Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League commissioner Kenneth Duremdes announced the opening of the league's fourth season on April 25 at the Batangas City Coliseum.
Duremdes bared the development during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday, March 29 after he met with founder and Senator Manny Pacquiao regarding the league’s plan to stage its new season which is set to return to its usual home-and-away format although on limited capacity since game arenas are still being used as either vaccination sites or for campaign rallies.
The season opening in Batangas which is currently under Alert Level 1 status will be open for vaccinated fans.
MPBL also hopes to welcome the fans back during live games while adhering to the Inter-Agency Task Force and Games and Amusement Board protocols.
“Kakaiba yung excitement ng mga fans natin na after two years na absence dahil nga sa pandemic, manunumbalik ulit yung kasiyahan lalo na sa mga lugar na malakas ang basketball fans natin. Alam natin na matagal na nilang inaantay,” said Duremdes.
The league is eyeing to welcome 20 teams for this season with 18 clubs already submitting their intents to participate including Nueva Ecija, Chooks-to-Go MPBL invitational champions Basilan, and 2019 Datu Cup titlists San Juan Knights and new team Negros Muscovados.