- ^ "Pampanga nips Nueva Ecija in OT, meets San Juan in MPBL North finals". Philstar.com. October 31, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
- ^ "Pampanga survives Nueva Ecija in OT, sets up MPBL North Finals clash vs San Juan". Tiebreaker Times. October 31, 2024. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
