United Regional Basketball League
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The United Regional Basketball League (URBL) was a community-based amateur basketball league in the Philippines that played only one season in 2004. The league was managed by persons identified with the old
Metropolitan Basketball Association The Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA), or Metroball, was a professional basketball league in the Philippines that ran from March 7, 1998, to July 26, 2002. History The MBA played its first game on March 7, 1998, at the Don Narciso Ramos ...
(MBA), a professional community-based league that suspended operations in the middle of 2002. Basketball legend and former MBA commissioner
Ramon Fernandez Ramon Sadaya Fernandez (; born October 3, 1953) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and current commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission. Fernandez won four PBA Most Valuable Player awards and a record 19 PBA titles. F ...
reprised his role with the URBL.


History

Sometime in February 2004, the Ilocos Sur Snipers of Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson and M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu City of Michel Lhuillier ceded from the National Basketball League (NBL), which had just been renamed the
National Basketball Conference The National Basketball Conference was a regional-based basketball league in the Philippines formed in 2004. The league is sanctioned by the Philippine national sport association for basketball, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas. Teams are also s ...
(NBC). The two teams were not satisfied with the way the NBL/NBC was being managed and so opted to form their own league. Three other teams later joined the fray – the Quezon Coco Huskers, Lactovitale-Cebu and Harbour Centre-Pampanga of
Mikee Romero Michael Odylon "Mikee" Lagman Romero (; born March 21, 1972) is a Filipino businessman, politician, and polo player who previously served as a House Deputy Speaker from 2019 to 2022, except for a 12-day period out of office in October 2020 du ...
. The opening ceremonies were held on September 25, 2004 at the New Cebu Coliseum. Forward Melchor Latoreno of the Huskers scored the first basket in league history in the opening game against Lactovitale. Lactovitale prevailed, 82-77, behind the 21 markers of
Bonel Balingit Bonel P. Balingit (born November 30, 1967), also known as The Gentle Giant and Man-Mountain, is a Filipino retired professional basketball player who played as a center. Basketball career The hulking Bonel played for the University of the Visaya ...
. Tournament format called for the five teams to play two round robins, with the top four advancing to the double round semifinals and their elimination round records set aside. The top two teams after the semifinals clashed in a best-of-five series for the title while the other two teams will dispute Third Place in a one-game playoff. M. Lhuillier topped the eliminations with a 7-1 record. The Snipers and Harbour Centre-Pampanga followed at 4-4. The Huskers (3-5) took the final semifinal slot by edging by a game Lactovitale (2-6). In the semifinals, the Snipers made their move and finished in a tie with M. Lhuillier at the top, 4-2. However, the Snipers earned the home court advantage in the championship series. The Huskers finished at 3-3, bungling a chance to force a triple-tie thanks to a loss to Harbour Centre on the final day of the semis. That was Harbour Centre's lone semifinal win. M. Lhuillier defeated the Snipers to win the championship, 3-1. Both squads split the opening two games in
Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...
,
Ilocos Sur Ilocos Sur, officially the Province of Ilocos Sur ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ilocos Sur; tl, Lalawigan ng Ilocos Sur), is a province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital o ...
. M. Lhuillier bounced back to take the next two meetings in Cebu City. Meanwhile, Huskers exacted revenge on Harbour Centre in the City of San Fernando to take Third Place, 88-84. Despite a successful inaugural run, the URBL folded up after one season. The biggest blow came off the basketball court after Commissioner Fernandez suddenly became scarce in order to attend to some family matters. Sans their leader, the preparations for the second season hit a major roadblock. Still, the group helped organize the 2005 Mayor Tomas Osmena Sinulog International Invitational Cup in
Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas Regions of the P ...
in January. M. Lhuillier won the tournament via a sweep. The Huskers, which was reinforced by stars from the other URBL teams, finished in second ahead of guest entries from
Konkuk University Konkuk University () is a South Korean private university founded in 1946. The university was founded based on three virtues: sincerity, fidelity, and righteousness. Konkuk University gives comprehensive education in agricultural and life scien ...
of
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
,
Fujian Province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
of China, North Cotabato and the Philippine Training Team. As their final activity, the URBL tied up with the San Jose Sky Rockets of the
American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
(ABA) and facilitated the team's search for possible Filipino recruits in October. That led to the Sky Rockets’ signing of guard
Mark Magsumbol Mark M. Magsumbol is a Filipino retired basketball player. Magsumbol has played in the Philippine Basketball Association, the Philippine Basketball League, National Basketball Conference, and for the American Basketball Association (ABA) team S ...
, a former national junior cager.


