The Bicolandia Oragons, also known as Bicolandia Oragons–Shawarma Shack for sponsorship reasons, are a Filipino professional basketball team based in the Bicol Region. The team currently competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's South Division. They are the lone team in the Bicol Region and split their home games between the Ibalong Centrum for Recreation and the Albay Astrodome, both located in Legazpi, Albay.
| Bicolandia Oragons | |
|---|---|
 2024 Bicolandia Oragons season | |
 | |
| League | MPBL |
| Founded | 2019 |
| History | Bicol Volcanoes 2019–2023 Bicolandia Oragons 2024–present |
| Arena | Ibalong Centrum for Recreation Albay Astrodome |
| Location | Legazpi, Albay |
| Team colors | |
| Main sponsor | Shawarma Shack |
| Head coach | Raymond Valenzona |
Originally named the Bicol Volcanoes, the team was founded as one of six expansion teams for the league's 2019–20 season.[1]
History edit
Founded in 2019, the Bicol franchise joined the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League as an expansion team for its 2019–20 season. The franchise was originally going to named the Albay Volcanoes,[2] but changed its location identifier to Bicol to represent the entire region.
Led by ex-PBA cager Ronjay Buenafe, the Volcanoes finished with a 16–14 record, clinching the eighth seed in the playoffs. Bicol faced the first-seeded Davao Occidental Tigers in the First Round. The team won game 2 to tie the series, marking the first time that an 8-seed won a playoff game against a 1-seed.[3] Unfortunately, Bicol would lose the deciding game 3 in overtime.[4] Bicol was one of the 22 teams that took part in the 2021 Invitational. After finishing second place in Group B, the team would lose to Imus in the Quarterfinals.[5][6]
After opting out of the 2022 season, the team returned for the succeeding 2023 season. The team would go on to win only one game in the 28-game season, which came against Mindoro in the 17th game.[7]
On March 2, 2024, the team formally announced a name change to the Bicolandia Oragons, with Shawarma Shack as their main sponsor.[8]
Current roster edit
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated as of: April 8, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Head coaches edit
| # | Name | Term | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monel Kallos | 2019–20 | |
| 2 | Aldin Ayo | 2021 | |
| 3 | Vis Valencia | 2023 | |
| 4 | Jason Santiago | 2023–2024 | |
| 5 | Raymond Valenzona | 2024 |
Notable players edit
| Bicolandia Oragons notable players | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Position | Tenure | Awards | All-Star |
| Ronjay Buenafe | 2019–2020 | — | 1 (2020) | |
Season-by-season records edit
| League champions | |
| Division champions | |
| Qualified for playoffs | |
| Best regular season record |
| Season | Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Finish | W | L | PCT | Stage | Results | |||
| Bicol Volcanoes | |||||||||
| 2019–20 Lakan Season |
South | 8th | 16 | 14 | .533 | First Round | lost vs. Davao Occidental, 1–2 | ||
| Did not participate in 2022 | |||||||||
| 2023 | South | 14th | 1 | 27 | .036 | Did not qualify | |||
| Bicolandia Oragons | |||||||||
| 2024 | South | To be determined | |||||||
| All-time regular season record | 17 | 41 | .293 | 1 playoff appearance | |||||
| All-time playoff record | 1 | 2 | .333 | 0 Finals appearances | |||||
| All-time overall record | 18 | 43 | .295 | 0 championships | |||||
Home arenas edit
- Ibalong Centrum for Recreation – Legazpi, Albay (2019–)
- Albay Astrodome – Legazpi, Albay (2019–)
References edit
- ^ Luarca, Roy (May 20, 2019). "Mindoro, Bicol join MPBL; Sta Lucia Realtors return". Manila Standard. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
- ^ Joble, Rey (April 21, 2019). "No stopping MPBL". BusinessWorld Online. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- ^ "MPBL: Bicol, Batangas live to fight for another day". ABS-CBN News. February 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "Davao Occidental beats Bicol in overtime to reach MPBL division semis". Spin.ph. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "Pasig, Bicol advance to MPBL Invitational quarterfinals". Spin.ph. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "Imus shocks Bicol to make MPBL semis". ABS-CBN News. December 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "GenSan, Pasig foil rivals; Bicol tallies 1st MPBL win". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "New Team Name, New Beginnings". Bicol Volcanoes. March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024 – via Facebook.