Back in August, we covered the launch of Manny Pacquiao's Maharlika Pilipinas Pickleball Tour (MPPT), a 12-team, five-leg league opening October 3 and 4 in Angeles City, Pampanga. Now the first team has actually filled in its roster. This us gives the clearest look yet at what the MPPT is building.
The Parañaque Titans unveiled a ten-player squad at Tela Park in Parañaque City, and the mix of backgrounds on that list is the real story.
Parañaque Titan's Roster
Player | Background |
Leander Paez Lazaro | Philippine national team player, Viet Open gold medalist |
Sarah Jane Restauro Lim | Nearly two decades of competitive tennis before moving to pickleball |
Ruben Antonio Gonzales Jr. | Philippine Davis Cup representative, two SEA Games gold medals |
Jessica Marie Agra | Philippine padel No. 1, pickleball podiums in Hanoi and Macau |
Nik Alessandro Isagan | 2025 Pickleball Champions League Asia champion, Shenzhen |
Fatima Ayesha Amirul | 2025 Pickleball Champions League Asia champion, Shenzhen |
Christian Josua "CJ" Luna, Matt Daniel Navarro, Danica Calma Bautista, and Mikhyla Julianne Cruz round out the ten. Isagan and Amirul are worth a second look. Both were on the Philippine team that beat Vietnam 3-0 to win the inaugural Pickleball Champions League Asia final. The Philippine Senate later recognized that win with its own resolution.
The Titans also confirmed their off-court structure. The management group includes Tina Mariano, Jeff Tin, Long Kuan, and Atty. Alberto Agra, with Polland Hopia and Tela Athletics attached as commercial partners and Tela Park serving as the team's home venue.
Why This Roster Matters Beyond Parañaque
The composition of the Titans' squad tells you something about the stage Philippine pickleball has reached. Lazaro, Lim, Gonzales, and Agra are arriving with years of tennis or padel behind them, the same pipeline that's fed high-level pickleball almost everywhere it has grown.
Isagan and Amirul are a different case. They already won at the top of Asian team competition before the MPPT existed, which means at least two Titans are walking in as proven quantities rather than projects.
That matters because the MPPT isn't launching into an empty calendar. Malaysia just named its own MLP Asia captain ahead of its first season. PPA Tour Asia has already run a packed 2026 schedule too, including the more recent Leapmotor Cup in Kuala Lumpur.
Players across the region now have real choices about where to spend their season. A franchise that can point to Senate-recognized champions on its own roster has a head start on being taken seriously.
It also lines up with what's already happening on the ground in the Philippines. The country has one of Asia's largest DUPR communities. Investment keeps arriving from the top down too, with the planned Helios Pickleball Center in Pasig City aiming to be a tournament-grade venue. A pro league with real rosters and real sponsors is the next logical piece of that buildout.
What's Left to Reveal
Eleven more franchises still have to show their own rosters before the Angeles City opener. Tennis and padel converts or existing pickleball champions will say a lot about how deep the talent pool actually runs outside Metro Manila. We'll be tracking each announcement as the countdown to October continues.
If all this roster talk has you wanting to get on a court yourself, courts.thepicklebase.com/philippines has verified venues across the country, and you can follow @thepicklebase for more MPPT coverage as it drops.