# 2022 Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards season

The 2022 Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards season was the second season of the franchise in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).
The Rice Vanguards sought to improve from their previous 10–20 campaign. On July 5, they would play in their inaugural home game, in which they would equalize their previous season's record in win percentage. They would then surpass that with their eighth win on July 12. Showing dominance across the board, the 2022 Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards became the first team in league history to achieve a regular season sweep. This came following their 21st win against the Batangas City Embassy Chill at home on October 7.
Nueva Ecija began their playoff campaign with sweeps against Marikina and Pampanga before facing the San Juan Knights in the North Division finals. In game 1, San Juan dealt Nueva Ecija their first loss of the entire season before the Rice Vanguards would then win the next two games to advance to the 2022 national finals against the Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines. After winning the first two games, the team would lose game 3, but eventually seal the championship with a game 4 victory.
The team played all of their home games at Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Palayan.

## Preseason

Nueva Ecija was one of 22 teams that took part in the 2021 MPBL Invitational. They would reach the finals against the Basilan Jumbo Plastic, who they would lose to in overtime.

### Schedule

2021 Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards Invitational schedule :
| Stage | Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Record |
| Group stage | 1 | December 12 | Sarangani | W 99–92 | SM Mall of Asia Arena | 1–0 |
| Group stage | 2 | December 16 | Valenzuela | W 100–77 | SM Mall of Asia Arena | 2–0 |
| Group stage | 3 | December 19 | San Juan | W 88–85 | SM Mall of Asia Arena | 3–0 |
| Group stage | 4 | December 20 | Muntinlupa | W 84–72 | SM Mall of Asia Arena | 4–0 |
| Playoffs | QF | December 21 | Iloilo | W 84–67 | SM Mall of Asia Arena | 5–0 |
| Playoffs | SF | December 22 | Imus City | W 82–76 | SM Mall of Asia Arena | 6–0 |
| Playoffs | F | December 23 | Basilan | L 80–83 | SM Mall of Asia Arena | 6–1 |
| Source: Schedule ||||||||

## Regular season
### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards | 21 | 21 | 0 | — | Playoffs |
| 2 | Pasig City MCW Sports | 21 | 14 | 7 | 7 | Playoffs |
| 3 | San Juan Knights | 21 | 14 | 7 | 7 | Playoffs |
| 4 | Pampanga Giant Lanterns | 21 | 14 | 7 | 7 | Playoffs |
| 5 | Bataan Risers | 21 | 13 | 8 | 8 | Playoffs |
* 1 2 3 Pasig (1.193), San Juan (0.993), and Pampanga (0.850) are ranked based on head-to-head point quotient.

### Schedule

2022 Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards season schedule :
| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Record |
| 1 | May 23 | Mindoro | W 98–68 | Bahayang Pag-asa Sports Complex | 1–0 |
| 2 | June 4 | General Santos | W 95–83 | San Andres Sports Complex | 2–0 |
| 3 | June 7 | Makati | W 84–43 | Caloocan Sports Complex | 3–0 |
| 4 | June 13 | Imus City | W 107–81 | Batangas City Coliseum | 4–0 |
| 5 | June 18 | Quezon City | W 93–77 | Caloocan Sports Complex | 5–0 |
| 6 | July 2 | Sarangani | W 87–79 | Orion Sports Complex | 6–0 |
| 7 | July 5 | Laguna | W 109–79 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 7–0 |
| 8 | July 12 | San Juan | W 81–75 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 8–0 |
| 9 | July 18 | Bacolod | W 81–74 | La Salle Coliseum | 9–0 |
| 10 | July 19 | Valenzuela | W 68–61 | La Salle Coliseum | 10–0 |
| 11 | July 26 | Bacoor City | W 87–76 | Paco Arena | 11–0 |
| 12 | July 30 | Bataan | W 79–65 | Caloocan Sports Complex | 12–0 |
| 13 | August 8 | Zamboanga | W 81–76 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 13–0 |
| 14 | August 15 | Marikina | W 99–77 | Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center | 14–0 |
| 15 | August 23 | Muntinlupa | W 102–85 | Batangas City Coliseum | 15–0 |
| 16 | August 29 | Rizal | W 83–64 | Santa Rosa Sports Complex | 16–0 |
| 17 | September 13 | Manila | W 85–58 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 17–0 |
| 18 | September 19 | Caloocan | W 103–86 | Caloocan Sports Complex | 18–0 |
| 19 | September 23 | Pampanga | W 80–74 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 19–0 |
| 20 | September 28 | Pasig City | W 77–66 | Laguna Sports Complex | 20–0 |
| 21 | October 7 | Batangas City | W 84–72 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 21–0 |
| Source: Schedule |||||||

## Playoffs
### Schedule

2022 Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards playoff schedule :
| Round | Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Series | Recap |
| Division quarterfinals | 1 | October 15 | Marikina | W 103–71 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 1–0 | Recap |
| Division quarterfinals | 2 | October 22 | Marikina | W 82–71 | Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center | 2–0 | Recap |
| Division semifinals | 1 | November 7 | Pampanga | W 104–89 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 1–0 | Recap |
| Division semifinals | 2 | November 11 | Pampanga | W 89–84 | Filoil EcoOil Centre | 2–0 | Recap |
| Division finals | 1 | November 18 | San Juan | L 72–79 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 0–1 | Recap |
| Division finals | 2 | November 21 | San Juan | W 89–83 | Filoil EcoOil Centre | 1–1 | Recap |
| Division finals | 3 | November 25 | San Juan | W 84–68 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 2–1 | Recap |
| National finals | 1 | December 2 | Zamboanga | W 81–75 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 1–0 | Recap |
| National finals | 2 | December 5 | Zamboanga | W 75–74 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 2–0 | Recap |
| National finals | 3 | December 9 | Zamboanga | L 65–75 | Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum | 2–1 | Recap |
| National finals | 4 | December 12 | Zamboanga | W 69–56 | Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum | 3–1 | Recap |
| Source: Schedule ||||||||