The Iloilo United Royals were a Filipino professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team based in

Passi, Iloilo Passi, officially known as the City of Passi (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...

. The team last competed in the

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's regional professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of 30 teams. Founded in 2017 by eight-division boxing world champion and then-Senator Manny Pacquiao, the MPBL is ...

(MPBL). The team most recently played its home games at Passi City Arena. The team joined the league in the 2019–20 season and last took part in the 2024 season.

History

JJ Javelosa, who would later own the team, and basketball coach

Nash Racela Raoul Cesar "Nash" Escueta Racela (born November 30, 1971) is a Filipino professional basketball coach. Nash Racela was a graduate of De La Salle University before taking on a career as a coach. He also coached the Philippine squad that parti ...

conceived of an idea for an Iloilo team in the

(MPBL) while playing golf. Racela brought in his co-coach

Eric Gonzales Manolito "Eric" Gonzales Jr. (born September 3, 1972) is a Filipino professional basketball coach, currently with the Quezon Huskers in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and the Pilipinas Super League (PSL). Coaching career Ea ...

to the nascent team. Javelosa, would have tapped his son Jay, who was then playing college basketball for the

Ateneo Blue Eagles The Ateneo Blue Eagles are the collegiate varsity teams of the Ateneo de Manila University that play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the premiere collegiate league in the Philippines. The Ateneo collegiate ...

, while Racela would have recruited from his varsity

FEU Tamaraws The FEU Tamaraws and Lady Tamaraws are the varsity teams of Far Eastern University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). The university's high school varsity teams are called the ''FEU-D Baby Tamaraws, Baby Tamaraws'' ...

team. MPBL founder

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. ( ; ; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician, businessman, and professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He previously serv ...

approved of the plan, but was almost shelved when a sponsor backed out. The elder Javelosa eventually found new sponsors, and named the team the Iloilo United Royals. In the Royals' inaugural season, the team qualified to the playoffs in its debut season, finishing 18–12, claiming the sixth seed in the South. In the First Round, the team was eliminated by the Basilan Steel in the South Division First Round. In the

2021 MPBL Invitational The 2021 MPBL Invitational was the preseason tournament for the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League's 2022 season and the first edition of what would become the MPBL Preseason Invitational. The tournament began on December 11, 2021 and ende ...

, the team was drawn into Group A alongside the other Visayas teams –

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; ; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Negros Island Region in the Philippines. With a total of 600,783 inhabitants as of the 2020 census, it is th ...

and

Negros Negros (, , ) is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . The coastal zone of the southern part of Negros is identified as a site of highest marine biodiversity importance in the Coral Tr ...

– and finished second, placing them into the playoff tournament. The team would go on to lose to the

Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards The Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards (shortened as NERV) are a Filipino professional basketball team based in Palayan, Nueva Ecija. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. The ...

in the Quarterfinals. Iloilo then opted out of the

2022 MPBL season The 2022 MPBL season was the fourth season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and the first as a professional league. The regular season began on April 25, 2022, with opening ceremonies at the Batangas City Sports Coliseum in B ...

, with Javelosa stating that they took a leave of absence as they were uncertain that the MPBL will hold a tournament due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines The COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , there have been reported cases, and reported deaths, the fift ...

. The Royals were announced to be one of the teams returning to the MPBL in time for the 2023 season. Manu Inigo replaced Eric Gonzales as coach, with Cocolife as the principal sponsor.

Team identity

The name is meant to represent the province of Iloilo, "United" represents unity among the

Ilonggo people Hiligaynon may refer to: * Hiligaynon people, also known as Ilonggo people, a subgroup of the Visayan ethnic group native to Panay, Guimaras, Negros and South-Central Mindanao. Not to be confused with the demonym ''Ilonggo'' which pertains to the p ...

, while "Royals" references

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...

Personnel

Final roster

Head coaches

Notable players

MPBL All-Star Day

All-Star selections * Richard Escoto –

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

* CJ Catapusan –

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

* Josh Flores – 2023 * Renzo Navarro – 2023

PBA players

Ex-PBA players *

Samboy de Leon Rodel N. de Leon (born March 9, 1992) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Rizal Golden Coolers of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). Prior to turning professional, he played for the Cafe France-CEU Bakers of the ...

* Chito Jaime Drafted to PBA * Rey Publico – 16th overall,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

* Mark Nonoy – 10th overall, season 49 * CJ Cansino – 11th overall, season 49

Season-by-season records

References

{{navboxes, list= {{MPBL former teams {{Visayas Sports MPBL former teams 2019 establishments in the Philippines 2024 disestablishments in the Philippines Basketball teams established in 2019 Basketball teams disestablished in 2024 Sports in Iloilo