The Phoenix Fuel Masters is a professional basketball team owned by Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., which debuted in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

(PBA) in the

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Commissioner's Cup. The franchise began after the company acquired the second Barako Bull team in January 2016.

History

In March 2011, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., a sponsor of the PBA games, had expressed interest in acquiring a PBA franchise and were in talks to acquire the franchise of the original

Barako Bull Energy Boosters The Barako Bull Energy Boosters were a professional basketball team of the Philippine Basketball Association owned by the Photokina Marketing Corporation. They entered the league in 2000, after a successful stint in the semi-professional Phili ...

team (owned by the Energy Food and Drink, Inc.). For the sale to proceed, a two-thirds approval from the PBA Board of Governors was needed (7 out of 10 votes). However, it failed to get the necessary number of votes. Reportedly,

San Miguel Corporation San Miguel Corporation (), abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine multinational conglomerate with headquarters in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in the Philippines. Originally fo ...

(SMC) intended to rename its PBA team as the Petron Blaze Boosters for the 2011 PBA Governors Cup, hence its objection to the proposed entry of Phoenix Petroleum, a business competitor of Petron, in 2011. SMC reverted to playing as the San Miguel Beermen in 2014. In July 2011, the PBA franchise of the original Barako Bull Energy Boosters was acquired by the Lina Group of Companies ( Alberto Lina), owner of the original Air21 Express team, reportedly for 50 million pesos. The franchise went on to play as the Shopinas.com Clickers and, later, as the second Air21 Express team. In June 2014, the Lina Group sold this franchise to Manila North Tollways Corporation and became the

NLEX Road Warriors The NLEX Road Warriors is a professional basketball team owned by Manila North Tollways Corporation, NLEX Corporation, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since the 2014 ...

The Start Of Fuel Masters

In January 2016, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc. sealed a deal to acquire the team known as the second Barako Bull team (also known as the original Air21 Express team) from the Lina Group, reportedly in the amount of 100 million pesos. The PBA board of governors unanimously approved the sale on January 20, 2016. In addition, the board also gave its approval for Phoenix Petroleum to play in the

2016 PBA Commissioner's Cup The 2016 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner's Cup, also known as the 2016 Oppo-PBA Commissioner's Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the second conference of the 2015–16 PBA season. The tournament allowed teams to hire forei ...

instead of waiting until the 2016–17 PBA season. The coaching staff, players' contracts and contractual obligations will be carried over by the new owners. On February 10, 2016, the Phoenix Fuel Masters officially announced their entry into the PBA with a press conference, followed by the unveiling of their new uniforms, held at Novotel Manila in Araneta Center, Cubao. The Fuel Masters debuted in the PBA with a 118–106 win over the NLEX Road Warriors at the

, with Nigerian Kenny Adeleke as import. After four games, he was waived and Kevinn Pinkney took his place as the team reinforcement. On May 31, 2016, Phoenix announced the appointment of Westports Malaysia Dragons head coach Ariel Vanguardia as the new head coach of the team. He will take over the position formerly occupied by Banal.

Wright - Perkins Tandem (2016 - 2018)

The Fuel Masters drafted Matthew Wright and Jason Perkins as its first superstars. However, the team struggled to win games and did not win a single game in its first four appearances in the quarterfinals.

Calvin Abueva and Achieving Success (2018 - 2020)

On August 7, 2018, 10 days before the start of the Governors' Cup, the Fuel Masters traded Karl Dehesa and a draft pick for 2019 in exchange for Calvin Abueva. He along with Wright, Perkins and import Eugene Phelps led the team to its first twice to beat advantage berth in the quarterfinals after posting an 8–3 record in the eliminations but lost both games to the Meralco Bolts. During the Philippine Cup of the following season, the team changed colors and logo from red and silver to black and red. They clinched the top seed and a consecutive twice to beat advantage in the quarterfinals with a 9–2 record. They defeated the Alaska Aces 91–76 before losing to the eventual champion San Miguel Beermen five games in the semifinals. Abueva got suspended indefinitely in June 2019 due to two infractions: clotheslining TNT KaTropa import Terrence Jones and doing obscene gestures to the girlfriend of Blackwater Elite player Bobby Parks Jr.. During the pandemic-shortened 2020 Philippine Cup bubble tournament, the team under the name Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters, paraded teal and blue as its colors and a new team logo. Topex Robinson was elevated to full-time head coach replacing Louie Alas and Willy Wilson joined the coaching staff after playing three seasons for the team. Abueva was allowed to re-join the roster in October 2020 after undergoing tests imposed by the league. The Fuel Master clinched a twice to beat advantage as the 2nd seed with an 8–3 record in the eliminations. They won against the Magnolia Hotshots 89–88 before losing to the

TNT Tropang Giga The TNT Tropang 5G is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since 1990. The fra ...

two games to three in the semifinals. Several players won awards at the end of the tournament including Abueva and Wright as part of the Elite Five, RJ Jazul as Mr. Quality Minutes, Justin Chua as Defensive Player of the Tournament. Chua and Abueva also won as members of the All Bubble D-Fenders team. Veteran

JC Intal John Christopher Antonio "JC" Intal (; born November 18, 1983) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He played for four teams during his career in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is married to television host and ...

retired at season's end.

Current roster

Players of note

* Calvin Abueva * Yutien Andrada * Sean Anthony * Cyrus Baguio * Mac Baracael * Ronjay Buenafe * Mark Borboran * Rodney Brondial * Prince Caperal * Jeff Chan * Justin Chua * Mark Cruz *

Simon Enciso Simon Nicholas Marquez Enciso (born February 12, 1991) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the TNT Tropang 5G of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Amateur career High school career Enciso attended at Terra Nov ...

* James Forrester * Jeric Fortuna * RR Garcia * Marvin Hayes *