The team began play in the 2018–19 season as an expansion team, and were initially based in Angeles City before moving to San Fernando in 2022. The team has also took part in the Pilipinas Super League (PSL). The team is owned by the Provincial Government of Pampanga.
The Giant Lanterns are one of the most successful teams in Philippine regional basketball, winning three professional championships across both the MPBL and PSL between 2023 and 2024, and also becoming the first team to win two titles in the former in 2024.
History
2018–2020: Beginnings in Angeles
Pampanga first joined the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as one of sixteen expansion teams for the 2018–19 season. The team first played their first two seasons in Angeles City. The team tied with the Caloocan Supremos for the 8th seed in the playoffs, as both teams share a record of 11–14. The latter got ahead of Pampanga due to the head-to-head tiebreaker, causing the Lanterns to miss the playoffs.
Playoff hopes for Pampanga didn't stop there, as in the 2019–20 season, the team moved up to 4th with a record of 21–9, giving them their first playoff appearance. In the playoffs, the team first met with their Central Luzon neighbor Bataan Risers in the First Round, in which Pampanga beat in two games. Afterwards, they met the defending champion San Juan Knights in the division semifinals, where San Juan would beat Pampanga in two games.
2022–present: Move to San Fernando
The 2022 season saw the team move to San Fernando. That season also saw Pampanga finish 4th, with a record of 14–7. Once again, the team met Bataan in the First Round, but this time, Bataan won game 2 in overtime to force a third game. Even then, Pampanga beat Bataan in game 3 to once again advance to the division semifinals. They then met another Central Luzon neighbor, this time being the undefeated Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards, in which Nueva Ecija would sweep Pampanga out of the playoffs once again. Archie Concepcion would also win the Homegrown Player of the Year award that season.
2022–2024: The Justine Baltazar era
In between the 2022 and 2023 MPBL seasons, the Pampanga Giant Lanterns franchise made its way to the Pilipinas Super League for the 2022 DUMPER Cup. It was at that time in which homegrown big man Justine Baltazar made his arrival to the team in December. The team finished with a 10–5 record, ending up in a three-way tie between them, Santa Rosa, and Caloocan. In the head-to-head tiebreaker, Pampanga finished ahead of both teams, claiming the 4th seed in the playoffs. Pampanga beat Santa Rosa and undefeated San Juan on their way to the finals against the Davao Occidental Tigers. Pampanga went on to beat Davao Occidental in two games to clinch their first-ever championship in franchise history.[1]
Following their PSL championship, the team made its way back to the MPBL for the 2023 season. In May, the team acquired former Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters player Encho Serrano,[2] which helped the team catapult to a league-leading 26–2 record, only losing to Batangas City and Makati during the regular season. The 26 wins is tied for the most regular season wins in a single season in the MPBL, together with San Juan and Davao Occidental in 2020. In time for the division quarterfinals, nine-time PBA champion Arwind Santos joined the Giant Lanterns.[3] The team continued their dominance from the regular season by not losing a single game en route to the 2023 MPBL finals against the Bacoor City Strikers. In three games, they would go to win their first MPBL title on December 2, 2023.[4] The Pampanga Giant Lanterns became the first MPBL team to go undefeated throughout the playoffs, winning nine straight games. Throughout their playoff run, Pampanga also clinched the first series sweeps in both the division finals and national finals.
The team then took part in the 2024 Preseason Invitational, with Jeff Viernes joining the preseason squad. After a sweep in the group stage, the Giant Lanterns would make the finals against the South Cotabato Warriors, which they would win 93–75, making them the first Luzon-based Invitational champions.[5] On August 16, 2024, the Giant Lanterns broke the record for most regular season wins in a single season with their 22nd straight win, surpassing that of the 2022 Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards.[6]
Team identity
The team is named after the Giant Lantern Festival which takes place in San Fernando.,[7] but the word "giant" was left out in their inaugural season, simply going by the Pampanga Lanterns. Once the 2019–20 season started, the team was renamed into its current form: the Pampanga Giant Lanterns. During its PSL stint, the team's name was shortened to the Pampanga G Lanterns.
