Muntinlupa Cagers

Professional basketball team in Muntinlupa, Philippines
     Main sponsorElburg Shipmanagement Paramount Logistics Inc.Head coachMixson Ramos

The Muntinlupa Cagers, also known as Muntinlupa Cagers – Elburg Shipmanagement Paramount Logistics Inc. for sponsorship reasons, are a Filipino professional basketball team based in Muntinlupa. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's South Division. They are one of three teams based in Metro Manila's Southern District and play their home games at Muntinlupa Sports Center.

The team is one of the league's charter members, first established for the 2018 MPBL season, where they also made their only Finals appearance to date. The team also took part in FilBasket.

History

2018–2019: Initial success and Finals appearance

The Muntinlupa Cagers were founded in 2018 as one of the MPBL's ten charter teams for the 2018 season. The Cagers experiences immediate success, finishing with a 6–3 record. Muntinlupa claimed the third seed and first swept Navotas in the Quarterfinals. They then had the Parañaque Patriots, who were coming off an upset against second-seeded Bulacan. Parañaque would win the first game of the series, but Muntinlupa, who were led by the likes Chito Jaime, Felix Apreku, and Allan Mangahas, took the next two games to advance to the 2018 MPBL Finals against the Batangas City Athletics.[1] Unfortunately, Muntinlupa went on to lose the series in four games, making Batangas City the league's inaugural champions.

Muntinlupa continued their winning prowess in the 2018–19 season, keeping the same core players and once again claiming third seed in the South Division with a 15–10 record. Their playoff run was cut short, however, as the Cagers would lose to sixth-seeded Zamboanga in the First Round.

2020–present: Rebuild

Heading into the 2019–20 season, most of its core players left the team, with Jaime moving to Bataan, Apreku moving to Pampanga, and Mangahas moving to Biñan City. The Cagers, now led by GJ Ylagan, struggled, and only finished with seven wins in the 30-game season, which ranked the team 13th in the South. 2022 also wasn't a winning season for Muntinlupa, finishing with a 6–15 record, but just barely made the playoff picture by ranking 8th in the South. The team would then lose to Zamboanga once again in the First Round.

Muntinlupa then rebuilt its roster for the 2023 season. With the acquisitions of collegiate players John Amores and JL Delos Santos, as well as former Davao Occidental member Marco Balagtas, the Cagers rose to a 16–12 record, ranking sixth in the South. Muntinlupa will be facing against the third-seeded GenSan Warriors in the First Round.

Current roster

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Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
G 0 Moralde, Dave 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1993–01–11 UP Diliman
F 3 Flores, Alfred 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
C 4 Cabeguin, Lloyd (HG) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
F 5 Guiab, Joshua 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) José Rizal
G 6 Marcos, Joshua Miguel 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) St. Benilde
G 7 Batac, Warlo James 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
G 9 Cuevas, Jasper 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) UPHSD
G 11 Vento, Jared Loi 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
F 14 Panganiban, Ryann Louis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
F 16 Bongay, Errol Jay 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) José Rizal
F 18 De Leon, Marj Wayne 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
G 21 Arpia, Larry 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) San Sebastian
F 22 Davis, Taine Mitchell 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) St. Benilde
G 23 Sombrero, Jethro 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Diliman
F 24 Capacio, Gabriel Martin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) De La Salle
C 25 Arenal, Ryan Jay 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) José Rizal
G 27 Longalong, Jasper 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Adamson
71 Buenaflor, Kevin
G 74 Del Rosario, Lyndon 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
G 77 Acidre, Rocky 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Arellano
F 95 Catarbas, Jomar 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
G 99 Gonzales, Niccolo (HG) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Head coach
  • Mixson Ramos
Assistant coach(es)
  • Alex Callueng
  • JR Villanueva

Legend
  • (HG) Homegrown
  • (FF) Filipino-foreigner
  • (SGL) Special Guest Licensee
  • Injured Injured

  • Roster – via Genius Sports
Updated as of: April 10, 2024

Head coaches

# Name Term Ref.
1 Aldrin Morante 20182018–19
2 Aldin Ayo 2018–19
3 Jack Azcueta 2019
4 Richie Melencio 2019
5 Dave Moralde 2019
6 Bonnie Garcia 2019–20
7 Louie Gonzalez 2020–21
8 Jules Hidalgo 2022
9 Vincent Salvador 2022
10 Jack Azcueta 2023
11 Aldrin Morante 2023
12 Mixson Ramos 2024–present

Notable players

Muntinlupa Cagers notable players
Player Position Tenure Awards All-Star
Allan Mangahas 2018–2019 1x All-MPBL First Team (2019) 1 (2019)
GJ Ylagan 2018–2020
2023
1 (2020)
Biboy Enguio 2019–2023 1 (2022)
John Amores 2023 1 (2023)
Marco Balagtas 2023 1 (2023)
JL Delos Santos 2023 1 (2023)

Season-by-season records

League champions
Division champions
Qualified for playoffs
Best regular season record
Season Regular season Playoffs
Division Finish GP W L PCT GB Stage Results
Muntinlupa Cagers
2018
Rajah Cup
[a] 3rd 9 6 3 .667 2 Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals
won vs. Navotas, 2–0
won vs. Parañaque, 2–1
lost vs. Batangas City, 1–3
2018–19
Datu Cup
South 3rd 25 15 10 .600 5 First Round lost vs. Zamboanga, 1–2
2019–20
Lakan Season
South 13th 30 7 23 .233 19 Did not qualify
2022 South 8th 21 6 15 .286 12 First Round lost vs. Zamboanga, 0–2
2023 South 6th 28 16 12 .571 7 First Round lost vs. General Santos, 1–2
2024 South To be determined
All-time regular season record 113 50 63 .442 4 playoff appearances
All-time playoff record 17 7 10 .412 1 Finals appearance
All-time overall record 130 57 73 .438 0 championships

Notes

  1. ^ The 2018 season had no division alignment.

References

  1. ^ "Muntinlupa pulls away late to finish off Paranaque and seal MPBL finals duel vs Batangas". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
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North Division
South Division
Former teams
Navotas Uni-Pak Sardines (2018–2020)
Mandaluyong El Tigre (2018–2019)
Basilan Steel (2018–2020)
Cebu Casino Ethyl Alcohol (2018–2020)
Bacoor City Strikers (2018–2023)
Makati OKBet Kings (2018–2023)
Pasig City MCW Sports (2018–2023)
History
Others
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