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Wikipedia - Manila Batang Sampaloc
The Manila Batang Sampaloc, also known as Manila SV Batang Sampaloc SGA, are a Filipino professional basketball team based in the Manila district of Sampaloc. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. They are the lone representative of Metro Manila's Capital District and play their home games at San Andres Sports Complex in the district of Malate.
The team was founded as an expansion team for the 2018–19 MPBL season as the Manila Stars. The team also competed in the Pilipinas Super League since 2022 under the name Manila CityStars.
History
Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League
The nation's capital joined the MPBL for the 2018–19 season, and in its first season, made an instant impact. The team finished 20–5, tying with San Juan and Davao Occidental for the league's third-best record, as the Stars clinch the fourth seed in the 2019 playoffs. After getting past Caloocan in the First Round, they met with the league-leading Bataan Risers in the North Division Semifinals. Although Bataan won game 1, Manila pushed through the next two games to finish the upset and advance to the North Division Finals against San Juan. The series went in a similar way but in the opposite manner, as Manila won game 1 but with San Juan winning the next two to advance to the National Finals and eventually win the championship.
Manila came back stronger for the 2019–20 season, finishing 25–5, clinching the second seed in the 2020 playoffs. The team first beat Pasig in the First Round, but feel short in the Division Semifinals against Makati. Once again, Manila won game 1, yet Makati won the rest of the series.
For the 2021 Invitational, Manila tapped Cholo Villanueva as their head coach, but only finished third in Group D, failing to make the playoffs. Villanueva would later depart for the Batangas City Embassy Chill.
In 2022, the team missed the playoffs for the first time, only getting six wins out of 21 games in the season, finishing 10th of 11 in the North.
In the 2024 season, the team gained the backing of the Strong Group Athletics organization, and would later be named as the Manila Batang Sampaloc.
Pilipinas Super League
The Stars came to the PSL for the 2022 DUMPER Cup during the MPBL's off-season. Finishing 9–6 in the conference, Manila tied with Boracay and Bulacan for seventh. The team managed to settle for eighth but lost to the San Juan Kings in the Quarterfinals.