The Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters are a 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

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 ...

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( ), is a first class province of the Philippines located in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Calabarzon region. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,908,494 people, making ...

. 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 splits its home games between Batangas City Sports Coliseum and FPJ Arena in San Jose. They joined in 2018 as one of the founding teams of the MPBL. The team first went by the Batangas City Athletics, before changing to Batangas City Embassy Chill in 2022. They then renamed to the ''Tanduay Rum Masters'' in 2024. They clinched the inaugural championship in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. The Rum Masters are 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 ...

and since its establishment have been backed by the

Tanduay Distillers Tanduay Distillers, Inc. () is a Philippine alcoholic beverage company founded in 1854. It is a subsidiary of LT Group, a conglomerate owned by Filipino business magnate Lucio Tan. As of 2021, it is the world's largest rum brand. History ...

as part of the company's athletics program. The Batangas City franchise has also played in the FilBasket.

History

Tanduay's prior involvement

Tanduay's involvement with basketball can be traced back to the

Tanduay Rhum Masters The Tanduay Rhum Makers (1975–1987) and Tanduay Rhum Masters (1999–2001) were two basketball franchises associated with the same Tanduay Distillers liquor brand that played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The original fran ...

that played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and again from

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League

, the Batangas City Athletics were founded as one of the league's ten charter teams. With a record of 8-1, Batangas City captured the league's best record and made it to the 2018 MPBL Rajah Cup finals, where they beat the Muntinlupa Cagers, three games to one, to become the inaugural MPBL champions. In the 2018–19 season, Batangas City ended the season with a record of 13-10 to claim the second seed in the Southern Division. The team failed to defend their championship, after they lost to the Davao Occidental Tigers in the division finals in three games. In the 2019–20 season, Batangas City made their third straight playoff appearance with a record of 19-11, but lost to the

Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines The Zamboanga Sikat (stylized as Zamboanga SiKAT), alternatively known as Sikat Zamboanga, is a Filipino professional basketball team based in Zamboanga City. The team currently competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a ...

in the First Round in three games. The team opted out of the 2021 Invitational before returning in

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 ...

, in which the team was renamed to Batangas City Embassy Chill. With a 17-4 record, the team made their fourth straight playoff appearance, once again making a run to the division finals, where they would once again fall to Zamboanga in three games. For the 2023 Preseason Invitational, the team was temporarily renamed as the Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters.

FilBasket

As the MPBL postponed its fourth season to 2022, the Tanduay-backed franchise were among the teams that took part in FilBasket. The team first took part in the 2021 Subic Championship. The Athletics finished 8th, but lost to eventual champions AICC Manila. Right before the 2022 MPBL season, the franchise took part in the succeeding 2022 Summer Championship, marking the franchise's first professional outing. As the Tanduay Rum Masters, the team finished the elimination round 11–0, winning every game. During the playoffs, they first beat Muntinlupa in the quarterfinals but would get swept by the fifth-seeded

San Juan Knights The San Juan Knights (also abbreviated as SJK) 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. The team plays its ...

in the semifinals.

Home arenas

The franchise has played most of its home slate at Batangas City Sports Coliseum, making it their primary venue. The team also played some games at other venues across the province, including

Batangas State University Batangas State University, The National Engineering University (; BatStateU The NEU) is a State university and college (Philippines), state university in the province of Batangas, Philippines. Established in 1903 as a training school, Batangas S ...

De La Salle Lipa De La Salle Lipa, also known by its acronym DLSL, is a private Catholic Lasallian basic and higher educational institution run by the De La Salle Brothers of the Philippine District of the Christian Brothers in Lipa City, Batangas, Philippines ...

in Lipa, and FPJ Arena in San Jose.

Rivalries

Zamboanga Sikat

Zamboanga and Batangas City have faced each other in the playoffs in three consecutive occasions from

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 ...

, all of which went the full three games. Batangas City won the series in 2019. As of 2023, the two teams have met a total of thirteen times in the MPBL.

Current roster

Head coaches

Notable players

Individual award winners

Finals Most Valuable Player *

Val Acuña Hezy Val B. Acuña II (born August 8, 1986) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the GenSan Warriors franchise of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and Pilipinas Super League (PSL). Acuña is a six-time professional c ...

–

All-MPBL First Team The All-MPBL Team is a Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) honour given to the league's best players. It was first presented during the 2018–19 MPBL season. Two All-MPBL Teams are honoured in each season, with the exception of 2022 ...

* Cedric Albaza –

All-MPBL Second Team *

Jeckster Apinan Jeckster Apinan is a Filipino professional player for the Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was born and raised in Roxas City, Capiz. He played college ball for JRU Heavy Bombers before e ...

–

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 ...

MPBL All-Star Day

All-Star selections * Jhaymo Eguilos –

* Jeff Viernes – 2019,

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 ...

* Cedric Ablaza –

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 ...

–

* Mark Niel Cruz – 2023 * Levi Hernandez – 2024 All-Star Game head coaches *

Pocholo Villanueva Pocholo "Cholo" Iñigo Villanueva (born November 24, 1982) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He currently serves as the head coach for the Tanduay Rum Masters. He previously served as the assistant coach for the Bay Area Drag ...

–

PBA players

Ex-PBA players *

* Lester Alvarez *

Juneric Baloria Juneric "Jong" Davalos Baloria (born June 3, 1990) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was drafted 30th overall pick by the Blackwater ...

* Bong Galanza * Rudy Lingganay * Philip Paniamogan * Kris Porter * Teytey Teodoro * Jeff Viernes * Dennice Villamor Drafted to PBA * Paul Varilla – 13th overall,

Bong Quinto Kier John "Bong" R. Quinto (born December 15, 1994) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). College and amateur career Quinto played his college career with the Letran K ...

– 14th overall, 2018 * Teytey Teodoro – 23rd overall, 2018 *

Arvin Tolentino Arvin Dave de Leon Tolentino (born November 5, 1995) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Seoul SK Knights of the Korean Basketball League (KBL). He also serves as an assistant coach for the PSP Gymers of the Women's Maharlika ...

– 10th overall,

* Simon Camacho – 34th overall, 2019

Other notable players

Derek Ramsay Derek Arthur Ramsay Jr. (born December 7, 1976) is a British-Filipino model, actor, and TV host. He has an exclusive contract with GMA Network. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ramsay froze his contract with GMA Network. Ramsay is currently inact ...

Season-by-season records

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League

References

{{navboxes, list= {{MPBL {{Calabarzon Sports {{Batangas City Athletics 2018 MPBL champions MPBL teams 2018 establishments in the Philippines Basketball teams established in 2018 Sports in Batangas

History

Tanduay's prior involvement

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League

FilBasket

Home arenas

Rivalries

Zamboanga Sikat

Current roster

Head coaches

Notable players

Individual award winners

MPBL All-Star Day

PBA players

Other notable players

Season-by-season records

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League

See also

References