The Ilagan Isabela Cowboys (also known as Ilagan Isabela-Five Star Cowboys for sponsorship reasons) is a Filipino professional basketball team based in Ilagan, Isabela. The team competes in The Asian Tournament (TAT) and mainly in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. The team plays its home games at the Capital Arena.
The Ilagan-based franchise began play in the 2025 season as the league's newest expansion team to date. The Cowboys are the lone team based in the Cagayan Valley region and one of two teams based in Northern Luzon, alongside the Abra Weavers.
History
Basketball in Cagayan Valley The Cagayan Valley was first represented by the Cagayan Rising Suns of the PBA D-League and Pilipinas Commercial Basketball League (PCBL), playing from 2012 to 2015. In 2022, the Cagayan Valley Golden Eagles represented the region during the inaugural season of the Pilipinas Super League (PSL).
Establishment In 2024, the MPBL began expanding into the northern regions of Luzon for its sixth season of play. It added two expansion teams: the Pangasinan Heatwaves from the Ilocos Region and the Abra Weavers from Cordillera, leaving Cagayan Valley behind. On January 16, 2025, league commissioner Kenneth Duremdes announced that the city of Ilagan will acquire an expansion team for the 2025 season. The expansion team was formally established on February 1 in Parañaque, with the league also announcing the name of the team as the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys. Former JRU Heavy Bombers head coach Louie Gonzalez was appointed as head coach of the Ilagan-based team after parting ways with JRU a month prior.
The team played its first-ever game at home at the Capital Arena as part of opening day, where they defeated the Sarangani Gripper Motorcycle Tire, 74–54.
Home venues The team uses the Capital Arena as its primary home venue, which opened in November 2024 and has capacity of 10,000.
Venue Location Capacity 2025 Capital Arena Ilagan, Isabela 10,000
Personnel
Current roster
Head coaches Ilagan Isabela Cowboys head coaches # Name Start End Achievements Ref. 1 2025 2026 —2Alex Cabagnot2026current -
Season-by-season records Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Season Regular season Playoffs Division Finish GP W L PCT GB Stage ResultsIlagan Isabela Cowboys 2025 North 8th 29 15 14 13 Division quarterfinals lost vs. Abra, 0–2 2026 North 6th 25 13 12 10 Division quarterfinals TBD vs. Caloocan All-time regular season record 28 26 2 playoff appearances All-time playoff record 0 2 0 finals appearance All-time overall record 28 28 0 championships
Notable players
PBA players
Ex-PBA players Alex Cabagnot Arthur dela Cruz Barkley Eboña
Drafted to PBA Dave Ando – 14th overall, season 50
References