Aftermath

In the aftermath of the URBL's closure, Harbour Centre accepted an offer to put up a new team in the
Philippine Basketball League The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) was a commercial semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines. The league was composed of several commercial teams with several collegiate and provincial stars. History The PBL was formed on Ma ...
(PBL). M. Lhuillier coach Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba then organized a similar community-based league exclusive for Southern Philippines, the
Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association The Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association (MVBA) was a community-based amateur commercial basketball league in Southern Philippines sanctioned by the country's National Sports Association for basketball, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP). ...
(MVBA). Soberano later signed up as one of the MVBA pioneers through his Cebu Landmaster quintet. The Quezon Coco Huskers would be resurrected in 2023 as the Quezon Huskers as an expansion team for the
Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines. History Manny Pacquiao launched the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League on August 29, 2017, starting off as a semi-professional lea ...
's (MPBL)
2023 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
.


Teams

* M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu City * Ilocos Sur Snipers * Quezon Coco Huskers * Harbour Centre-Pampanga * Lactovitale-Cebu


Championship series

M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu City d. Ilocos Sur Snipers, 3-1 * Dec. 10: M. Lhuillier d. Ilocos Sur, 80-77 * Dec. 11: Ilocos Sur d. M. Lhuillier, 85-76 (OT) * Dec. 15: M. Lhuillier d. Ilocos Sur, 74-70 * Dec. 16: M. Lhuillier d. Ilocos Sur, 95-83


Notable players

Most Valuable Player * Woodrow Enriquez, M. Lhuillier Mythical Five * Woodrow Enriquez, M. Lhuillier * Bruce Dacia, M. Lhuillier * Jerome Barbosa, Ilocos Sur * Ariel Garcia, Harbour Centre (scoring leader, 13.9 PPG) * Billy Bansil, Harbour Centre (rebounding leader, 8.2 RPG) With the URBL's closure in 2005, many of its alumni managed to further their basketball careers in the PBL and MVBA. The URBL takes pride that its alumni have gone on to earn roster slots in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), led by Dacia who was signed up by the Air21 Express as a rookie free agent. The other PBA call-ups were guard Nino Marquez (Air21) and center Mark Kong (
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
) of the Huskers and the Snipers’ center Philip Butel ( Sta. Lucia). Snipers’ center Ryan Bernardo did not finish the URBL season as he hooked up with Red Bull, his second PBA team after a stint with FedEx from 2002 to 2003. Edgar Echavez of the Huskers, who played for Purefoods in 2003, also managed to return to the PBA via
Barangay Ginebra The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The most popular team in the league, it is owned by Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.), a subsidia ...
in 2005.


Coaches

* M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu City – Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba * Ilocos Sur Snipers – Mario Quitoriano * Quezon Coco Huskers – Francis Rodriguez * Harbour Centre-Pampanga – Alex Gonzalez (eliminations), Adriano “Bong” Go (semifinals) * Lactovitale-Cebu – Rodesendo “Rhoel” Gomez


Home Venues

* Santo Domingo People's Center (
Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...
,
Ilocos Sur Ilocos Sur, officially the Province of Ilocos Sur ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ilocos Sur; tl, Lalawigan ng Ilocos Sur), is a province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital o ...
) * Archbishop Cinense Gym-University of the Assumption ( San Fernando City) *
Quezon Convention Center The Quezon Convention Center is a multi-purpose convention center in Quezon located near the Provincial Capitol in Lucena, Philippines, Lucena, Quezon, Philippines. The venue has hosted local and regional basketball competitions, conce ...
(
Lucena City Lucena, officially the City of Lucena ( fil, Lungsod ng Lucena), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Calabarzon region of the Philippines. It is the capital city of the province of Quezon where it is geographically situated but, in t ...
) * New Cebu Coliseum (
Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas Regions of the P ...
) * Don Celestino Martinez Memorial Coliseum ( Bogo)


Media coverage

The URBL's opening ceremonies and doubleheader were covered live over ABC-5 (now TV5) is a produced by
ABC Sports ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
. Television coverage then took a break and returned during the championship series although on a delayed basis on
NBN-4 DWGT-TV, Channel 4 (analog) and channel 14 (digital), is a non-commercial flagship station of Philippine-government owned television network People's Television Network. Its head office, studios and analog-digital transmitter are located at Br ...
. Aside from television, the URBL enjoyed good print coverage from both local and national newspapers, tabloids and magazines. Some of Lactovitale's home games saw some time over local radio stations.


References


NEW AMATEUR LEAGUE: UNITED REGIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE (URBL)

URBL Friendster account
{{Basketball in the Philippines Defunct basketball leagues in the Philippines