28-716: The San Juan Knights , also known as the San Juan Knights – Go For Gold for sponsorship reasons, are a Filipino professional basketball team based in San Juan . The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division . They are one of three teams based in Metro Manila 's Eastern District and play their home games at Filoil EcoOil Centre . The team's first incarnation
56-474: A 20–5 record and clinched the third seed in the playoffs. In the playoffs , San Juan swept both Navotas and Quezon City , and won 2–1 against Manila to advance to the 2019 MPBL finals against the Davao Occidental Tigers . The series went all the way to a game 5 as San Juan won its first MPBL championship and the third overall in franchise history. Their winning traditions continued into
84-465: A Filipino professional basketball team based in the province of Davao Occidental . The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League as a member of the league's South Division . They are the lone team based in the Davao Region . The franchise was founded as an expansion team in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) for its 2018–19 season . Following their title in
112-616: A cycling team under the Go For Gold name. Since then, Go For Gold has branched out to support other sports. In 2019, FIBA made a promotional partnership agreement with Go For Gold to promote the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup , which was hosted in China, and in the Philippines. Notes Davao Occidental Tigers Davao Occidental Tigers , also known as Davao Occidental Tigers – Cocolife due to sponsorship reasons, are
140-459: A winner-take-all game in Davao City. Tigers led by three points heading into the last minute, however, Jhonard Clarito scored four consecutive points for San Juan as Davao Occidental lost the game and the series by a single point. Looking to come back after a stunning finals loss, Davao Occidental kept the same core heading into the 2019–20 season . Once again the team clinched the top seed in
168-715: The 2019–20 season , after facing only four losses throughout the whole season, San Juan managed to finish the season as the North Division's first seed. With a 26–4 record and a .867 win percentage, they also tied for best record that season alongside the Davao Occidental Tigers. As the playoffs began, the team swept through Pasay and Pampanga before facing the Makati Super Crunch in the North Division Finals. The series
196-688: The 2021 MPBL finals , they moved to the Pilipinas Super League (PSL) and became one of its founding members, before returning to the MPBL in 2024 . Despite being based in Davao Occidental, the team hasn't played any home games within the province. Instead, the team plays in arenas across Davao Region , more specifically the Metro Davao area. The Davao Occidental Tigers are one of the more successful home-and-away teams in
224-653: The Pampanga G Lanterns led by Justine Baltazar . Davao Occidental ended up getting swept as the Lanterns won their first league championship. On March 29, 2024, Davao Occidental announced that they would return to the MPBL for the 2024 season . Davao Occidental's rivalry against the San Juan Knights began in the MPBL when both teams met in back-to-back national finals series ( 2019 and 2021 ). Despite Davao Occidental competing in other leagues since then, both teams would still encounter each other whenever they compete in
252-724: The Knights were way ahead, 87–65, with 11:38 left in the fourth quarter when play was stopped. The Negros Slashers conceded game 5, giving the San Juan Knights a 3–2 heading into game 6. San Juan would go on to win their first of back-to-back MBA championships. In April 2018, San Juan Knights were revived as an expansion team in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. The return of the Knights brought in names such as Mark Cardona and John Wilson . The team finished its inaugural season with
280-571: The MBA (2000 and 2001 – First Phase) and one in the MPBL ( 2019 ). The Knights also made the MPBL's Division Finals four times in a row from 2019 to 2023 , and the MPBL finals in back-to-back seasons (2019 and 2021 ). The San Juan Knights were founded in 1999 by then-mayor and current senator Jinggoy Estrada and businessman Sandy Javier. The team entered the Metropolitan Basketball Association as an expansion team for
308-703: The National Finals in back-to-back seasons ( 2019 and 2021 ). Even though Davao Occidental has since departed the MPBL, both teams would still clash with one another whenever they compete in the same league. As of February 2024, the San Juan franchise has met the Davao Occidental Tigers a total of fifteen times across all leagues. San Juan's rivalry against the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards began in FilBasket when both teams clashed in
SECTION 10
#1732801766685336-575: The Powerball Marketing and Logistics Corp., supporting Filipino athletes and teams competing in various sports . It organizes the Go for Gold Philippines UCI Continental road cycling team . Go For Gold Philippines has supported athletes in other sports such as triathlon , sepak takraw , dragonboat , and skateboarding . Go For Gold Philippines began with cycling. In 2016, Powerball Marketing and Logistics Corp. decided to form
364-532: The South Division finals. With the series tied 1–1, it saw an abrupt ending following the suspension of the playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines . When the playoffs continued the following year, multiple Basilan members were tested positive for the virus, thus the series was awarded to Davao Occidental, creating a finals rematch against San Juan. Davao Occidental got their revenge and won
392-432: The South Division with a record of 26–4. This made Davao Occidental Tigers the first, and currently only, MPBL team to clinch the best division record in back-to-back seasons. To begin their 2020 playoff campaign, Tigers first beat Bicol in three games. They then met Zamboanga in the division semifinals, with the first game ending up as the lowest-scoring in the MPBL history. Davao Occidental then matched up with Basilan in
