Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has officially launched the Maharlika Pilipinas Pickleball Tour (MPPT). The league has 12 founding teams from Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao ahead of its opening leg this October.
Sanctioned by the Games and Amusement Board, the MPPT marks Pacquiao's return to league building years after he founded the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. The tour opens on October 3 and 4 in Angeles, Pampanga. Two more legs are set for November and a finale in December where the top eight teams will compete for the championship.
At the team introduction event, Pacquiao, who serves as the tournament's founder and chairman, described the 12 founding franchises as the start of something bigger for the sport. According to Pacquiao:
"These 12 founding teams represent different communities that share one vision, to help grow pickleball in the Philippines."
He added that more groups have already expressed interest in joining, and that the league hopes to expand its roster of teams next season.
MPPT chief executive officer Joe Ramos confirmed that each leg winner will take home a cash prize of one million pesos, underscoring the scale of investment behind the new league.
Ramos mentioned:
"The introduction of our founding teams is a defining moment for the MPPT."
The 12 founding franchises represent host cities, giving the league a genuinely nationwide footprint from its very first season.
The 12 jurisdictions include :
- Angeles
- Pampanga
- Abra
- Bangued
- Batangas
- Muntinlupa
- Alfonso
- Bacoor in Cavite
- Camarines Norte
- Rizal, Parañaque
- Tacloban
- General Santos City
Each roster fields three men and three women, with matches contested across men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. The format rewards depth as much as star power, giving smaller cities a genuine shot against the bigger metro teams.
A League Born from a Boom
The MPPT arrives at a moment when pickleball in the Philippines is expanding on almost every front. Recent industry data has pointed to the Philippines as one of Asia's largest DUPR communities. It reflects a fast-growing base of rated, competitive players rather than just casual weekend hitters.
That growth is visible in the country's court infrastructure too. SM Supermalls has built out the largest mall-based pickleball network in the Philippines, with dozens of courts across its properties nationwide and a steady calendar of community tournaments that feed new players into the sport.
On the higher end of the market, developers are betting on the sport's staying power. The planned Helios Pickleball Center in Pasig City is set to become a flagship, tournament-grade venue designed for international competition. It's a sign that private investment now views Philippine pickleball as more than a passing trend.
Against that backdrop, the MPPT gives the country's competitive scene a professional, team-based league with national reach. If the format takes hold the way the MPBL did for basketball, it could become a permanent fixture on the country's sporting calendar rather than a one-off launch.
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