There are still couple of weeks left before another season of Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League starts, but we’re already seeing a lot of changes in the league’s landscape. One of those, is the rise of Abra Weavers in season 7.
Abra Suddenly Becoming Top Contenders in the North
After the reigning champions, the Pampanga Giant Lanterns, have lost its core especially when Justine Baltazar left to pursue his basketball career in the PBA, there are now numerous teams in the Northern Division who have now become the top squads in the league.
The San Juan Knights, for one, could have been the champs in the last two seasons if it weren’t for Pampanga and Balti. Nueva Ecija, on the other hand, is a legitimate contender filled with MVPs and All-Stars. Now that they have another former MVP in Jaycee Marcelino, the Rice Vanguards can now go deeper in the playoffs.
With Baltazar out of the picture, the MPBL championship is once again open for everyone, most notably with the emergence of the Abra Weavers. Last season, the Weavers gave the Giant Lanterns a run for their money in the quarterfinals. Ultimately, the deeper roster of Pampanga proved to be too much, even for Abra.
Ildefonso x Serrano
Earlier this year, it was reported that Dave Ildefonso, the son of PBA legend Danny Ildefonso, will be playing for Abra in the upcoming MPBL season. Ildefonso was just coming off from a stint with Strong Group Athletics in the 34th Dubai International Basketball Cup.
The former Ateneo Blue Eagle has seen his fair share of international competition with SGA and as an Asian import in the Korean Basketball League. After a couple of years, he then returned home and committed to the PBA Season 49 Rookie draft back in 2024 and was eventually selected fifth overall by the NorthPort Batang Pier.
Unfortunately, D.I. didn’t even sign a contract with NorthPort. It was both controversial and questionable, but it probably worked for the better for both parties. Ildefonso can get more money by playing outside of PBA while NorthPort is the number one team in the PBA right now.
Then came the news of ex-PBA player and the star point guard of the Pampanga Giant Lanterns, Encho Serrano, who had just canceled his return to the PBA after a chip with Pampanga.
Serrano, 25, has taken his talent to Abra, where he will be joining other ex-PBA players like Mark Yee and Paul Desiderio are also returning to the lineup. Moreover, Abra called for reinforcements by adding Fil-Palestinian big man Yousef Taja, Fil-Canadian Kascius Small-Martin, and San Juan’s clutch scorer Marwin Taywan. In addition, aside from Ildefonso, another collegiate star was also included in the lineup—Joshua David of De La Salle Green Archers.
A Gilas Pilipinas Member in MPBL?
It seems that the backers of the Weavers are ready to shell out tons of money just to create a championship caliber team. Just last week, basketball insider Snow Badua made a shocking revelation that Gilas Pilipinas stalwart Rhenz Abando will be playing for Abra.
However, the high-flying guard quickly denied the rumor, although Badua is still saying otherwise. Will we see Abando in MPBL soon?
