Meycauayan Marilao Gems
Professional basketball team in southern Bulacan, Philippines
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The Meycauayan Marilao Gems are a Philippine professional basketball team based in the southern portion of Bulacan, representing both Meycauayan and Marilao. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the North Division. The team plays their home games at Meycauayan Sports Complex.
2018–2025
Meycauayan Marilao Gems
2026–present
San Jose Del Monte Sports Complex
| Meycauayan Marilao Gems | |
|---|---|
 2026 Meycauayan Marilao Gems season | |
| League | MPBL (2018–present) |
| Founded | 2018 |
| History | Muntinlupa Cagers 2018–2025 Meycauayan Marilao Gems 2026–present |
| Arena | Meycauayan Sports Complex San Jose Del Monte Sports Complex |
| Location | Meycauayan, Bulacan Marilao, Bulacan |
| Team colors | |
| Head coach | Jonathan Banal |
| Championships | 0 |
The team was originally known as the Muntinlupa Cagers as one of the league's founding teams, first established for the 2018 season, where they also made their only finals appearance to date. The team also took part in FilBasket.
In 2026, new ownership acquired the franchise and brought the team to southern Bulacan ahead of the 2026 season, therefore making them the first team in the league to relocate. The Gems became the second team to represent Bulacan, after the Bulacan Kuyas.
History
Muntinlupa Cagers
The Muntinlupa Cagers were founded in 2018 as one of the MPBL's ten charter teams for the 2018 season. The Cagers experienced immediate success, finishing with a 6–3 record. Muntinlupa claimed the third seed and first swept Navotas in the Quarterfinals. They then had the Parañaque Patriots, who were coming off an upset against second-seeded Bulacan. Parañaque won 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.[1] Muntinlupa went on to lose the series in four games, making Batangas City the league's inaugural champions.
Muntinlupa continued winning 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 lost to sixth-seeded Zamboanga in the first round.
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, win only seven games in the 30-game season, which ranked the team 13th in the South. In 2022 Muntinlupa finished with a 6–15 record, and barely made the playoff picture, by ranking 8th in the South. The team then lost 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 faces the third-seeded GenSan Warriors in the first round.
Meycauayan Marilao Gems
In 2026, after new ownership acquired the Muntinlupa franchise, the team relocated to southern Bulacan. The team was originally going to be named the Marilao Gems, before adding Meycauayan to its location identifier. The Gems would become the second team hailing from the province of Bulacan.[2]
Home arenas
From 2018 to 2023, the Muntinlupa Cagers have always played their home games in Muntinlupa Sports Center. Starting in 2026, the team will play at Meycauayan Sports Complex.[2]
| Venue | Location | 2018 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muntinlupa Sports Center | Muntinlupa |  |
|
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 |
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N/a |
| Meycauayan Sports Complex | Meycauayan, Bulacan | N/a | | ||||||
Current roster
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated as of: April 26, 2026 |
Head coaches
| Muntinlupa Cagers / Meycauayan Marilao Gems head coaches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Start | End | Achievements | Ref. |
| 1 | Aldrin Morante | 2018 | 2018–19 | — | |
| 2 | Aldin Ayo | 2018–19 | 2018–19 | — | |
| 3 | Jack Azcueta | 2018–19 | 2018–19 | — | |
| 4 | Richie Melencio | 2019 | 2019 | — | |
| 5 | Dave Moralde | 2019 | 2019–20 | — | |
| 6 | Bonnie Garcia | 2019–20 | 2019–20 | — | |
| 7 | Louie Gonzalez | 2021 | 2021 | — | |
| 8 | Jules Hidalgo | 2022 | 2022 | — | |
| 9 | Vincent Salvador | 2022 | 2022 | — | |
| 10 | Jack Azcueta | 2023 | 2023 | — | |
| 11 | Aldrin Morante | 2023 | 2023 | — | |
| 12 | Mixson Ramos | 2024 | 2024 | — | |
| 13 | Giovanni Ludovice | 2025 | 2025 | — | |
| 14 | Jonathan Banal | 2026 | current | — | |
Notable players
Season-by-season records
| League champions | |
| Division champions | |
| Qualified for playoffs | |
| Best regular season record |
| Season | Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Finish | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Stage | Results | |
| Muntinlupa Cagers | |||||||||
| 2018 Rajah Cup | —[a] | 3rd | 9 | 6 | 3 | .667 | 2 | 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 | 25 | 15 | 10 | .600 | 5 | Division quarterfinals | lost vs. Zamboanga, 1–2 |
| 2019–20 Lakan Season | South | 13th | 30 | 7 | 23 | .233 | 19 | Did not qualify | |
| 2022 | South | 8th | 21 | 6 | 15 | .286 | 12 | Division quarterfinals | lost vs. Zamboanga, 0–2 |
| 2023 | South | 6th | 28 | 16 | 12 | .571 | 7 | Division quarterfinals | lost vs. General Santos, 1–2 |
| 2024 | South | 11th | 28 | 7 | 21 | .250 | 14 | Did not qualify | |
| 2025 | South | 12th | 29 | 10 | 19 | .345 | 15 | ||
| All-time regular season record | 170 | 67 | 103 | .394 | 4 playoff appearances | ||||
| All-time playoff record | 17 | 7 | 10 | .412 | 1 finals appearance | ||||
| All-time overall record | 187 | 74 | 113 | .396 | 0 championships | ||||
Notes
- The 2018 season had no division alignment.