| Pampanga Giant Lanterns | |
|---|---|
 2025 Pampanga Giant Lanterns season | |
 | |
| League | MPBL (2018–present) PSL (2022–2023) |
| Founded | 2018; 7 years ago (2018) |
| History | Pampanga Lanterns 2018–2019 Pampanga Giant Lanterns 2019–present (MPBL) Pampanga G Lanterns 2022–2023 (PSL) |
| Arena | Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center AUF Sports and Cultural Center |
| Location | Pampanga |
| Team colors | |
| Main sponsor | AMG3 Construction |
| Head coach | Frederick DimatulacDennis Pineda |
| Championships | MPBL:2 (2023,2024) PSL:1 (2022–23) |
| Conference titles | MPBL:2 (2023,2024) |
ThePampanga Giant Lanterns (shortened asPGL and also known asPampanga Giant Lanterns – AMG3 Construction for sponsorship reasons) are a Filipino professionalbasketball team based inSan Fernando, Pampanga. The team competes in theMaharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league'sNorth Division. The team mainly plays its home games at theBren Z. Guiao Convention Center. The Giant Lanterns are the first and only team in the MPBL to win two championships and to do so in back-to-back seasons (2023 and2024).
The Lanterns began play in the2018–19 season as an expansion team, and were initially based inAngeles City before moving to San Fernando in 2022. The team has also taken part in thePilipinas Super League (PSL).
Despite barely missing the playoffs in their inaugural season, the team has since grown to prominence. Since then, the team finished top four in the North Division In late 2022, the team would have its biggest acquisition inJustine Baltazar, where he alongside head coachDennis Pineda led PGL to three championships in a two-year span, two in the MPBL and one in the PSL. Alongside Balti, the team has also relied on its homegrown players, such as Archie Concepcion andEncho Serrano, becoming key players for the Pampanga franchise.
The Giant Lanterns are one of four teams based inCentral Luzon, and is owned by the Provincial Government of Pampanga.
Pampanga first joined theMaharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as one of sixteen expansion teams for the2018–19 season. The team first played their first two seasons inAngeles City. The team tied with theCaloocan 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 the2019–20 season, the team moved up to 4th with a record of 21–9, giving them their first playoff appearance. In theplayoffs, the team first met with their Central Luzon neighborBataan Risers in the First Round, in which Pampanga beat in two games. Afterwards, they met the defending championSan Juan Knights in the division semifinals, where San Juan would beat Pampanga in two games.
The2022 season saw the team move toSan Fernando. 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 undefeatedNueva 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 between the 2022 and 2023 MPBL seasons, the Pampanga Giant Lanterns franchise made its way to thePilipinas Super League for the 2022 DUMPER Cup. It was at that time in which homegrown big manJustine 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, andCaloocan. In the head-to-head tiebreaker, Pampanga finished ahead of both teams, claiming the 4th seed in the playoffs. Pampanga beat Santa Rosa and undefeatedSan Juan on their way to the finals against theDavao Occidental Tigers. Pampanga went on to beat Davao Occidental in two games to clinch their first-ever championship in franchise history.[1]
Following their PSL championship, the team made its way back to the MPBL for the2023 season. In May, the team acquired formerPhoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters playerEncho Serrano,[2] which helped the team catapult to a league-leading 26–2 record, only losing toBatangas City andMakati during the regular season. The 26 wins is tied for the most regular season wins in a single season in the MPBL, together with San Juan andDavao Occidental in 2020. In time for the division quarterfinals, nine-timePBA championArwind Santos joined the Giant Lanterns.[3] The team continued their dominance from the regular season by not losing a single game en route to the2023 MPBL finals against theBacoor City Strikers. In three games, they would go to win their first MPBL title on December 2, 2023.[4] The Pampanga Giant Lanterns became the first MPBL team to go undefeated throughout the playoffs, winning nine straight games. Throughout their playoff run, Pampanga also clinched the first series sweeps in both the division finals and national finals.
