Muntinlupa Cagers

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.

Muntinlupa Cagers
2024 Muntinlupa Cagers season
Muntinlupa Cagers logo
LeagueMPBL (2018–present)
Founded2018; 6 years ago (2018)
HistoryMuntinlupa Cagers
2018–present (MPBL)
Muntinlupa Angelis Resort
2022 (FilBasket)
ArenaMuntinlupa Sports Center
LocationMuntinlupa
Team colors     
Main sponsorElburg Shipmanagement Paramount Logistics Inc.
Head coachMixson Ramos

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

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2018–2019: Initial success and Finals appearance

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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

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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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PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
G0Moralde, Dave6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg)1993–01–11UP Diliman
F3Flores, Alfred6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
C4Cabeguin, Lloyd (HG)6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
F5Guiab, Joshua6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)José Rizal
G6Marcos, Joshua Miguel6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)St. Benilde
G7Batac, Warlo James6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
G9Cuevas, Jasper5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)UPHSD
G11Vento, Jared Loi6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
F14Panganiban, Ryann Louis6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
F16Bongay, Errol Jay6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)José Rizal
F18De Leon, Marj Wayne6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
G21Arpia, Larry5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)San Sebastian
F22Davis, Taine Mitchell6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)St. Benilde
G23Sombrero, Jethro6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)Diliman
F24Capacio, Gabriel Martin6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)De La Salle
C25Arenal, Ryan Jay6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)José Rizal
G27Longalong, Jasper6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)Adamson
71Buenaflor, Kevin
G74Del Rosario, Lyndon5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
G77Acidre, Rocky5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)Arellano
F95Catarbas, Jomar5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
G99Gonzales, 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

Updated as of: April 10, 2024

Head coaches

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#NameTermRef.
1Aldrin Morante20182018–19
2Aldin Ayo2018–19
3Jack Azcueta2019
4Richie Melencio2019
5Dave Moralde2019
6Bonnie Garcia2019–20
7Louie Gonzalez2020–21
8Jules Hidalgo2022
9Vincent Salvador2022
10Jack Azcueta2023
11Aldrin Morante2023
12Mixson Ramos2024–present

Notable players

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Muntinlupa Cagers notable players
PlayerPositionTenureAwardsAll-Star
Allan Mangahas2018–20191x All-MPBL First Team (2019)1 (2019)
GJ Ylagan2018–2020
2023
1 (2020)
Biboy Enguio2019–20231 (2022)
John Amores20231 (2023)
Marco Balagtas20231 (2023)
JL Delos Santos20231 (2023)

Season-by-season records

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League champions
Division champions
Qualified for playoffs
Best regular season record
SeasonRegular seasonPlayoffs
DivisionFinishGPWLPCTGBStageResults
Muntinlupa Cagers
2018
Rajah Cup
[a]3rd963.6672Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals
won vs. Navotas, 2–0
won vs. Parañaque, 2–1
lost vs. Batangas City, 1–3
2018–19
Datu Cup
South3rd251510.6005First Roundlost vs. Zamboanga, 1–2
2019–20
Lakan Season
South13th30723.23319Did not qualify
2022South8th21615.28612First Roundlost vs. Zamboanga, 0–2
2023South6th281612.5717First Roundlost vs. General Santos, 1–2
2024SouthTo be determined
All-time regular season record1135063.4424 playoff appearances
All-time playoff record17710.4121 Finals appearance
All-time overall record1305773.4380 championships

Notes

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  1. ^ The 2018 season had no division alignment.

References

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  1. ^ "Muntinlupa pulls away late to finish off Paranaque and seal MPBL finals duel vs Batangas". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2023-10-18.