Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League 2019–2020: The Bitoon–Dionisio era The nation's capital joined the MPBL for the
2018–19 season, and in its first season, made an instant impact. Led by the duo of
Chris Bitoon and
Aris Dionisio, the team finished 20–5, tying with
San Juan and
Davao Occidental for the league's third-best record, as the Stars clinch the fourth seed in the
2019 playoffs. After getting past
Caloocan in the First Round, they met with the league-leading
Bataan Risers in the North Division Semifinals. Although Bataan won game 1, Manila pushed through the next two games to finish the upset and advance to the North Division Finals against San Juan. The series went in a similar way but in the opposite manner, as Manila won game 1 but with San Juan winning the next two to advance to the National Finals and eventually win the championship. At the end of the season, Dionisio won
MPBL Defensive Player of the Year. He and Bitoon were also selected to the
All-MPBL First Team and declared all-stars. Manila came back stronger for the
2019–20 season, finishing 25–5, clinching the second seed in the
2020 playoffs. The team first beat
Pasig in the First Round, but feel short in the Division Semifinals against
Makati. Once again, Manila won game 1, yet Makati won the rest of the series. Dionisio became a two-time all-star while he and Bitoon both made the
All-MPBL Second Team.
2021–2023: Out of contention For the
2021 Invitational, Manila tapped
Pocholo Villanueva as their head coach, but only finished third in Group D, failing to make the playoffs. Villanueva would later depart for the
Batangas City Embassy Chill. Following the departures of both Bitoon and Dionisio, Manila spent the next two seasons missing the playoffs, finishing 6–15 and 4–23 in the
2022 and
2023 seasons, respectively.
2024–present: Return to form and
Strong Group Athletics. In the
2024 season, the team gained the backing of the
Strong Group Athletics organization, and would later be renamed as the
Manila Batang Sampaloc, or officially, the
Manila SV Batang Sampaloc SGA. Their 2024 campaign is noted for their acquisition of four-time PBA champion
Greg Slaughter among other ex-PBA players. With their new acquisitions, the team finished the season 20–8 for their best output since 2020 and once again claiming a top-4 position. Slaughter and
Rabeh Al-Hussaini were declared all-stars in the
2024 MPBL All-Star Game. However, despite that, Manila fell short in the playoffs, losing to the
Caloocan Batang Kankaloo in a division quarterfinals sweep, with both games being separated by one point. After the series, the organization stated that they are unsure if they will return for the
2025 MPBL season, citing financial difficulties and "uneven officiating".
Pilipinas Super League The Stars came to the PSL for the 2022 DUMPER Cup during the MPBL's off-season. Finishing 9–6 in the conference, Manila tied with Boracay and
Bulacan for seventh. The team managed to settle for eighth but lost to the
San Juan Kings in the quarterfinals. ==Team identity==