The Rizal Golden Coolers (also known as the Rizal Xentromall Golden Coolers for sponsorship reasons) are 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 the province of

Rizal Rizal most commonly refers to: * Rizal (province), a province of the Philippines * José Rizal, Filipino national hero whom the province is named after Rizal may also refer to: People * Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli, Malaysian footballer * Atep Ri ...

. The team competes 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) as a member of the league's

South Division South Division may refer to: * South Division (AFL), a division of the Arena Football League * South Division (MPBL), a division of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League * South Division (CFL), a former division of the Canadian Football League ...

. The team splits its home games between two venues, both named "Ynares Center": Ynares Center Antipolo and

Ynares Center Montalban Basketball venues in the Philippines Buildings and structures in Rizal (province) Indoor arenas in the Philippines MPBL venues Philippine Basketball Association venues Rizal Golden Coolers Sports in Rizal (province) Volleyball venues in the Philip ...

. The Rizal franchise began play during the 2018–19 season as the Rizal Crusaders. Team ownership said that the name was chosen as the province of Rizal is known for "crusades, mountaineering, and other stuff". Originally, the team was going to be called the Rizal Ankle Breakers, but was changed due to criticism that the name didn't have any relation to the province of Rizal. The Golden Coolers are one of five teams based in

Calabarzon Calabarzon (officially stylized in all caps; ; ), sometimes referred to as Southern Tagalog () and designated as Region IVA, is an administrative region in the Philippines. It is situated southeast of Metro Manila and is bordered by Manila Bay ...

History

Rizal struggled during its first two seasons, ending up with the worst record of the division in both instances. In the 2018–19 season, the team finished 7-18, last place in the Southern Division. In the 2019–20 season, the team finished 7-22, last place in the Northern Division. Despite struggling in the 2021 Invitational, with a record of 1-4, the team rose up in the 2022 season. The Golden Coolers finished the season 10-11, earning a playoff appearance for the first time. As the sixth seed, they upset the third-seed

Sarangani Sarangani, officially the Province of Sarangani (; ; Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Sarangani'', Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: دايرت نو سرڠان; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the ...

in the First Round, but would go on to be swept by

Batangas City Batangas, sometimes called Batangas City and officially called the City of Batangas (), is a component city and capital of the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 351,437 people. Batangas City ...

in the Division Semifinals,

Home arenas

The Rizal-based team's main arena is the

Ynares Center The Ynares Center, also known as Ynares Center Antipolo, is an indoor arena located along the Circumferential Road in Antipolo, Rizal, Philippines. The facility, which has a seating capacity of 7,400, is managed by the Provincial Government of ...

, located in

Antipolo Antipolo, officially the City of Antipolo (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Rizal (province), Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...

. In 2023, the team played its first game outside Anitpolo, heading to

Cainta Cainta, officially the Municipality of Cainta (, ), is a municipality in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Rizal (province), Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 376,933 people. It is one of the ...

to play at One Arena.

Current roster

Head coaches

Notable players

MPBL All-Star Day

All-Star selections * Marco Balagtas –

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 Benitez –

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 ...

* Troy Mallillin –

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

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 ...

* Jboy Gob – 2023

PBA players

Ex-PBA players *

Chad Alonzo Richard Hernando Alonzo is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Rizal Golden Coolers of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was an undrafted player signed by the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants in 2008 before being ...

* Philip Butel

Season-by-season records

References

2018 establishments in the Philippines Basketball teams established in 2018 MPBL teams Sports in Rizal (province) {{Philippines-basketball-team-stub