Bulacan Kuyas

Bulacan Kuyas
2025 Bulacan Kuyas season
Division	North Division
League	MPBL
Founded	2017;8 years ago (2017)
History	Bulacan Kuyas 2018–present
Arena	Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium Malolos Sports and Convention Center Baliwag Star Arena
Location	Bulacan
Team colors
Head coach	Terence Reyes

The Bulacan Kuyas are a Filipino professional basketball team based in Baliwag, Bulacan. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. The team most recently played its home games at Baliwag Star Arena.

The Kuyas were founded as one of the MPBL's charter teams in its inaugural season and are currently one of four teams based in Central Luzon. The team took a leave of absence from the league in 2022 before returning the following season. They have also taken part in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3.

History

Founding

The Bulacan Kuyas are among the ten charter teams featured in the inaugural season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. They were also the champions of the pre-season tournament the league held prior to the season. ^[1] Throughout the 2018 season, the team played their home games at the Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium in Malolos. The team inked a partnership with the Ligo Sardines for the 2018 season. ^[2]

2018–2021: The Taganas era

In their first season, Bulacan were one of three teams with a 6-3 record and claimed the second seed with a tiebreaker on point differential. The team, however, would fall in an upset against the Panañaque Patriots in the Quarterfinals.

Entering the 2018–19 season, the team signed a deal with Mighty Sports to become the team's new major sponsor. ^{[3] [4]} The team once again made the playoffs, but once again lost in the First Round to the Manila Stars. Then in the 2019–20 season, they made the playoffs for the third straight season, but lost to the Makati Super Crunch. After competing in the 2021 Invitational, the team opted out of the 2022 season.

2023–present: Return and sudden decline

The team would make a return in 2023. Since then, the team has failed to return to their amateur era form. After starting the 2023 season 6–4, the team went on to win only one out of their remaining 18 games to finish the season 7–21. In 2024, the Kuyas only won two games out of 28 and ended up as the worst team in the North Division that season.

Team identity

The team is named after former Bulacan First District Representative Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado, whose nickname is "Kuya". He served as the team's owner and backer during its foundation.^{[ citation needed ]}

During the team's first three seasons, it used a color scheme that primarily revolves around the color pink, with purple or blue-green as the secondary color. When the team returned in 2023, the primary color was switched to green.^{[ citation needed ]}

Home venues

Most of the Bulacan Kuyas' home games are played at the Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium alongside secondary venues Baliwag Star Arena and Malolos Sports and Convention Center. In 2023, the team played all of their home games at Baliwag Star Arena.^{[ citation needed ]}

Venue	Location	2018	2018–19	2019–20	2022	2023	2024	2025
Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium	Malolos, Bulacan	Y	Y	Y	DNP	N	N	Y
Malolos Sports and Convention Center	Malolos, Bulacan	N	N	Y		N	N	Y
Baliwag Star Arena	Baliwag, Bulacan	N	Y	Y		Y	N	Y

Current roster

Bulacan Kuyas roster

• v
• t
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Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 1 Niño Ibañez 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Lyceum G 3 Joshua Montero 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) G 4 Jovit dela Cruz  (HG) 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) San Sebastian F 6 Jason Celis 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) José Rizal G 8 Denzel Wong 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) F 9 Andrei Dada 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) G 10 Kojack Melegrito 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Letran G 11 Mark Andales 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) F 13 Khenn Osicos 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) TIP F/C 14 Lawrence Mallari  (HG) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) STI Batangas G 15 Steven Sandilong 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) C 16 Francisco Tancioco 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Enderun G 23 Ralph Manzo 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) G 27 Mark Anthony Acosta 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) C 32 Franco Viernes 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) F 33 Cyril Santiago  (HG) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) F 35 John Carandang 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Arellano F 50 Andrei Dulalia 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) F 73 Jan Baltazar 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) SCT G — Haley Ajero 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) G — Art Patrick Aquino 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Centro Escolar F — Jebb Bulawan 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Lyceum F — Joseph Celso  (HG) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Centro Escolar G — Marte Gil 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) F — Gino Jumao-as 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) UE F — John Rey Sumido 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) UE C — Erlan Umpad 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) Emilio Aguinaldo

Head coach Elgin Espina Assistant coach(es) Julius Espina Jose Carlos Burgos Legend (HG) Homegrown (FF) Filipino-foreigner (SGL) Special Guest Licensee (RS) Reserve player Injured Roster – via Genius Sports Updated as of: February 24, 2025

Head coaches

Bulacan Kuyas head coaches
#	Name	Start	End	Achievements	Ref.
1	Ogie Gumatay	2018	2018	—
2	Chris Baluyot	2018	2018	—
3	Britt Reroma	2018	2019	—
4	Kerwin McCoy	2019	2021	—
5	Ralph Emerson Rivera	2021	2021	—
6	Alvin Grey	2023	2023	—
7	Jerry Codiñera	2023	2023	—
8	Joseph Mabagos	2023	2023	—
9	Jonathan Reyes	2024	2024	—
10	Elgin Espina	2025	2025	—
11	Terence Reyes	2025	current	—

Notable players

MPBL All-Star Day

All-Star selections Jay-R Taganas – 2019, 2020 Renzo Alcoriza – 2023

Pre-game event winners Lester Alvarez – Three-Point Shootout (2020)

PBA players

Ex-PBA players Lester Alvarez Marlou Aquino Bryan Faundo Paulo Hubalde James Martinez Ogie Menor Hans Thiele

Season-by-season records

Note: Statistics are correct as of the end of the 2024 MPBL season.

MPBL champions

Division champions

Playoff berth

Season	League	Division	Regular season						Playoffs
			Finish	Played	Wins	Losses	Win %	GB	Round	Results
Bulacan Kuyas
2018	MPBL	—	2nd	9	6	3	.667	2	Quarterfinals	lost vs. Parañaque, 1–2
2018–19	MPBL	North	5th	25	14	11	.560	9	Division quarterfinals	lost vs. Manila, 0–2
2019–20	MPBL	North	6th	30	19	11	.633	7	Division quarterfinals	lost vs. Makati, 0–2
Did not participate in 2022
2023	MPBL	North	12th	28	7	21	.250	19	Did not qualify
2024	MPBL	North	14th	28	2	26	.071	14	Did not qualify
2025	MPBL	North	Ongoing season						Currently in playoff contention
Regular season record				120	48	72	.400		3 playoff appearances
Playoff record				7	1	6	.143		0 finals appearances
Cumulative record				128	49	79	.383		0 championships

References

1. "Bulacan, Quezon City prevail in MPBL". Manila Bulletin. February 1, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
2. "Bulacan Kuyas inks partnership with Ligo Sardines". Ligo Brand Philippines. January 24, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
3. "Mighty Sports back on mainstream cage scene via MPBL's Bulacan Kuyas". FOX Sports Philippines. June 17, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
4. "Might Sports Re-Emerges in the MPBL". Mighty Sports. June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2018.