Pampanga Giant Lanterns

The Pampanga Giant Lanterns, also known as Pampanga Giant Lanterns – AMG3 Construction for sponsorship reasons, are a Filipino professional basketball team based in the province of Pampanga. The team currently competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as one of four active teams based in the Central Luzon region, playing their home games at Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando.

For the Christmas lantern festival in Pampanga that the team is named after, see Giant Lantern Festival.

Pampanga Giant Lanterns
Pampanga Giant Lanterns logo
LeagueMPBL (2018–present)
PSL (2022–2023)
Founded2018 (2018)
HistoryMPBL:
Pampanga Lanterns (2018–2019)
Pampanga Giant Lanterns (2019–present)
PSL:
Pampanga G Lanterns (2022–2023)
ArenaBren Z. Guiao Convention Center
LocationPampanga
Team colors     
Main sponsorADG Group of Companies
Head coach
ChampionshipsPSL: 1 (2022 DUMPER)

The team began play in the 2018–19 season. The team has also played in the Pilipinas Super League (PSL).

The team is owned by the Provincial Government of Pampanga.

History

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League

Pampanga first joined the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as one of sixteen expansion teams for the 2018–19 season. The team first played their home games at Angeles University Foundation in Angeles City. The team tied with the Caloocan Supremos for the 8th seed in the playoffs, as both teams share a record of 11–14. The latter got ahead of Pampanga due to the head-to-head tiebreaker, causing the Lanterns to miss the playoffs.

Playoff hopes for Pampanga didn't stop there, as in the 2019–20 season, the team moved up to 4th with a record of 21–9, giving them their first playoff appearance. In the playoffs, the team first met with their Central Luzon neighbor Bataan Risers in the First Round, in which Pampanga beat in two games. Afterwards, they met the defending champion San Juan Knights in the Division Semifinals, where San Juan would beat Pampanga in two games.

The 2022 season saw an arena change for Pampanga, moving from Angeles City to San Fernando, where they now play at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center. That season also saw Pampanga finish 4th, with a record of 14–7. Once again, the team met Bataan in the First Round, but this time, Bataan won game 2 in overtime to force a third game. Even then, Pampanga beat Bataan in game 3 to once again advance to the Division Semifinals. They then met another Central Luzon neighbor, this time being the undefeatedd Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards, in which Nueva Ecija would sweep Pampanga out of the playoffs once again. Archie Concepcion would also win the Homegrown Player of the Year award that season.

In the 2023 season, Pampanga was coming off their 2022 PSL DUMPER Cup championship with their star player in Justine Baltazar. During the season, the team acquired former Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters player Encho Serrano,[1] which helped the team catapult to a league-leading 26–2 record, only losing to Batangas City and Makati during the regular season. The 26 wins is tied for the most wins in a single season in the MPBL, together with San Juan and Davao Occidental in 2020. Right before the playoffs, the team acquired 9-time PBA champion Arwind Santos.[2] Both Serrano and Santos were listed as part of the roster before the season started, but were only able to play later on.

Pilipinas Super League

Between the 2022 and 2023 MPBL seasons, the Pampanga Giant Lanterns franchise made its way to the Pilipinas Super League for the 2022 DUMPER Cup. It was at that time in which homegrown big man Justine Baltazar made his arrival to the team in December. The team finished with a 10–5 record, ending up in a three-way tie between them, Santa Rosa, and Caloocan. In the head-to-head tiebreaker, Pampanga finished ahead of both teams, claiming the 4th seed in the playoffs. Pampanga beat Santa Rosa and undefeated San Juan on their way to the Finals against the Davao Occidental Tigers. Pampanga went on to beat Davao Occidental in two games to clinch their first-ever championship in franchise history.

Team identity

The team is named after the Giant Lantern Festival which takes place in San Fernando, Pampanga.[3] The word "giant" wasn't originally in the team's name, as they were simply called the Pampanga Lanterns for their inaugural MPBL season. Once the 2019–20 season started, the team was renamed into its current form: the Pampanga Giant Lanterns. During its PSL stint, the team's name was shortened to the Pampanga G Lanterns.

Orange has always been a prominent color for the Pampanga franchise. Since its PSL stint, blue has also become a prominent color, mainly on the team's home jersey.

