Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards–San Juan Knights rivalry

The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards and San Juan Knights first met in 2019 in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, but the rivalry began getting fierce as both teams became contenders. Following their title clash in the 2022 FilBasket Summer Championship, both teams have fought for North Division contention in the MPBL, playing each other in back-to-back playoff series (2022 and 2023).^[1][2]

The first meeting between the two teams happened in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League's 2019–20 season. The defending champion San Juan Knights hosted the expansion Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards on August 12, 2019, at the Filoil Flying V Centre. San Juan would win the game 109–95.^[3]

In the draw for the 2021 MPBL Invitational, the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards were then drawn into Group C with the San Juan Knights, setting up the next meeting between both teams. On December 19, 2021, the two would clash once again as Nueva Ecija prevented San Juan's group stage sweep with a 88–85 victory over the Knights. Nueva Ecija would beat Imus in their next game to sweep the group and clinch first place in Group C.^[4] While the Rice Vanguards reached the finals, the Knights were eliminated in the quarterfinals.^[5][6]

The team's battle for contention continued as both teams entered FilBasket for the 2022 Summer Championship. Nueva Ecija, competing as the Capitals, would win the head-to-head match-up in overtime, 95–92. Both teams made the playoffs and went all the way to the finals for their first playoff meeting. In the best-of-three series, Nueva Ecija won game 1 while San Juan won game 2. In the winner-takes-all game 3, the game became close as the fourth quarter went on and eventually bringing the game into overtime. In the end, Nueva Ecija would win the game and the championship with a score of 90–88.^[7]

Returning to the MPBL for the 2022 season, both teams continued to show their winning prowess. Nueva Ecija showed their dominance all-season with an undefeated 21–0 record while San Juan settled for a 14–7 record. Both teams would meet in the North Division Finals. In game 1, the Knights gave the Rice Vanguards their first loss of the entire season in a 79–72 win. Nueva Ecija would win in overtime in the succeeding game 2 as they returned home to win the series in game 3. Nueva Ecija would go on to win their first championship.^[1] They would meet in the playoffs again in the following season, Nueva Ecija and San Juan were once again fighting for North Division contention, with both teams finishing with 23–5 and 19–9 records, respectively. Despite Nueva Ecija winning the regular season match-up,^[8] San Juan would sweep Nueva Ecija in the Division Semifinals to advance to their fourth straight Division Finals series.^[2]

San Juan and Nueva Ecija met again in the Pilipinas Super League's President's Cup. In the final game of the elimination round, San Juan would beat Nueva Ecija on March 16, 2024 with a score of 86–83. The win would lead to San Juan clinching the second seed in the playoffs via head-to-head victory over Nueva Ecija. The two teams would meet again in the semifinals for their fourth playoff meeting. Nueva Ecija would sweep the best-of-three series on their way to a finals matchup against the Quezon Titans.^[9] During the free agency window of the 2024 MPBL season in June, John Wilson, who won the MPBL Most Valuable Player award with SJK, joined Nueva Ecija after being released by the South Cotabato Warriors.^[10]

NOTE: Preseason games are not included.

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