ILAGAN CITY, Isabela — Expansion team Ilagan Isabela Cowboys made sure opening night of the 2025 Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) season was one for the books.

After hosting a stellar opening ceremony that featured local talents and a dramatic entrance from league founder Manny Pacquiao, the Cowboys delivered on the court, whipping the Sarangani Gripper, 74-54, for the first ever victory of their franchise.

In front of a capacity crowd at the new Capital Arena late Saturday, the Cowboys put together a first-quarter storm with their stifling defense and offensive execution and supplied a strong finishing kick for a dream start to their MPBL participation.

‘We are grateful to have hosted the MPBL here.’

Arth dela Cruz fired 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while pint-sized guard JR Olegario, the league’s homegrown player of the year last season with Parañaque, tallied 13 points, including two big triples in the third period that restored the Cowboys’ double-digit advantage.

Cowboys coach Louie Gonzalez admitted his team is still a work in progress, having been formed more than a month ago. In fact, Dela Cruz was only acquired a couple of weeks back as the Cowboys looked for ways to shore up their roster to compete in the tough North division of the 30-team league.

“It’s a good start and we will definitely enjoy this win because this is for our owners and for our supporters here, but we know we have a lot of challenges this season,” said the former Jose Rizal University coach.

Ilagan Mayor Jay Diaz pulled out all the stops to make sure that representatives of all 30 teams, including the three other teams that played on opening day were well taken care of by the city, one of the top sports tourism hubs in the North.

“We are grateful to have hosted the MPBL here,” Diaz said.

“For one, it gives our citizens an opportunity to watch high level basketball and cheer for our Cowboys. It also boosts our local businesses with more people coming to the city.”

Diaz is hoping to have more games at the Capital Arena, the 10,000-seater facility which opened in November last year.

For team owner Jeao Diaz, hosting the MPBL was a realization of a dream for the city.

“We always wanted to host a prestigious sports event like the MPBL here.”

Meanwhile, it will be up to the Cowboys to keep the Ilagan Isabela flag flying in the MPBL.

Veteran big man Allan Santos scored the franchise’s first basket with a putback on the first possession, triggering an early run that led to a 33-12 lead.

With the game already in the bag, Shan Bautista, a homegrown guard from the nearby town of Tumauini, completed a late three-point play that had the crowd roaring again.

“All I know is we have a team that works extremely hard. There’s not a lot of big names on this team, but they will keep fighting until the end,” Gonzalez said.