The Sarangani Gripper Motorcycle Tire (also shortened as Sarangani Gripper) is 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

Alabel, Sarangani Alabel, officially the Municipality of Alabel (Cebuano language, Cebuano: ''Lungsod sa Alabel''; Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Inged nu Alabil'', Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: ايڠد نو ءلبيل; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, m ...

. 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. The team most recently played its home games at Sarangani Capitol Gymnasium. The team's first incarnation began play in 1998 as a charter team of the

Metropolitan Basketball Association The Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA), also shortened as Metroball, was a professional basketball league in the Philippines that ran for five seasons from 1998 until 2002. The MBA was established to rival the Philippine Basketball Asso ...

(MBA). The team was known as the SocSarGen Marlins, then became the SocSarGen-Taguig Marlins in 2001 Second Phase upon relocating to

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig (), is the List of cities in the Philippines, fifth-most populous city in the Philippines situated on the eastern shores of Metro Manila, the national capital region. It is a center for culture, finance ...

. The Marlins then returned for the MPBL in the 2019–20 season, going by the Soccsksargen Marlins as a nod to its original incarnation. Amidst a restructuring due to the team's game-fixing scandal in 2019, the team's name was changed to its current form. The Marlins are one of five teams based in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

and one of two based in the

Soccsksargen Soccsksargen (officially stylized in all caps; ), formerly known as Central Mindanao, is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region XII. Located in south-central Mindanao, its name is an List of g ...

region, the other being the

GenSan Warriors The GenSan Warriors are a Filipino professional basketball team based in General Santos. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's South Division. The team most recently played their home ...

History

First incarnation (1998–2001)

As one of the most talented teams in the South, the SocSarGen Marlins were able to reach the quarterfinals in the MBA's inaugural season. The Marlins were bannered by veteran PBA campaigners Maximo Delantes and Teroy Albarillo. SocSarGen finished its regular season record with 11 wins as against 11 losses, good for fourth spot in the Southern Conference. The Marlins' hardworking cager Maximo Delantes figured prominently in the MVP race but couldn't make it to the MBA mythical five due to his team's disastrous stints in each of the playoffs. Coach

Biboy Ravanes Melchor "Biboy" Ravanes (born January 6, 1959) is a former Filipino professional basketball player and former head coach of the San Miguel Beermen in the Philippine Basketball Association. Prior to this, he was SMB's longtime assistant coach. ...

was replaced by fellow ex-pro Willie Generalao at the Marlins' bench at the start of the 2000 MBA season. SocSarGen was fifth in the standings in the Southern Conference with four wins and eight losses. In 2001, the team relocated to Taguig and became the SocSarGen-Taguig Marlins in the second phase conference. The Marlins finished last in both phases of the 2001 MBA season with a combined record of five wins and 23 losses.

Second incarnation (2019–present)

In the 2019, the Marlins returned to the basketball scene with the

. The team was also relocated back to Mindanao, this time in the

region, joining the

, which joined the league in the previous season. Heading into the 2019–20 season, the team was named the Soccsksargen Marlins, a nod to its original name and having a full regional scope. On November 4, 2019, the team was suspended due to game-fixing allegations. Management of the team had to be turned over and the team would later be renamed the Sarangani Marlins. The team, however, finished with only one win out of 30 games, the win came against

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

. With a .033 win percentage, the Marlins hold the worst record in league history. 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 C, but failed to make the playoff tournament, only getting one win against

Muntinlupa Muntinlupa (), officially the City of Muntinlupa (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...

. The team would make a push in the 2022 season, with players like Kit Jimenez, the team was able to finish with the third-best record in the South Division with a 16-5 record. Jimenez would also record the league's first quaruple-double late in the regular season. The Marlins would unfortunately lose in an upset against sixth-seeded

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 ...

in the First Round of the 2022 playoffs. For the 2023 season, Jeff Viernes would join the team. Viernes then recorded the league's first 50-point game in a win against

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan, while Cabanatuan, its former capital, is the largest Local gove ...

Current roster

Head coaches

Notable players

Individual award winners

MPBL Rookie of the Year * Kyt Jimenez –

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 ...

MPBL All-Star Day

All-Star selections * Pari Llagas –

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 ...

* Kyt Jimenez –

* Ryan Sual –

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

PBA players

Ex-PBA players *

Paul Alvarez Paul Beleno "Bong" Alvarez (born June 15, 1968) is a Filipino former professional basketball player of the Philippine Basketball Association and politician. Dubbed as "Mr. Excitement" because of his high-leaping, slam-dunking acts. Basketball c ...

''(returned to PBA)'' *

Gabby Espinas Gabriel Espinas (born January 3, 1982) is a Filipino professional basketball player and head coach for the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo franchise of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and Pilipinas Super League (PSL). A 6'4" forwar ...

* Norman Gonzales * Marvin Hayes * Jeff Viernes Drafted to PBA * Kyt Jimenez – 76th overall, season 48

Season-by-season records

Metropolitan Basketball Association

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League

:''Records as of the

2024 MPBL season The 2024 MPBL season was the sixth season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and its third under professional status. The regular season began on April 6, 2024 with the opening ceremonies at the Calasiao Sports Complex in Calas ...

:''

References

External links

basketball.asia-basket.com
{{navboxes, list= {{MPBL {{Mindanao Sports Metropolitan Basketball Association teams MPBL teams 1998 establishments in the Philippines Basketball teams established in 1998 Sports in Sarangani Sports in South Cotabato