Bacoor City Strikers

The Bacoor City Strikers were a Filipino professional basketball team, based in Bacoor, Cavite.[1] The team last competed in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and played their home games at Strike Gymnasium.

Bacoor City Strikers
Bacoor City Strikers logo
LeagueMPBL
Founded2018; 6 years ago (2018)
HistoryBacoor City Strikers
2018–2023
ArenaStrike Gymnasium
LocationBacoor, Cavite
Team colors     
Conference titlesMPBL: 1 (2023)

Owned by the Local Government of Bacoor, the team joined the league in the 2018–19 season, becoming the second team based in Cavite after the Imus Bandera. In 2023, a volleyball team of the same name began play in the inaugural season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Volleyball Association (MPVA).

The team's last active season was in 2023 when they clinched their first division championship.

History

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2019–2020: Early success

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Bacoor City joined as an expansion team for the 2018–19 season, giving the province of Cavite its second MPBL team after Imus in 2018. The Strikers ended up being the final entry of the league's national expansion. In their first season, the Strikers clinched the fifth seed in the South Division after finishing 13–12 in the regular season. In the playoffs, the team swept General Santos in the First Round before falling to the eventual finalist Davao Occidental Tigers in the Division Semifinals. Despite its shortcomings in the playoffs, their all-star in Gab Banal would go on to win the league's first Most Valuable Player Award on top of a First Team selection.[2] Bacoor City continued that success with their winningest season in 2019–20, with 24 wins in the 30-game season. As the second seed, Bacoor City once again swept General Santos in the First Round, but lost to the third-seeded Basilan Steel in three games.

2022–2023: First division championship

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In 2022, the Strikers lost some of its key players. Banal returned to the PBA with Alaska and Michael Mabulac moved to Nueva Ecija. Despite that, Bacoor City still managed to make the playoffs with a losing record of 9–12 as the seventh seed. Although the Strikers forced a game 3 in their First Round match-up against Batangas City, they would eventually lose in the elimination game.

The Strikers would rebuild in 2023, which saw the arrival of former Finals MVP Mark Yee and the return of Michael Cañete. Together with the likes of Jhan Nermal and James Kwekuteye, Bacoor City became the South Division's leading team with a 23–5 record. The team fell into an upset loss in game 1 of the First Round against the eighth-seeded Iloilo United Royals but came back to win the next two games. The Strikers then followed with back-to-back sweeps against Zamboanga and Batangas City on their way to win their first South Division title, becoming the first Calabarzon-based finalist since the 2018 Batangas City Athletics.[3] In the 2023 Finals, Bacoor City met the Baltazar-led Pampanga Giant Lanterns. After going down 0–2, the Strikers led in the third quarter in game 3, but would lose the lead in the final minutes, thus ending the series. The Strikers became the first team in league history to get swept in the Finals.[4] As of 2024, this would be Bacoor City's last active season in the league, as they would take a leave of absence.

Team identity

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The team is named after Strike Revilla, who was the representative of Cavite's 2nd district during the team's establishment. The team has always used a blue and gold color scheme from the team's founding. The logo is a shield consisting of a winged horse and a cross on top of an illustration of the Zapote Bridge. Written on the bridge is "2012", the year Bacoor was granted cityhood.

Final roster

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2023 Bacoor City Strikers roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
G/F1Villoria, Kraniel6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)1995–07–14Arellano
F3Cañete, Michael6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)1993–08–14Arellano
F6Reyes, Lester6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)SJIT
C8Eguilos, Jhaymo6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)190 lb (86 kg)1986–08–27Far Eastern
G9Jeruta, Aaron5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)1994–10–16Centro Escolar
C10Montuaño, MarkInformatics
G12Acuña, Eric5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)Informatics
G14Galit, Salvador6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)Philippine Christian
G15Kwekuteye, James6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)San Beda
G16Ludovice, Yvan5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)San Beda
G17Alday, Alwyn5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)1990–04–18La Consolacion
C19Lopez, John Derico6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)José Rizal
G20Lee Yu, Joel5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)155 lb (70 kg)1994–08–20Far Eastern
G24Pasturan, Jimboy (SGL)St. Benilde
F28Jaime, Chito6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg)1983–10–21AMA
F29Nermal, Jhan6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)STI Negros
F52Yee, Mark (EP)6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)170 lb (77 kg)1982–01–04San Sebastian Cavite
G77Acidre, Rocky5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)Arellano
F81Jamito, Jammer6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)170 lb (77 kg)1990–09–01St. Clare
Head coach
  • Alexander Angeles
Assistant coach(es)
Team consultant
  • BJ Aganus
Team manager
  • Dennis Abella

Legend
  • (HG) Homegrown
  • (FF) Filipino-foreigner
  • (SGL) Special Guest Licensee
  • Injured

Head coaches

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Bacoor City Strikers head coaches
2018–present
#NameStartEndRegular SeasonPlayoffsBest FinishAchievements
GCWLWin%GCWLWin%
1Leo Isaac20182019000000
2Chris Gavina20192020000000
3Aldrin Morante2021present000000

Notable players

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Bacoor City Strikers notable players
PlayerPositionTenureAwardsAll-Star
Gab Banal2018–20201x Most Valuable Player (2019)
1x All-MPBL First Team (2019)
1x All-MPBL Second Team (2020)
2 (2019, 2020)
Mark Montuano2018–20231 (2022)
Michael Cañete2019–2020
2023
1 (2023)
James Kwekuteye20231x All-MPBL Second Team (2023)1 (2023)
Jhan Nermal20231x All-MPBL First Team (2023)
Most Improved Player (2023)
1 (2023)

Season-by-season records

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League champions
Division champions
Qualified for playoffs
Best regular season record
SeasonRegular seasonPlayoffs
DivisionFinishGPWLPCTGBStageResults
Bacoor City Strikers
2018–19
Datu Cup
South5th251312.5207First Round
Division Semifinals
won vs. General Santos, 2–0
lost vs. Davao Occidental, 0–2
2019–20
Lakan Season
South2nd30246.8002First Round
Division Semifinals
won vs. General Santos, 2–0
lost vs. Basilan, 1–2
2022South7th21912.4299First Roundlost vs. Batangas City, 1–2
2023South1st28235.821First Round
Division Semifinals
Division Finals
National Finals
won vs. Iloilo, 2–1
won vs. Zamboanga, 2–0
won vs. Batangas City, 2–0
lost vs. Pampanga, 0–3
2024Did not participate
All-time regular season record1046935.6634 playoff appearances
All-time playoff record221210.5451 Finals appearances
All-time overall record1268145.6430 championships

References

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  1. ^ Lim, Allan (May 22, 2018). "MPBL team number 26: Bacoor City Strikers". Hoops. Archived from the original on June 1, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  2. ^ "Gab Banal beats out Mark Yee for MPBL Datu Cup MVP award". Spin.ph. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  3. ^ "Bacoor puts cuffs on Batangas to clinch MPBL South Division title". Philstar.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  4. ^ "Pampanga sweeps Bacoor to win MPBL title on the road". Philippine Star. December 2, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.