# 2023 Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards season

The 2023 Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards season was the third season of the franchise in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).
Coming off a historic 2022 campaign that included the league's first regular season sweep, Nueva Ecija entered this season as the defending champions. They continued to show their winning prowess by starting with an 11-game winning streak before losing to Sarangani on their 12th game on June 3. On September 21, Nueva Ecija achieved their winningest season to date with their 22nd win over San Juan. They finished the season at second place in the North Division with a 23–5 record.
In the playoffs, Nueva Ecija swept the Pasay Voyagers in the division quarterfinals. In the division semifinals, however, Nueva Ecija would be swept by the sixth-seeded San Juan Knights.
The team played all of their home games at Nueva Ecija Coliseum in Palayan.

## Preseason

Nueva Ecija was one of eight teams that took part in the 2023 MPBL Preseason Invitational. For the second consecutive time, they would reach the finals against the Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines, however would once again fall short of the Invitational title.

### Schedule

2023 Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards Preseason Invitational schedule :
| Stage | Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Record |
| Group stage | 1 | February 21 | Imus | W 88–78 | Lagao Gymnasium | 1–0 |
| Group stage | 2 | February 22 | General Santos | W 73–67 | Lagao Gymnasium | 2–0 |
| Group stage | 3 | February 23 | Valenzuela | W 94–64 | Lagao Gymnasium | 3–0 |
| Playoffs | SF | February 25 | Sarangani | W 112–89 | Lagao Gymnasium | 4–0 |
| Playoffs | F | February 27 | Zamboanga | L 80–88 | Lagao Gymnasium | 4–1 |
| Source: Schedule ||||||||

## Regular season
### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | GB |
| 1 | Pampanga Giant Lanterns | 28 | 26 | 2 | — |
| 2 | Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards | 28 | 23 | 5 | 3 |
| 3 | Makati OKBet Kings | 28 | 21 | 7 | 5 |
| 4 | Caloocan Batang Kankaloo | 28 | 20 | 8 | 6 |
| 5 | Pasig City MCW Sports | 28 | 19 | 9 | 7 |
* ↑ Pasig wins tiebreaker over San Juan based on head-to-head victory.

### Schedule

2023 Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards season schedule :
| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Record |
| 1 | March 13 | Laguna | W 97–70 | Baliwag Star Arena | 1–0 |
| 2 | March 18 | Bacolod | W 90–72 | Bataan People's Center | 2–0 |
| 3 | March 25 | Bataan | W 72–69 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 3–0 |
| 4 | March 31 | Rizal | W 87–70 | Ynares Center | 4–0 |
| 5 | April 14 | Bulacan | W 76–67 | Ynares Center | 5–0 |
| 6 | April 21 | Parañaque | W 91–74 | Ynares Sports Arena | 6–0 |
| 7 | April 29 | Iloilo | W 80–74 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 7–0 |
| 8 | May 6 | Marikina | W 88–86 | Olivarez College | 8–0 |
| 9 | May 11 | Manila | W 107–98 | San Andres Sports Complex | 9–0 |
| 10 | May 19 | Muntinlupa | W 71–67 | Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center | 10–0 |
| 11 | May 27 | Imus | W 84–63 | Imus City Sports Complex | 11–0 |
| 12 | June 3 | Sarangani | L 123–134 | Quezon Convention Center | 11–1 |
| 13 | June 9 | Quezon City | W 95–53 | Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center | 12–1 |
| 14 | June 19 | Batangas City | W 68–56 | Batangas City Coliseum | 13–1 |
| 15 | June 23 | Negros | W 94–72 | Baliwag Star Arena | 14–1 |
| 16 | July 1 | Pampanga | L 64–76 | Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center | 14–2 |
| 17 | July 6 | Valenzuela | W 107–78 | Baliwag Star Arena | 15–2 |
| 18 | July 11 | Mindoro | W 84–69 | Strike Gymnasium | 16–2 |
| 19 | July 17 | Bacoor City | W 83–75 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 17–2 |
| 20 | July 24 | Caloocan | W 67–60 | Caloocan Sports Complex | 18–2 |
| 21 | July 29 | Makati | L 61–68 | La Salle Coliseum | 18–3 |
| 22 | August 3 | Quezon | L 86–87 | Quezon Convention Center | 18–4 |
| 23 | August 8 | Pasig City | W 69–65 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 19–4 |
| 24 | August 16 | General Santos | W 97–93 | Caloocan Sports Complex | 20–4 |
| 25 | August 24 | Bicol | W 129–86 | Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center | 21–4 |
| 26 | September 11 | Zamboanga | L 65–67 | Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum | 21–5 |
| 27 | September 21 | San Juan | W 99–97 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 22–5 |
| 28 | September 28 | Pasay | W 88–79 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 23–5 |
| Source: Schedule |||||||

## Playoffs
### Schedule

2023 Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards playoff schedule :
| Round | Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Series | Recap |
| Division quarterfinals | 1 | October 9 | Pasay | W 85–81 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 1–0 | Recap |
| Division quarterfinals | 2 | October 16 | Pasay | W 71–62 | Ynares Sports Arena | 2–0 | Recap |
| Division semifinals | 1 | October 27 | San Juan | L 82–86 | Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center | 0–1 | Recap |
| Division semifinals | 2 | November 3 | San Juan | L 80–88 | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | 0–2 | Recap |
| Source: Schedule ||||||||