Obvious Game Fixing on Philippines MPBL Basketball League

[cryptoaddictchie]

Since I watched the local basketball matches in MBPL league in the Philippines a particular game between Bulacan and Bacolod teams few days back will surely trend due to unsual events on it.

Seriously the game was so obviously a game fixing scheme. Imagine no points incurred in the last quarter for more than 7 minutes of time? They are professional players and their play on the last minutes if not busted more like a broken play.

When the game ended I am surely this will be criticized by a lot and just as expected the commisioner of the said league ban some players and even coach.

"All individuals served with Red Cards are permanently banned from the league. The League is also announcing that the franchise's participation for the remainder of the season has been cancelled,” the MPBL said.

I dunno but since this league is own by Manny Pacquiao Im surely he will not let this slide as he commented on the issue too.Some prominent basketball icon like a reputable coach commented on the game fixing and some post from famous player like Kean Baclaan - "No to game fixing" Really hype on the socials in the PH and mass community continue criticizing the team for what they done.

Case like this become a virus in Sports industry not only giving a bad image on Philippines Sports but on the game itself. Allegedly some players or coach on the said team based on social media outbreak had some gambling bet with the stats thats why their trying to not score. Judging by the game outcome its seems its true.

News Article Source:
https://www.manilatimes.net/2026/07/31/regions/mpbl-bans-bacolod-players-coaches-amid-game-fixing-allegations/2395564
https://www.philstar.com/sports/2026/07/31/2546101/pacquiao-lashes-out-bacolod-masskara-after-suspected-mpbl-game-fixing

[Swordsoffreedom]

Is relying solely on 7-minute scoring drought enough proof though? I've seen this weird scoreless period in basketball before, but it's rare i know.

Don't know what their investigation turns up, I don't follow it much. But I admit this is not a new problem in MPBL either. I have seen big action against match fixing in past too.

In these cases it’s not just a few corrupt player to blame. I think incentives is a big reason too. In the minor leagues it is not uncommon for corruption to occur if a fixing offer exceeds a player's season earning. So just banning some people will not remove the root cause of the problem.

[freedomgo]

I dunno but since this league is own by Manny Pacquiao Im surely he will not let this slide as he commented on the issue too.

Yeah, Pacquiao's still the founder and owner of the MPBL. As far as I know, there were times when other people handled some of the league's day-to-day operations, but it's still his league.

This new issue is just disappointing. But to be honest, I don't think a lot of fans are shocked anymore. It's not even the first time we've heard about fixing concerns in the MPBL, so it's normal for people to question games when something looks off. That said, it's not just an MPBL thing. Almost every sport has dealt with this at some point. It just gets noticed more in smaller leagues because there are fewer games and it's easier to spot weird stuff. I just hope they really deal with it this time. If these things keep popping up, it's just going to hurt the league and push fans away.

[bitbollo]

impressive, this could be like a pure nightmare for all gamblers.

for what I have seen in most of the cases (at least here in Italy) they just don't pay out any winning with a classic FIAT bookmaker...they can also seize funds if they suspect a scam from your side...

it would be interesting to see if this event/outcome was available to gamble by some crypto bookmakers. losing bets would ever be reimbursed?
winnings have being paid out too?

[Odohu]

I'm not defending the accused but banning them on mere suspicion seem to extreme to me. The right thing will be to set up pannel to investigate the games and until they reach a conclusion, they are not supposed to pronounce punishment so soon. What if the investigation proves them not while they are already servicing the punishment?

Although match fixing is common in those small leagues and happen at an alarming rate, maybe this harsh decision was taken to discourage others from thinking towards that direction.

[Iranus]

In fact, it's unbelievable that professional basketball players didn't score any single point for 7 to 8 minute in the last quarter. I think this was a shameless level of fixing!

I don't know if just banning the team like this will stop this epidemic of sports fixing. In my opinion, just banning the league will not do. Players and coaches involved in sports gambling syndicates should be criminally prosecuted and sent straight to jail. These greedy fixers are destroying the tradition of basketball culture in Philippines. I expect Pacquiao and govt agencies will ensure exemplary punishment this time so that no one dares to do such scams in future!

[bisdak40]

Seriously the game was so obviously a game fixing scheme. Imagine no points incurred in the last quarter for more than 7 minutes of time? They are professional players and their play on the last minutes if not busted more like a broken play.

