The Bicolandia Oragons were a Filipino professional basketball team based in Legazpi, Albay. The team last competed in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). The team most recently split its home games between Ibalong Centrum for Recreation and Albay Astrodome.
Originally named the Bicol Volcanoes, the team was founded as one of six expansion teams for the league's 2019–20 season.[1]
The team last took part in the 2024 MPBL season and has been the only team to represent Bicol Region in the league.
History
Founded in 2019, the Bicol franchise joined the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League as an expansion team for its 2019–20 season. The franchise was originally going to named the Albay Volcanoes,[2] but changed its location identifier to Bicol to represent the entire region.
Led by ex-PBA cager Ronjay Buenafe, the Volcanoes finished with a 16–14 record, clinching the eighth seed in the playoffs. Bicol faced the first-seeded Davao Occidental Tigers in the First Round. The team won game 2 to tie the series, marking the first time that an 8-seed won a playoff game against a 1-seed.[3] Unfortunately, Bicol would lose the deciding game 3 in overtime.[4] Bicol was one of the 22 teams that took part in the 2021 Invitational. After finishing second place in Group B, the team would lose to Imus in the Quarterfinals.[5][6]
After opting out of the 2022 season, the team returned for the succeeding 2023 season. The team would go on to win only one game in the 28-game season, which came against Mindoro in the 17th game.[7]
On March 2, 2024, the team formally announced a name change to the Bicolandia Oragons, with Shawarma Shack as their main sponsor.[8]
Home venues
The Bicol franchise has used two venues in the 2019–20 season: the Ibalong Centrum for Recreation and the Albay Astrodome, both located in Legazpi, Albay.
| Venue | Location | 2019–20 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ibalong Centrum for Recreation | Legazpi, Albay | 
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DNP | 
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| Albay Astrodome |
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Personnel
Final roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Head coaches
| Bicolandia Oragons head coaches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Start | End | Achievements | Ref. |
| 1 | Monel Kallos | 2019–20 | 2019–20 | — | |
| 2 | Aldin Ayo | 2021 | 2021 | — | |
| 3 | Vis Valencia | 2023 | 2023 | — | |
| 4 | Jason Santiago | 2023 | 2023–2024 | — | |
| 5 | Raymond Valenzona | 2024 | 2024 | — | |
Notable players
MPBL All-Star Day
PBA players
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Season-by-season records
| League champions | |
| Division champions | |
| Qualified for playoffs | |
| Best regular season record |
| Season | Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Finish | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Stage | Results | |
| Bicol Volcanoes | |||||||||
| 2019–20 Lakan Season |
South | 8th | 30 | 16 | 14 | .533 | 10 | Division quarterfinals | lost vs. Davao Occidental, 1–2 |
| Did not participate in 2022 | |||||||||
| 2023 | South | 14th | 28 | 1 | 27 | .036 | 22 | Did not qualify | |
| Bicolandia Oragons | |||||||||
| 2024 | South | 13th | 28 | 3 | 25 | .107 | 18 | Did not qualify | |
| Did not participate in 2025 | |||||||||
| All-time regular season record | 86 | 20 | 66 | .233 | 1 playoff appearance | ||||
| All-time playoff record | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 0 Finals appearances | ||||
| All-time overall record | 89 | 21 | 68 | .236 | 0 championships | ||||
Home arenas
- Ibalong Centrum for Recreation – Legazpi, Albay (2019–)
- Albay Astrodome – Legazpi, Albay (2019–)
References
- ^ Luarca, Roy (May 20, 2019). "Mindoro, Bicol join MPBL; Sta Lucia Realtors return". Manila Standard. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
- ^ Joble, Rey (April 21, 2019). "No stopping MPBL". BusinessWorld Online. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- ^ "MPBL: Bicol, Batangas live to fight for another day". ABS-CBN News. February 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "Davao Occidental beats Bicol in overtime to reach MPBL division semis". Spin.ph. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "Pasig, Bicol advance to MPBL Invitational quarterfinals". Spin.ph. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "Imus shocks Bicol to make MPBL semis". ABS-CBN News. December 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "GenSan, Pasig foil rivals; Bicol tallies 1st MPBL win". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
- ^ "New Team Name, New Beginnings". Bicol Volcanoes. March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024 – via Facebook.