The tournament was once again held at a single venue, this time being the Lagao Gymnasium in General Santos, home of the GenSan Warriors, with a format is similar to that of the previous edition, albeit downsized to accommodate the smaller pool of teams.[2]
Teams
A total of eight teams competed in the tournament. These include seven MPBL teams, as well as Bulalakaw, a local team based in General Santos, as the league’s first-ever guest team. Making their first Invitational appearances were the Batangas City Embassy Chill (competing as the Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters) and Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines.[3]
^Competed as Batangas City Embassy Chill during the 2022 season. The name change was only made temporary for the Preseason Invitational.
^Competed as Imus City Bandera during the 2022 season. The new name would remain for the 2023 season.
Format
The tournament is divided into two stages: the group stage and the playoffs. The eight participating teams are divided into two groups of four. Both groups play in a single round-robin format, wherein each team plays one game against all other teams within the same group. The top two teams in each group advance to a two-round, single-elimination playoffs consisting of all knockout games.
This time around, every team was given prize money based on their standings: ₱3 million for the champion, ₱500,000 for the runner-up, ₱300,000 for the third-place team, ₱200,000 for the fourth-place team, and ₱100,000 for all non-playoff teams.[3]
Source: Schedule – via Genius Sports Rules for classification: 1) Wins; 2a) If two teams are tied, head-to-head match-up; 2b) If three or more teams are tied, head-to-head point quotient; 3) overall point quotient; 4) coin toss. Notes:
^ abZamboanga wins tiebreaker over Sarangani by head-to-head victory.
^ abBulalakaw wins tiebreaker over Batangas City by head-to-head victory.
Source: Schedule – via Genius Sports Rules for classification: 1) Wins; 2a) If two teams are tied, head-to-head match-up; 2b) If three or more teams are tied, head-to-head point quotient; 3) overall point quotient; 4) coin toss.
This was the first MPBL Invitational under Cignal TV's ongoing broadcast partnership with the league. The games were broadcast on One PH and One Sports+ on television. The league streamed all of the games online on Facebook and YouTube.