There were times in a basketball game wherein a team would struggle to score in a whole 12 minutes of the quarter, seen that in the PBA myself but the way the Bacolod players executing their plays in that 8 minutes run was a bit suspicious. I saw the video clip and i could say that there was something fishy in that game, number of times where Bacolod were running out of shot clock and usually their shots attempts were very poor and almost the shot clock expire.

I have a feeling that this is not the first time that they have done this game fixing, just that this game was very obvious that they investigated this one. I hope that whoever is behind this scam would be arrested and face the consequences of what they have done as this issue will not only affect MPBL but the whole basketball of the Philippines.

[cryptoaddictchie]

Is relying solely on 7-minute scoring drought enough proof though? I've seen this weird scoreless period in basketball before, but it's rare i know.

Don't know what their investigation turns up, I don't follow it much. But I admit this is not a new problem in MPBL either. I have seen big action against match fixing in past too.

Well its normal not to have score on even longer period but if you watched the game how they execute their plays and almost all the time wind down and got caught on their shotclock even the defense wasnt that tough at all plus few steal and making passes even theres plenty of room to score. From some clip I see an open area with no defense and instead of shooting it haha he pass it awful IQ isnt it ending up with shotclock violation.

it would be interesting to see if this event/outcome was available to gamble by some crypto bookmakers. losing bets would ever be reimbursed?
winnings have being paid out too?

Im not sure if theres crypto site operating a betting on MPBL league, but probably some local gambling site only. This is not a major sports league in PH but famous since its owner is Manny Pacquiao.

In fact, it's unbelievable that professional basketball players didn't score any single point for 7 to 8 minute in the last quarter. I think this was a shameless level of fixing!

Yes no 0  point even free throw shots looks nuke at all. Deym players!

I saw the video clip and i could say that there was something fishy in that game, number of times where Bacolod were running out of shot clock and usually their shots attempts were very poor and almost the shot clock expire.

Yes kabayan! The nerve of these players. Glad you see the clips! As an spectator of local bastkeball I never saw as obvious as this. Those poor attempt is perfectly clear given they have some good open shots opportunities.

[Maslate]

In fact, it's unbelievable that professional basketball players didn't score any single point for 7 to 8 minute in the last quarter. I think this was a shameless level of fixing!

Honestly, corruption is everywhere here, so it's sad but not shocking to hear about game fixing in a smaller league like MPBL. The salaries there aren't huge, so the temptation's higher. Even in the NBA, with million-dollar contracts, we've seen gambling issues, so how much more in lower-paid leagues?

Maybe the league policies aren't strict enough, or the punishments don't scare people. Either way, it's not a good look, and the league really needs stronger rules and enforcement if they want people to take it seriously.

[Oshosondy]

First of all, know that basketball is the easiest sport that is mostly manipulated, even you can see some top leagues still having some manipulations in it than in any other sports. It is even common in basket ball than football.

Philippines MPBL Basketball League, I do not think I can bet on any match in the league, but including the one in my country. Even if it is football that I like the most, I only go for those well know matches only.

Obviously it is fixed.

[acroman08]

In fact, it's unbelievable that professional basketball players didn't score any single point for 7 to 8 minute in the last quarter. I think this was a shameless level of fixing!

I don't know if just banning the team like this will stop this epidemic of sports fixing. In my opinion, just banning the league will not do. Players and coaches involved in sports gambling syndicates should be criminally prosecuted and sent straight to jail. These greedy fixers are destroying the tradition of basketball culture in Philippines. I expect Pacquiao and govt agencies will ensure exemplary punishment this time so that no one dares to do such scams in future!

Don't expect much from the Philippine government. This isn't the first time a match-fixing scandal has happened in this league, and even now, no one has been charged or arrested. To be honest, I feel like one of the reasons why this match-fixing keeps happening in this league is because no actual hard punishment is given out to those who got caught and proven to fix a match.

[Sanitough]

First of all, know that basketball is the easiest sport that is mostly manipulated, even you can see some top leagues still having some manipulations in it than in any other sports. It is even common in basket ball than football.

Philippines MPBL Basketball League, I do not think I can bet on any match in the league, but including the one in my country. Even if it is football that I like the most, I only go for those well know matches only.

Obviously it is fixed.

This is still a professional basketball tournament, so all the teams here have professional players. That’s why I don’t think the problem is only in one match. There could already be something wrong inside the league, especially if game fixing has happened before.

The main issue here is that it looked too obvious. Imagine going several minutes without scoring and barely creating any real play. That will naturally make people suspicious.