420-549: The South Division's top seed with a 20–5 record. In the playoffs, Tigers swept Cebu City in the First Round, as well as Bacoor City in the division semifinals. In the South Division finals, they met the defending champion Batangas City Athletics . Although Batangas City forced a game 3 in overtime, the series was won by Davao Occidental and they faced San Juan Knights in the 2019 MPBL finals . The series went back-and-forth with both teams alternating wins, all coming down to
448-460: The Year All-MPBL First Team All-MPBL Second Team PSL Mythical Team MPBL All-Star selections MPBL All-Star Game head coaches MPBL pre-game event winners PSL All-Star selections Ex-PBA players Drafted to PBA Go For Gold (sports program) Go For Gold Philippines is a sports foundation and sponsorship program of
476-523: The best record in the 2022 Pearl of the Orient Cup , finishing 13–1. The team then swept both Basilan and Cagayan de Oro on their way to the first PSL championship. In the following 2022–23 DUMPER Cup , Davao Occidental remained among the best teams with the second-best record of the elimination round. The team did suffer losses against Boracay and the Pampanga Royce, before ultimately meeting
504-586: The country, with four finals appearances across both the MPBL and PSL. Of those four appearances, the Tigers won the 2021 MPBL finals and the 2022 Pilipinas Super League finals . Davao Occidental Tigers were established in 2018 as an expansion team in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. The Tigers were one of three teams to be based in Mindanao at the time, alongside General Santos and Zamboanga . The team led by Mark Yee saw immediate success, clinching
532-486: The finals of the 2022 Summer Championship . The rivalry grew more fierce in the MPBL as both teams fought for North Division contention, with both teams meeting in the playoffs in 2022 and 2023 . As of March 2024, across all leagues, both teams have met each other thirteen times. In the mid-2020s, both San Juan and the Pampanga Giant Lanterns competed for championship contention when they compete in
560-592: The latter of which they compete under the name San Juan Kings . In 2023, their volleyball counterpart, the San Juan Lady Knights became one of the eight charter teams of the Maharlika Pilipinas Volleyball Association (MPVA). The San Juan-based franchise is one of the most successful home-and-away basketball teams in the country. Across both incarnations, the Knights have clinched three championships: two in
588-626: The league's 1999 season alongside the Surigao Miners and Nueva Ecija Patriots . During the pre-season, the team acquired 6'9" Bonel Balingit from the Philippine Basketball Association to a three-year, P16 million contract. Joining Balangit are Gherome Ejercito from the Pampanga Dragons , a cousin of Estrada, 1998 NCAA Most Valuable Player Christian Calaguio , and Chito Victolero . During
SECTION 20
#1732801766685616-675: The name San Juan Kings . In the 2022–23 DUMPER Cup, the team went undefeated in the regular season, winning all 15 games. After beating Manila in the Quarterfinals, the Kings met the Baltazar-led Pampanga G Lanterns in the Semifinals. Unfortunately, San Juan would lose to the G Lanterns in two games. The rivalry between San Juan and the Davao Occidental Tigers is most prominent in the MPBL when both teams played in
644-895: The playoffs of the 2000 season, San Juan first swept the Laguna Lakers , 2–0, in the Northern Conference Semifinals and went past the Manila Metrostars , 3–1, in the Northern Conference Finals, bringing the Knights to the 2000 MBA National Championship. Game 5 of the championship series against the Negros Slashers had a debris-throwing incident at the La Salle Coliseum in Bacolod , Negros Occidental , as
672-683: The same league. Since 2020, both teams met in the playoffs a total of four times across the MPBL and PSL, three of them occured at either the MPBL division finals or PSL semifinals. San Juan plays their home games at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in the MPBL and PSL. During their time in the MBA, they have played in the PhilSports Arena from 1999 to early 2000 and the San Juan Gym in 2000. MPBL finals Most Valuable Player MPBL Most Valuable Player MPBL Rookie of
700-669: The semifinals by a single point. In 2021, the team became a founding member of the Pilipinas Super League, formally moving from the MPBL. Before their PSL debut, the Tigers secured to participation in the ASEAN Basketball League . Unfortunately, the 2022 season was cancelled due to the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Southeast Asia . Much like their MPBL debut, the lead the PSL with
728-436: The series in four games, thus winning their first league championship in franchise history. Following their MPBL championship run, Davao Occidental Tigers took part in the inaugural tournament of FilBasket , the 2021 Subic Championship . The team clinched second place in the elimination round with a 7–3 record. After winning against Burlington EOG in the quarterfinals, Tigers experienced déjà vu when they lost to San Juan in
756-504: Was established in 1999 as part of the Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) until 2001. The name Knights was chosen in reference to the concepts of gallantry and bravery. In 2018, the Knights were revived as they joined the MPBL for the 2018–19 season . The team's second incarnation has taken part in other leagues, including FilBasket , Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 , and the Pilipinas Super League ,
784-506: Was tied before the season's suspension but San Juan were able to win deciding game 3 against a depleted Super Crunch squad to make back-to-back National Finals appearances for a chance to repeat against the Davao Occicdental Tigers. This time around, San Juan failed to defend their title as Davao Occidental won 3–1. After the conclusion of the 2022 MPBL season, San Juan made their debut in the Pilipinas Super League, under
#684315