The team then took part in the2024 Preseason Invitational, withJeff Viernes joining the preseason squad. After a sweep in the group stage, the Giant Lanterns would make the finals against theSouth Cotabato Warriors, which they would win 93–75, making them the first Luzon-based Invitational champions.[5] On August 16, 2024, the Giant Lanterns broke the record for most regular season wins in a single season with their 22nd straight win, surpassing that of the2022 Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards.[6]
The team is named after theGiant Lantern Festival which takes place in San Fernando.,[7] but the word "giant" was left out in their inaugural season, simply going by thePampanga Lanterns. Once the 2019–20 season started, the team was renamed into its current form: thePampanga Giant Lanterns. During its PSL stint, the team's name was shortened to thePampanga G Lanterns.
During the team's Angeles City era, the team played their home games atAUF Sports and Cultural Center on the campus ofAngeles University Foundation. Since their move to San Fernando in 2022, the team's home games are played atBren Z. Guiao Convention Center. In 2024, the Giant Lanterns returned to AUF for one home game.
| Venue | Location | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUF Sports and Cultural Center | Angeles, Pampanga |  Y | Y |  N | N | Y |
| Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center | San Fernando, Pampanga | N | N | Y | Y | Y |
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Updated as of: March 4, 2025 |
| Pampanga Giant Lanterns head coaches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Start | End | Achievements | Ref. |
| 1 | Isaiah Duenas | 2018 | 2018 | — | |
| 2 | Aldrin Morante | 2018 | 2019 | — | |
| 3 | Bong Ramos | 2019 | 2020 | — | |
| 4 | Jordan Viray | 2022 | 2022 | — | |
| 5 | Dennis Pineda | 2022 | current | 2x MPBL Coach of the Year(2023,2024) | |
| 6 | Frederick Dimatulac | 2024 | current | — | |
MPBL Homegrown Player of the Year
| All-MPBL Second Team
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PSL Finals Most Valuable Player
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| MPBL All-Star Game head coaches | MPBL pre-game event winners
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PSL All-Star selections
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| League champions | |
| Division champions | |
| Qualified for playoffs | |
| Best regular season record |
| Season | Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Finish | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Stage | Results | |
| Pampanga Lanterns | |||||||||
| 2018–19 Datu Cup | North | 9th | 25 | 11 | 14 | .440 | 12 | Did not qualify | |
| Pampanga Giant Lanterns | |||||||||
| 2019–20 Lakan Season | North | 4th | 30 | 21 | 9 | .700 | 5 | Division quarterfinals Division semifinals | won vs. Bataan, 2–0 lost vs. San Juan, 0–2 |
| 2022 | North | 4th | 21 | 14 | 7 | .667 | 7 | Division quarterfinals Division semifinals | won vs. Bataan, 2–1 lost vs. Nueva Ecija, 0–2 |
| 2023 | North | 1st | 28 | 26 | 2 | .929 | — | Division quarterfinals Division semifinals Division finals National finals | won vs. Marikina, 2–0 won vs. Caloocan, 2–0 won vs. San Juan, 2–0 won vs. Bacoor City, 3–0 |
| 2024 | North | 2nd | 28 | 26 | 2 | .929 | – | Division quarterfinals Division semifinals Division finals National Finals | won vs. Abra, 2–0 won vs. Nueva Ecija, 2–0 won vs. San Juan, 2–0 won vs. Quezon, 3–0 |
| 2025 | North | To be determined | To be determined | ||||||
| All-time regular season record | 132 | 98 | 34 | .742 | 4 playoff appearances | ||||
| All-time playoff record | 27 | 22 | 5 | .815 | 2 finals appearance | ||||
| All-time overall record | 159 | 120 | 39 | .755 | 2 championships | ||||
| Tournament | Elimination round | Playoffs | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Stage | Results | ||
| Pampanga G Lanterns | |||||||||
| 2022–23 DUMPER Cup | 4th | 15 | 10 | 5 | .667 | 5 | Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals | won vs. Santa Rosa, 1–0 won vs. San Juan, 2–0 won vs. Davao Occidental, 2–0 | |
| All-time elimination round record | 15 | 10 | 5 | .667 | 1 playoff appearance | ||||
| All-time playoff record | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 finals appearance | ||||
| All-time overall record | 20 | 15 | 5 | .800 | 1 championship | ||||
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