Mindoro Tamaraws

For the mammal endemic to Mindoro, see tamaraw.

The Mindoro Tamaraws are a Filipino professional basketball team based in Mindoro island. The team primarily competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's South Division. They are the lone team based in the Mimaropa region and play their home games at Sentrong Pangkabataan in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro.

Mindoro Tamaraws
2024 Mindoro Tamaraws season
League	MPBL
Founded	2019; 5 years ago (2019)
History	Mindoro Tamaraws 2019–2021, 2024–present Mindoro Tams 2022 (Oriental) Mindoro Disiplinados 2023
Arena	Sentrong Pangkabataan
Location	Mindoro
Team colors
Head coach	JR Cawaling

The team began play during the 2019–20 season. The franchise also competed in NBL–Pilipinas as the Mindoro Tamaraws Disiplinados (stylized as Disipl-Ina-dos) during the 2021 Chairman's Cup.

They also have a junior counterpart in the Mindoro Junior Disiplinados, which compete in the Junior MPBL.

History

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League

 

Logo of the Mindoro Disiplinados used during the 2023 season.

The Mindoro Tamaraws joined the MPBL as an expansion team for the 2019–20 season, backed by 7A Sports and with Justin Tan as the team owner^[1][2] In the Tamaraws' inaugural season, the team finished 12th in the South with a 9-21 record. In April 2020, actress and Pola mayor Jennifer "Ina Alegre" Cruz became co-owner of the team.

In the 2021 MPBL Invitational, Mindoro was able to make the playoff tournament by placing second in Group D. The team would go on to lose to the eventual Invitational champion Basilan Jumbo Plastic in the quarterfinals. Despite the great performance, in the 2022 season, the Tams finished with the worst record in the league, only getting one win in 21 games.

Heading into the 2023 season, the team was renamed the Oriental Mindoro Disiplinados; it would be changed partially to Mindoro Disiplinados in June 2023. On July 4, 2023, the Disiplinados played its first-ever home game in the Sentrong Pangkabataan. Later in the month, the team joined the Junior MPBL with the Mindoro Junior Disiplinados, the team was previously the junior team of the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo.

National Basketball League

In 2021, a second team dubbed as the Mindoro Tamaraws Disiplinados was formed for the NBL–Pilipinas which is meant to a more homegrown-oriented team as opposed to the MPBL team which is intended to be the "showcase team".^[3]

Scheduled Pilipinas Super League participation

In October 2023, the Disiplinados were announced as one of the new teams for the Pilipinas Super League's 2023–24 President's Cup, where team would supposedly participate under the name RCP Pola Disiplinados–Shawarma Shack.

During the opening ceremonies, however, there was no mention of the Disiplinados. The team would move forward as the RCP–Shawarma Shack Demigods.

Home arenas

When mayor Cruz joined the team's ownership, it was also reported that a new arena was under construction in Calapan.^[4][5] The arena became known as the Sentrong Pangkabataan and opened its doors in 2023, becoming the newest MPBL playing venue to date.

Current roster

Mindoro Tamaraws roster v t e
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From F 0 Ariar, Kint 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Letran C 1 Sison, Magi 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) UPD G 2 Melton, Justin (FF) 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1987–04–07 Mount Olive F/C 3 Marquez, Joseph Mark 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) G 4 dela Cruz, Jayvee 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) G 5 Meca, Brylle Ivan 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Arellano F 6 Reyes, Lester 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) SJIT F 11 Olivares, Ralf 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) F 12 Caspe, JJ (HG) 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Batangas G 14 Teodoro, Teytey 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 1993–08–21 José Rizal G 15 Samonte, Mark (HG) 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) F 16 Aquino, Art Patrick 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 1994–12–05 Centro Escolar G 18 Desiderio, Paul 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 168 lb (76 kg) 1997–02–02 UP F 20 Vaygan, Rodel (HG) 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) F 23 Huerto, Don Jordan (HG) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) G 24 Estrella, Andrew 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) F/C 25 Bono, Ken 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 280 lb (127 kg) 1984-06-19 Adamson F 30 Pableo, Kobe 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) G 45 Rios, Jordan 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) St. Clare G 73 Peña, Erwin Van 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) De La Salle Araneta	Head coach JR Cawaling Assistant coach(es) Leo Avenido Jens Knuttel Ricky Alcantara Bengie Teodoro Legend (HG) Homegrown (FF) Filipino-foreigner (SGL) Special Guest Licensee   Injured Roster – via Genius Sports Updated as of: April 8, 2024

Head coaches

#	Name	Term	Ref.
1	Bengie Teodoro	2019
2	Justin Tan	2019–21
3	Britt Reroma	2021
4	Drake Santos	2022
5	Jonathan Reyes	2022–2023
6	JR Cawaling	2024

Notable players

Mindoro Tamaraws notable players
Player	Position	Tenure	Awards	All-Star
Khen Osicos		2019–2023	—	1 (2022)
Rodel Vaygan		2019–present	—	1 (2020)

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
Mindoro Tamaraws
2019–20 Lakan Season	South	12th	9	21	.300	Did not qualify
Mindoro Tams
2022	South	11th	1	20	.048	Did not qualify
Mindoro Disiplinados
2023	South	12th	6	22	.214	Did not qualify
Mindoro Tamaraws
2024	South	To be determined
All-time regular season record			16	63	.203	0 playoff appearances
All-time playoff record			0	0	–	0 Finals appearances
All-time overall record			16	63	.203	0 championships

References

1. "Mindoro Tamaraws gain new backer in Mayor Jennifer Cruz". Tiebreaker Times. April 17, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
2. "MPBL: Ex-PBA player Mac Baracael to play for expansion club Mindoro". ABS-CBN News. June 1, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
3. Li, Matthew (May 4, 2021). "Mindoro Tamaraws tap Silva, Brodett as asst coaches". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
4. Leongson, Randolph (April 17, 2020). "Mindoro Tamaraws get boost with new co-owner in mayor, actress Jennifer Cruz". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
5. Leongson, Randolph (September 3, 2020). "Former UE coach Silva, LSGH mentor Bienvenida join Mindoro Tamaraws staff". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved December 9, 2021.