After a grueling 7-month regular season, the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) playoffs will officially begin on October 6, 2023 with a couple of North Division games. The Pampanga Giant Lanterns, the number 1 seed in the entire MPBL, will host the opening games at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center.
The first game will feature the battle between 4th seed Caloocan Batang Kankaloo (20-8) against the 5th seed Pasig City MCW Sports (19-9) at 06:00 PM. The young guns of the Pasig MCW Sports led by Kenny Rocacurva will aim to upset the veterans of the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo.
The highly-anticipated game of the 1st seed Pampanga Giant Lanterns (26-2) versus the 8th seed Marikina Shoemasters (16-12) will follow at 08:00 PM. While the Lanterns already dominated the MPBL elimination round with the duo of Justine Baltazar and Encho Serrano, they even got much stronger with the addition of Arwind Santos who will make his MPBL debut against Marikina Shoemasters.
Arwind Santos was already included in the 25-man lineup submitted by the Giant Lanterns at the start of the season. He, however, was not able to play during the elimination round since he had a live contract at that time.
Santos' contract then expired recently which allowed him to suit up for the Pampanga Giant Lanterns. Although he is already past his prime, the Spiderman Arwind Santos will undoubtedly boost further the already lethal offensive firepower of the Giant Lanterns.
The Shoemasters will not go down without a fight. They also have young talents who can deliver the upset axe. Who will win tonight? Let's find out later.