Current roster
Pampanga Giant Lanterns roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#POBNameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY–MM–DD)From
G 2 Philippines Concepcion, Archie (HG) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Arellano
G 3 Philippines Gania, CJ (HG) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) DHVSU
F 6 Philippines Sangalang, Louie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Letran
F 7 Philippines Bahio, JB 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) San Beda
G 8 Philippines Tolentino, Neil 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Arellano
G 9 Philippines Sampang, Karl (HG) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Holy Angel
G 11 Philippines Garcia, Michael Jeffrey (HG) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) SPCF
F 12 Philippines Reyes, Earnest 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Bulacan State
G 13 Philippines Reyson, Kurt (SGL) 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Letran
F 14 Philippines Apolonio, Jayson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) DMMMSU
C 17 Philippines Capulong, Lorenz (HG) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Arellano
G 18 Philippines Serrano, Encho (EP, HG) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 1999–09–18 De La Salle
F 19 Philippines Baltazar, Justine (HG) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 1997–02–19 De La Salle
C 22 Philippines Santos, Ronan (HG) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Arellano
C 25 Philippines De Leon, Matt (HG) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Arellano
F 28 Philippines Mercado, Jomer (HG) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Mapúa
G 29 Philippines Pambid, Jap 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Letran
G 30 Philippines Binuya, Raymond (C) 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) San Sebastian
F 34 Philippines Maynes, Mitchelle 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
F 43 Philippines Liwag, Allen (SGL) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) St. Benilde
G 66 Philippines Ferreras, Carlo (SGL) 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) UPHSD
G 77 Philippines Clemente, John Loyd (HG) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) National-U
G 91 Philippines Del Rosario, Jonathan 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
F Philippines Santos, Arwind (EP, HG) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Far Eastern
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Philippines Hupmerdink Dimatulac
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (EP) Ex–PBA
  • (HG) Homegrown player
  • (FF) Filipino-foreigner player
  • (SGL) Special Guest License
  • Injured Injured

Head coaches
Pampanga Giant Lanterns head coaches
2018–present
# Name Start End Regular Season Playoffs Best Finish Achievements
GC W L Win% GC W L Win%
1 Isaiah Duenas
Aldrin Morante		 2018 2019 0 0 0 – 0 0 0 –
2 Bong Ramos 2019 2020 0 0 0 – 0 0 0 –
3 Jordan Viray 2022 present 0 0 0 – 0 0 0 –

Notable players
Pampanga Giant Lanterns notable players
Player Position Tenure Awards All-Star
Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League
Levi Hernandez2018–2020—1 (2019)
Michael Juico2018–2020—1 (2020)
Archie Concepcion2022–present1x Homegrown Player of the Year (2022)1 (2022)
Justine Baltazar2023–present—1 (2023)
Encho Serrano2023–present—1 (2023)

Season-by-season records

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League
SeasonTeam nameElimination roundPlayoffs
DivisionFinishWLPCTStageResults
2018–19
Datu Cup		Pampanga LanternsNorth9th/131114.440Did not qualify
2019–20
Lakan Cup		Pampanga Giant Lanterns4th/16219.700First Round
Division Semifinals		won vs. Bataan, 2–0
lost vs. San Juan, 0–2
2022 Mumbaki Cup4th/11147.667First Round
Division Semifinals		won vs. Bataan, 2–1
lost vs. Nueva Ecija, 0–2
20231st/15262.929First Round
Division Semifinals		won vs. Marikina, 2–0
TBD vs. Caloocan, 0–0
Total elimination round7232.6922 playoff appearances
Total playoffs65.5450 Finals appearances
Total franchise7837.6780 championships

Pilipinas Super League
Records as of 2022–23 DUMPER Cup:
SeasonTeam nameElimination roundPlayoffs
DivisionFinishWLPCTStageResults
2022–23
DUMPER Cup		Pampanga G LanternsNone4th/16105.667Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Finals		won vs. Santa Rosa, 1–0
won vs. San Juan, 2–0
won vs. Davao Occidental, 2–0
Total elimination round105.7331 playoff appearance
Total playoffs501.0001 Finals appearance
Total franchise155.8001 championship

References
  1. Li, Matthew (May 23, 2023). "Encho Serrano leaves PBA's Phoenix, set to sign with MPBL's Pampanga". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  2. "Arwind Santos joins Pampanga in time for Giant Lanterns' MPBL playoff run". Spin.ph. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  3. Joble, Rey. "MPBL: Anybody wants to know what Pampanga's moniker is?". FoxSports. Retrieved May 24, 2018.


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