ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Ilagan Isabela tackles Sarangani; Abra battles Biñan in MPBL opener

Ilagan Isabela tackles Sarangani; Abra battles Biñan in MPBL opener

Published Feb 21, 2025 01:16 am

At A Glance

  • The Ilagan Isabela Cowboys get the feel of Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League competition when they tackle the Sarangani Marlins at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22, in the opening of the MPBL Seventh Season at their 10,000-seat homecourt--The Capital Arena.

The Ilagan Isabela Cowboys get the feel of Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League competition when they tackle the Sarangani Marlins at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22, in the opening of the MPBL Seventh Season at their 10,000-seat homecourt--The Capital Arena.

Biñan Tatak Gel and retooled Abra clash in the 6 p.m. inaugural game.

The Cowboys joined the country's premier regional tournament last month and were bracketed in the tough North Division that also includes back-to-back reigning champion Pampanga Giant Lanterns and former titlists San Juan Knights (2019) and Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards (2022).

Cowboys Coach Louie Gonzalez assembled a competitive team, headed by crack point guard Philip Manalang and homegrown icon Val Acuna, and are raring to make the playoffs in their maiden stint.

Other Cowboys expected to deliver before the local crowd are JR Olegario, Joshua Gallano and Macoy Marcos.

The Sarangani Marlins should be tough to crack, however, with Kyt Jimenez, owner of the league's only quadruple-double, veteran big man Arvie Bringas, slam dunk king Joe Gomez De Liano and the mercurial Orin Catacutan in tow.

Bent on chasing the title this year, the Weavers recruited the talented Encho Serrano, Fil-Canadian Kascius Small-Martin, and varsity stars Dave Ildefonso, CJ Austria, Jack Cruz-Dumont and Joshua David.

They' will play alongside proven acquisitions Yousef Taha, Leon Najorda, John Uduba, Marwin Taywan and Jayson Apolonio, and returnees Mark Yee, Paul Desiderio and Alfred Batino.

Biñan has yet to submit its official roster, but gunners Carlo Lastimosa, Kenny Rocacurva  Pamboy Raymundo, Jonathan Grey Jaymar Gimpayan are expected to return with veterans Mark Pingris, Mac Cardona and KG Canaleta.

The MPBL begins its three-game schedule on Monday, March 10, at the Robert Estrella Sr. Memorial Gymnasium in Rosales, Pangasinan.

Imus battles Mindoro at 4 p.m., Nueva Ecija confronts Pasay at 6 p.m., and Bataan collides with Pangasinan at 8 p.m.

ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.