But of course, we also can’t just say that a game was fixed without a proper investigation. In this case, though, there were already teams, coaches, and players reportedly involved, and I think one team has already been banned. Hopefully, this will serve as a strong warning to the other teams. The punishment should also be serious, not just a simple ban, so others will really think twice before trying to manipulate a game.

[robelneo]

Seriously the game was so obviously a game fixing scheme. Imagine no points incurred in the last quarter for more than 7 minutes of time? They are professional players and their play on the last minutes if not busted more like a broken play.

7 minutes without even a single point is a blatant show of unsportsmanship. Although we don't have a video of that either, they were so relaxed, or the defense is very tight, that no points were made. I wonder what the reaction of the fans, even casual fans, will be if they notice that they were deliberately trying to fix it.

When the game ended I am surely this will be criticized by a lot and just as expected the commisioner of the said league ban some players and even coach.

Sports organizations have a board to check the accuracy of the play and the motivation of the players involved; they cannot get away with it. Game fixing happens in small leagues because of the players' low salary, but game fixing will also revoke their license or get them kicked out of every league, denying them their source of income.

[leea-1334]

Have to watch the game to find out if there was 'fixing', I mean I remember some people saying a football game 3 in a row 0-0 surely team cheats. Basketball of course different,,, but maybe level of the team is just so bad? Welcome to small league in Asia

[Filicius]

Lately we are hearing about many cases of corruption in sports, or at least many suspicions about it. I believe that when in doubt, trust should always prevail, otherwise we will end up seeing ghosts everywhere.

I am not saying that it is the case we are dealing with on this occasion, but when they are proven they will be very notorious cases with repercussions that, I hope, will help to improve things.

[Ruttoshi]

This is why I don't like betting on small leagues because they're a lot of match fixing here and there. Imagine how match fixing has ruined the competition to the point that it was banned because it was obvious that they match was fixed.

In small leagues, the players have nothing to lose because the money that they will be paid for match fixing might even be very high than what their club pays them annually but you cannot try that in big leagues where every player want to protect their future.

[qwertyup23]

Is relying solely on 7-minute scoring drought enough proof though? I've seen this weird scoreless period in basketball before, but it's rare i know.

Don't know what their investigation turns up, I don't follow it much. But I admit this is not a new problem in MPBL either. I have seen big action against match fixing in past too.

In these cases it’s not just a few corrupt player to blame. I think incentives is a big reason too. In the minor leagues it is not uncommon for corruption to occur if a fixing offer exceeds a player's season earning. So just banning some people will not remove the root cause of the problem.

Given that most of the players comprising the MPBL league are some star players from universities, a 7-minute scoring drought seems VERY unlikely given that there are tons of possessions that could last even in a minute. I have a strong feeling that there is some sort of gambling-related shenanigans in the course of the game.

Situations like these call both on the integrity of the players and the league. Investigations should be mandatory at this level given that this would slowly destroy the integrity, trust, and image of the sport in the country (trust me, basketball is huge in the Philippines).

Not only would this kind of incident breed new generations of players who would chase for money rather than glory but this would create an everlasting effect on the mindset of the youth once given the opportunity to play at this kind of level.

[crwth]

Hmm. That'se really suspicious but as long as there's no evidence, it will just be speculation. It's not really helpful to just put out rumors.

I'm now curious if there are large bets in the market and if there are sportsbooks that flag these type of thing. As long as there are no alerts, I think it's just poor gameplay.

Or they are really greedy

[Alex077]

When such incident happen in a professional game, people are bound to be suspicious, and no one can be blamed here.

Yes, banning from the league is a big action and it shows that they are taking the matter seriously. But sometime it is seen that leagues make hasty decision to save their image in order to reduce public pressure or people's anger. However, not all the allegation have been proven 100% in their court or through a full investigation.

But so far, it seems to me that this is pure match-fixing. Let's see what the Philippine court decides on this matter.

[Japinat]

Hmm. That'se really suspicious but as long as there's no evidence, it will just be speculation. It's not really helpful to just put out rumors.

Well, maybe saying that the whole league or every team is involved in game-fixing would only be speculation.

But this specific case is different because there is already evidence that something really happened. Coaches, players, and even teams were reportedly banned, and several articles also covered it. So this is no longer just a random accusation based on how the game looked. The investigation and punishments already show that game-fixing actually happened. The only speculation is how widespread it is across the rest of the league.