Muntinlupa Cagers

Muntinlupa Cagers
League	Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Filbasket (formerly) Pilipinas Super League
Founded	2018 (2018)
History	Muntinlupa Cagers (2018–present) Muntinlupa Angelis Resort - EOG Cooly (2021) 1Munti Emeralds (2022–present)
Arena	Muntinlupa Sports Center
Location	Muntinlupa
Team colors
Head coach	Aldrin Morante

The Muntinlupa Cagers are a Filipino professional basketball team based in Muntinlupa. The team currently competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as one of four active teams based in the Southern Manila District, playing their home games at Muntinlupa Sports Center.

The team began play in the 2018 MPBL season, the inaugural season for the league. They has also competed in the Pilipinas Super League (PSL) as the 1Munti Emeralds, and formerly in Filbasket.

The team is currently sponsored by Paramount Logistics Inc.

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 haved 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. 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 loss 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

Muntinlupa Cagers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. Age G 0 Moralde, Dave 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1993–01–11 UP Diliman 1 Sario, Emil Gerome G 2 Mosqueda, Manuel 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 1996–05–13 National-U G 6 Melencio, Chester Ian 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 1989–05–11 F 7 Alonzo, Chad 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 1983–07–29 Adamson F 9 Ruaya, Reneford 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Letran 10 Ylagan, John Germar UPHSD 12 Delos Santos, John Louisse 13 Ortuoste, John Kervin G 19 Amores, John 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 1999–06–13 José Rizal 22 Abis, John Cedrick 27 Altamirano, Camillus 29 Salaveria, Jed 30 Labarda, Biboy G 31 Enguio, Biboy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 1988–01–31 UE F/C 34 Destacamento, King Zean 71 Buenaflor, Kevin 99 Gonzales, Niccolo	Head coach Jack Azcueta Assistant coach(es) Raymund Valenzona J.R. Villanueva Al Vergara Team manager Legend (HG) Homegrown (FF) Filipino-foreigner (SGL) Special Guest Licensee (RS) Reserve player Injured

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–present	—	1 (2020)
Biboy Enguio		2019–present	—	1 (2022)
John Amores		2023–present	—	1 (2023)
Marco Balagtas		2023–present	—	1 (2023)
JL Delos Santos		2023–present	—	1 (2023)

Season-by-season records

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League

Records from the 2023 MPBL season:

Season	Team name	Elimination round					Playoffs
		Division	Finish	W	L	PCT	Stage	Results
2018 Anta-Rajah Cup	Muntinlupa Cagers	None	3rd/10	6	3	.889	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/13	15	10	.600	First Round	lost vs. Zamboanga, 1–2
2019–20 Lakan Cup			13th/15	7	23	.233	Did not qualify
2022 Mumbaki Cup			8th/11	6	15	.286	First Round	lost vs. Zamboanga, 0–2
2023			6th/14	16	12	.571	First Round	lost vs. General Santos, 1–2
Total elimination round				50	63	.442	3 playoff appearances
Total playoffs				7	10	.412	1 Finals appearance
Total franchise				57	73	.438	0 championships

Invitational records

Season	Team name	Elimination round					Playoffs
		Division	Finish	W	L	PCT	Stage	Results
2021	Muntinlupa Cagers	Group C	5th/5	0	4	.000	Did not qualify
Total elimination round				0	4	.000	0 playoff appearances
Total playoffs				0	0	–	0 Finals appearances
Total franchise				0	4	.060	0 championships