Manila Batang Quiapo

A Manila franchise entering the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League in 2018 needed a name before it needed a history, and it took years to settle on the one it now carries. The team began as the Manila Stars, drifted into the Pilipinas Super League as the Manila CityStars between 2022 and 2024, then returned to the MPBL under Strong Group Athletics backing as the Manila SV Batang Sampaloc. In 2025 it settled on Manila Batang Quiapo, taking its name from the Quiapo district and dropping the sponsor-driven labels that had followed it for years.

The colours changed with the names: blue through the Manila Stars period up to 2023, then red and maroon with white trim once the Batang Sampaloc and Batang Quiapo identities took over. What has not changed is the ceiling the club has bumped against. Its deepest run came in 2019, when it reached the North Division Finals of the MPBL Datu Cup and lost to the San Juan Knights, one of the rivals whose visits still carry the weight of a Metro Manila derby, alongside the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo. Playoff appearances in 2020 and 2024 ended earlier.

The club plays out of the Paco Arena, listed for 1,000 seats, though bigger nights have been staged at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. Aris Dionisio is the name that sums up what the club has tried to be underneath the rebrands: he came up through its own ranks rather than arriving as an ex-PBA name, and like a handful of teammates who followed the same path, he was drafted into the PBA off the back of it.