Bacolod City of Smiles

Last updated

Bacolod City of Smiles
Basketball current event.svg 2025 Bacolod City of Smiles season
League MPBL (2019–present)
FilBasket (2022)
Founded2019;6 years ago (2019)
HistoryBacolod Master Sardines
2019–2020
All-Star Bacolod Ballers
2021–2022
Bacolod Bingo Plus
2022
Bacolod City of Smiles
2023–present
Arena La Salle Coliseum
(last used in 2022)
Location Bacolod
Team colors  
Head coachVacant

The Bacolod City of Smiles is a Filipino professional basketball team based in Bacolod. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's South Division. The team most recently played its home games at La Salle Coliseum.

Contents

The team was founded as the Bacolod Master Sardines when it began play in the 2019–20 season and has since undergone multiple monikers. They also took part in FilBasket during the 2022 Summer Championship.

The Bacolod franchise is one of two teams based in Visayas, the other being the Cebu Classic, and previously shared the Negros Island Region with the Negros Muscovados from 2023 to 2024.

History

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League

The Bacolod Master Sardines joined the MPBL as an expansion team for the 2019–20 season, becoming one of the first two teams from Western Visayas alongside fellow expansion side Iloilo United Royals. [1] [2] In its inaugural season, Bacolod finished 11–19, 11th in the South Division.

In the 2021 MPBL Invitational, the team entered as the All-Star Bacolod Ballers and was drawn into Group A alongside future expansion team Negros Muscovados. In the group stage, the All-Star Ballers finished 3–2, finishing third in the group, failing to make the playoffs.

In the 2022 season, reigning Finals MVP Mark Yee joined Bacolod. Yee helped bring the team to its first playoff appearance, finished 5th in the South Division with a 14–7 record. Yee went on to win Defensive Player of the Year honors. The team beat fourth-seeded GenSan in the First Round, [3] and forced a Game 3 against first-seeded Zamboanga in the Division Semifinals but ended up losing that game. [4] Before the 2023 season, some of its players, including Yee and Jhan Nermal left the team to join the Bacoor City Strikers. [5] Bacolod dropped to 9th, one game behind 8th-seeded Iloilo to once again miss the playoffs with an 11–17 record.

In 2024, nine-time PBA champion Alex Cabagnot joined as head coach of the team, but ended up not playing for the team and left for the Converge FiberXers mid-season.

On January 3, 2025, amid reports of tryouts happening for a new Bacolod team for the upcoming 2025 season, the league clarified that it doesn't recognize such team for next season. [6] The Bacolod franchise would continue competing for the 2025 season.

FilBasket

The team was invited to FilBasket for its 2022 Summer Championship before beginning its 2022 MPBL campaign. Bacolod finished third in the elimination round with seven wins and made the semifinals before losing to the Nueva Ecija Capitals in two games. [7]

Team identity

The team's current identity derives from Bacolod's moniker as the "City of Smiles" in the country. The alternate name, Maskaras, alludes to the MassKara Festival which is held in Bacolod city.

2024 roster

Bacolod City of Smiles roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
G 0 Ramos, Jamel 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
G 2 Cabagnot, Brian 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
G 4 Espanola, JJ 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
G 7 Solomon, Renz  (HG)5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
G 8 Pastias, John Lemuel  (HG)5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
G 9 Casinillo, LA  (HG)6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
F 13 Ubalde, Nichole 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
G 14 Galit, Salvador 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
F 18 Sedillo, Alfred  (HG)6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
G 20 Pardo, Ian 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
F 25 Cañal, Miles  (HG)6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
G 26 Peromingan, Tricky 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Adamson
F 29 Galicia, Jacob 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) PMMA
C 30 Sabellina, Maclean 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg)1989–02–15 STI
C 32 Manalang, JM 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
G 55 Partosa, Adrian 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Head coach
  • Vacant
Legend
  • (HG) Homegrown
  • (FF) Filipino-foreigner
  • (SGL) Special Guest Licensee
  • (RS) Reserve player
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured
Updated as of: February 20, 2025

Head coaches

#NameTermRef.
1Vic Ycasiano 2019–20
2Alexander Angeles 2021–2022
3Monel Kallos 2023
4Vincent Salvador2023
5 Alex Cabagnot 2024

Notable players

Individual award winners

MPBL All-Star Day

PBA players

Season-by-season records

League champions
Division champions
Qualified for playoffs
Best regular season record
SeasonRegular seasonPlayoffs
DivisionFinishGPWLPCTGBStageResults
Bacolod Master Sardines
2019–20
Lakan Season		South11th301119.36715Did not qualify
Bacolod Bingo Plus
2022 South5th21147.6674Division quarterfinals
Division semifinals		won vs. General Santos, 2–1
lost vs. Zamboanga, 1–2
Bacolod City of Smiles
2023 South9th281117.39312Did not qualify
2024 South15th28127.03620
All-time regular season record1073770.3461 playoff appearance
All-time playoff record633.5000 Finals appearances
All-time overall record1134073.3540 championships

References

  1. ↑ "Tallo leads Bacolod team in Maharlika basketball". Panay News. June 13, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  2. ↑ Panerio, Jonas (October 23, 2019). "Coach drops Tallo 5 days after Bacolod loses to Cebu". SunStar. SunStar Publishing Inc. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  3. ↑ "MPBL: GenSan stays alive vs Bacolod; Zamboanga enters semis". Philstar.com. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  4. ↑ Co, Adrian Stewart (November 17, 2022). "Bacolod exits 2022 MPBL tournament". Panay News. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Vintage Mark Yee steers Bacoor to winning start in MPBL". Dugout Philippines. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  6. ↑ Co, Adrian Stewart (January 6, 2025). "New Bacolod squad not recognized by MPBL". Panay News. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  7. ↑ "San Juan, Nueva Ecija sweep rivals to arrange clash for Filbasket crown". Spin.ph. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
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