Bacolod City of Smiles

"Bacolod Maskaras" redirects here. For the festival, see MassKara Festival.

"Bacolod Master Sardines" redirects here. Not to be confused with Zamboanga Master Sardines.

The Bacolod City of Smiles, alternatively known as the Bacolod Maskaras, is a Filipino professional basketball team based in Bacolod. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's South Division. They are one of three teams based in Western Visayas. The team plays their home games at La Salle Coliseum, which they share with their Negros island rivals, the Negros Muscovados.

Bacolod City of Smiles
2024 Bacolod City of Smiles season
League	MPBL (2019–present) FilBasket (2022)
Founded	2019; 5 years ago (2019)
History	Bacolod Master Sardines 2019–2020 All-Star Bacolod Ballers 2021–2022 Bacolod Bingo Plus 2022 Bacolod City of Smiles 2023–present
Arena	La Salle Coliseum
Location	Bacolod
Team colors
Head coach	Alex Cabagnot

The team was founded as the Bacolod Master Sardines when it began play in the 2019–20 season.^[1]

History

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League

The Bacolod Master Sardines joined the MPBL as an expansion team for the 2019–20 season, becoming one of the first two teams from Western Visayas alongside fellow expansion side Iloilo United Royals.^[1][2] In its inaugural season, Bacolod finished 11–19, 11th in the South Division.

In the 2021 MPBL Invitational, the team entered as the All-Star Bacolod Ballers and was drawn into Group A alongside future expansion team Negros Muscovados. In the group stage, the All-Star Ballers finished 3–2, finishing third in the group, failing to make the playoffs.

In the 2022 season, reigning Finals MVP Mark Yee joined Bacolod. Yee helped bring the team to its first playoff appearance, finished 5th in the South Division with a 14–7 record. Yee went on to win Defensive Player of the Year honors. The team beat fourth-seeded GenSan in the First Round,^[3] and forced a Game 3 against first-seeded Zamboanga in the Division Semifinals but ended up losing that game.^[4] Before the 2023 season, some of its players, including Yee and Jhan Nermal left the team to join the Bacoor City Strikers.^[5] Bacolod dropped to 9th, one game behind 8th-seeded Iloilo to once again miss the playoffs with an 11–17 record.

In 2024, nine-time PBA champion Alex Cabagnot joined as head coach of the team.

FilBasket

The team was invited to FilBasket for its 2022 Summer Championship before beginning its 2022 MPBL campaign. Bacolod finished third in the elimination round with seven wins and made the semifinals before losing to the Nueva Ecija Capitals in two games.^[6]

Team identity

The team's current identity derives from Bacolod's moniker as the "City of Smiles" in the country. The alternate name, Maskaras, alludes to the MassKara Festival which is held in Bacolod city.

Current roster

Bacolod City of Smiles roster v t e
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G 0 Ramos, Jamel 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) G 2 Cabagnot, Brian 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) G 4 Espanola, JJ 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) G 5 Cabagnot, Alex 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1982–12–08 Hawaiʻi–Hilo G 7 Solomon, Renz (HG) 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) G 8 Pastias, John Lemuel (HG) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) G 9 Casinillo, LA (HG) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) G 11 McCarthy, Rashawn (FF) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1989–09–10 SUNY–Old Westbury F 13 Ubalde, Nichole 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) G 14 Galit, Salvador 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) F 17 Marilao, Danny 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) San Lorenzo F 18 Sedillo, Alfred (HG) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) G 20 Pardo, Ian 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) F 25 Cañal, Miles (HG) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) G 26 Peromingan, Tricky 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Adamson F 29 Galicia, Jacob 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) PMMA C 30 Sabellina, Maclean 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1989–02–15 STI C 32 Manalang, JM 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) F 33 Salcedo, Ralph 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) G 55 Partosa, Adrian 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) G/F 88 Vigil, Louie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) UST	Head coach Alex Cabagnot Legend (HG) Homegrown (FF) Filipino-foreigner (SGL) Special Guest Licensee   Injured Roster – via Genius Sports Updated as of: April 9, 2024

Head coaches

#	Name	Term	Ref.
1	Vic Ycasiano	2019–20
2	Alexander Angeles	2021–2022
3	Monel Kallos	2023
4	Vincent Salvador	2023
5	Alex Cabagnot	2024–present

Notable players

Bacolod City of Smiles notable players
Player	Position	Tenure	Awards	All-Star
Paolo Javelona		2019–2020	—	1 (2020)
Mark Yee		2022	1x Defensive Player of the Year (2022)	1 (2022)

Season-by-season records

	League champions
	Division champions
	Qualified for playoffs
	Best regular season record

Season	Regular season					Playoffs
	Division	Finish	W	L	PCT	Stage	Results
Bacolod Master Sardines
2019–20 Lakan Season	South	11th	11	19	.367	Did not qualify
Bacolod Bingo Plus
2022	South	5th	14	7	.667	First Round Division Semifinals	won vs. General Santos, 2–1 lost vs. Zamboanga, 1–2
Bacolod City of Smiles
2023	South	9th	11	17	.393	Did not qualify
2024	South	To be determined
All-time regular season record			36	43	.456	1 playoff appearance
All-time playoff record			3	3	.500	0 Finals appearances
All-time overall record			39	46	.459	0 championships

References

1. "Tallo leads Bacolod team in Maharlika basketball". Panay News. June 13, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
2. Panerio, Jonas (October 23, 2019). "Coach drops Tallo 5 days after Bacolod loses to Cebu". SunStar. SunStar Publishing Inc. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
3. "MPBL: GenSan stays alive vs Bacolod; Zamboanga enters semis". Philstar.com. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
4. Co, Adrian Stewart (November 17, 2022). "Bacolod exits 2022 MPBL tournament". Panay News. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
5. "Vintage Mark Yee steers Bacoor to winning start in MPBL". Dugout Philippines. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
6. "San Juan, Nueva Ecija sweep rivals to arrange clash for Filbasket crown". Spin.ph. Retrieved December 19, 2023.