Caloocan Batang Kankaloo
The Caloocan Batang Kankaloo are a Filipino professional basketball team based in Caloocan. The team currently competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as one of 11 active teams based in Metro Manila. Caloocan is also one of two teams based in the Northern Manila District, also known as Camanava, the other team being Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc., playing their home games at Caloocan Sports Complex.
Caloocan Batang Kankaloo | |
---|---|
League | Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (2018–present) Pilipinas Super League (2022–2023) |
Founded | 2017 |
History | MPBL: Caloocan Supremos (2017–2021) Caloocan Excellence (2021–2022) Caloocan Batang Kankaloo (2023–present) PSL: Batang Kankaloo (2022–2023) |
Arena | Caloocan Sports Complex |
Location | Caloocan |
Team colors | |
Main sponsor | Yanyan International Philippines, Inc. |
Head coach | Ronnie Dojillo |
The team began play in 2018 as one of the MPBL's charter teams, going by the Caloocan Supremos before switching to the Caloocan Excellence in 2021. The team adapted the Batang Kankaloo name when they began play in the Pilipinas Super League (PSL) in 2022.
Since its founding, the team is owned by the City Government of Caloocan.
History
2018–2020: Caloocan Supremos
In 2017, the Caloocan Supremos joined the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League as one of the ten charter teams in its inaugural season.[1] The team played in the league's inaugural game against the Parañaque Patriots, but lost, 60-70.[2] The team only won one game in their inaugural season, giving them the worst record that season.
In the 2018–19 season, despite finishing with a losing record, Caloocan was tied with the Pampanga Lanterns for the final playoff spot, which Caloocan would clinch because of their victory in the teams' head-to-head matchup. The team was then swept in the First Round by the first-seeded Bataan Risers.
In the 2019–20 season, even though the team finished with a winning record, they only finished ninth in the Northern Division.
2021–2022: Caloocan Excellence
For the 2021 Invitational, the team changed their name to the Caloocan Excellence.[3] In the following 2022 season, Caloocan would once again fall short, finishing ninth in the Northern Division.
2023: Caloocan Batang Kankaloo
In 2023, the team changed their name to the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo, matching the team's name in the PSL. Caloocan would launch a Junior MPBL team under the same name under sponsor Decena Foundation, but was later relocated to Mindoro shortly after the opening ceremonies. The veteran-led Caloocan squad managed to finish with the team's best record yet, a 20–8 record, and clinching a top 4 seed for the first time. In the First Round, the team will be playing against Pasig City MCW Sports.
Pilipinas Super League
In 2022, the team joined the Pilipinas Super League for the 2022 DUMPER Cup, and subsequently changed its name to the Batang Kankaloo. Batang Kankaloo would also be used as the name of its under-18 team.[4]
Team identity
From 2018 until 2020, the Caloocan Supremos used an orange and blue color scheme. The logo showed a graphic of the Bonifacio Monument on top of a basketball. An outline of a Victory Liner bus, the team's sponsor at the time, is also shown. In 2021, upon renaming to the Caloocan Excellence, blue was replaced with green, forming an orange and green color scheme. The logo is a simple text with the team name, but with the Bonifacio Monument replacing the "L" in Caloocan.
The simple text logo would carry over with the name change to Batang Kankaloo in 2022, albeit with a font change. Batang Kankaloo is normally used as a term to represent the people of Caloocan.
Current roster
Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Head coaches
2018–present | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Name | Start | End | Regular Season | Playoffs | Best Finish | Achievements | ||||||
GC | W | L | Win% | GC | W | L | Win% | ||||||
1 | John Kallos | 2018 | 2020 | 9 | 1 | 8 | .111 | – | |||||
Notable players
Caloocan Batang Kankaloo notable players | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Position | Tenure | Awards | All-Star |
Almond Vosotros | 2018–2019 | — | 1 (2019) | |
Paul Sanga | 2018–2020 2023–present | — | 1 (2020) | |
Damian Lasco | 2018–2022 | — | 1 (2022) |
Season-by-season records
Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League
- Records as of 2023 MPBL season:
Season | Team name | Elimination round | Playoffs | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Finish | W | L | PCT | Stage | Results | ||
2018 Anta-Rajah Cup | Caloocan Supremos | None | 10th/10 | 1 | 8 | .111 | Did not qualify | |
2018–19 Datu Cup | North | 8th/13 | 11 | 14 | .440 | First Round | lost vs. Bataan, 0–2 | |
2019–20 Lakan Cup | 9th/16 | 16 | 14 | .533 | Did not qualify | |||
2022 Mumbaki Cup | Caloocan Excellence | 9th/11 | 6 | 15 | .286 | Did not qualify | ||
2023 | Caloocan Batang Kankaloo | 4th/15 | 20 | 8 | .714 | First Round Division Semifinals | won vs. Pasig, 2–1 TBD vs. Pampanga, 0–0 | |
Total elimination round | 54 | 59 | .478 | 1 playoff appearance | ||||
Total playoffs | 2 | 3 | .400 | 0 Finals appearances | ||||
Total franchise | 56 | 62 | .475 | 0 championships |
Invitational Records
Season | Team name | Elimination round | Playoffs | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Finish | W | L | PCT | Stage | Results | ||
2021 | Caloocan Excellence | Group A | 5th/6 | 1 | 4 | .200 | Did not qualify | |
Total elimination round | 1 | 4 | .200 | 0 playoff appearances | ||||
Total playoffs | 0 | 0 | – | 0 Finals appearances | ||||
Total franchise | 1 | 4 | .200 | 0 championships |
References
- Luarca, Roy (August 29, 2017). "Pacquiao's new basketball league gets off ground". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
- Lagunzad, Jerome (January 26, 2018). "MPBL: Parañaque turns back Caloocan in inaugural match". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
- Magallon, Reynald I. (November 26, 2021). "San Juan, Nueva Ecija set for early clash in MPBL Invitational". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
- Ulanday, John Bryan (November 18, 2022). "Pilipinas Super League returns with 14 squads". The Philippine Star. Retrieved March 31, 2023.