The Bulacan Kuyas are a Filipino 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

Baliwag, Bulacan Baliwag, officially the City of Baliwag (; , Kapampangan: ''Lakanbalen ning Baliwag/Siudad ning Baliwag,'' also spelled as ''Baliuag''), is a component city in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populat ...

. 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

North Division Northern Division or North Division can refer to: Sports * Northern Division (Rugby Union) Leagues of England * Queensland Rugby League Northern Division * Southern League Northern Division of the Southern Football League in England * FA Women's ...

. The team most recently played its home games at Baliwag Star Arena. The Kuyas were founded as one of the MPBL's charter teams in its inaugural season and are currently one of four teams based in

Central Luzon Central Luzon (; ; ; ; ), designated as Region III, is an administrative region in the Philippines. The region comprises seven provinces: Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga (with its capital, San Fernando City serving as the re ...

. The team took a leave of absence from the league 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 ...

before returning the following season. They have also taken part in the

Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 was a professional 3x3 (basketball), 3-on-3 basketball list of basketball leagues, league in the Philippines and was organized by the country's national basketball federation, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) ...

History

Founding

The Bulacan Kuyas are among the ten charter teams featured in the inaugural season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. They were also the champions of the pre-season tournament the league held prior to the season. Throughout the 2018 season, the team played their home games at the Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium in

Malolos Malolos , officially the City of Malolos (), is a component city and capital of the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 261,189 people. It is the capital city of the province of Bulacan as the ...

. The team inked a partnership with the Ligo Sardines for the 2018 season.

2018–2021: The Taganas era

In their first season, Bulacan were one of three teams with a 6-3 record and claimed the second seed with a tiebreaker on point differential. The team, however, would fall in an upset against the Panañaque Patriots in the Quarterfinals. Entering the 2018–19 season, the team signed a deal with Mighty Sports to become the team's new major sponsor. The team once again made the playoffs, but once again lost in the First Round to the Manila Stars. Then in the 2019–20 season, they made the playoffs for the third straight season, but lost to the

Makati Super Crunch The Makati Super Crunch was a Filipino professional basketball team based in Makati. The team last competed in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) from 2018 to 2023 and played its home games at Makati Coliseum. The team began pl ...

. After competing in the 2021 Invitational, the team opted out of the 2022 season.

2023–present: Return and sudden decline

The team would make a return in

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 ...

. Since then, the team has failed to return to their amateur era form. After starting the 2023 season 6–4, the team went on to win only one out of their remaining 18 games to finish the season 7–21. In

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 ...

, the Kuyas only won two games out of 28 and ended up as the worst team in the North Division that season.

Team identity

The team is named after former Bulacan First District Representative Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado, whose nickname is "Kuya". He served as the team's owner and backer during its foundation. During the team's first three seasons, it used a color scheme that primarily revolves around the color pink, with purple or blue-green as the secondary color. When the team returned in 2023, the primary color was switched to green.

Home venues

Most of the Bulacan Kuyas' home games are played at the Bulacan Capitol Gymnasium alongside secondary venues Baliwag Star Arena and Malolos Sports and Convention Center. In 2023, the team played all of their home games at Baliwag Star Arena.

Current roster

Head coaches

Notable players

MPBL All-Star Day

All-Star selections * Jay-R Taganas –

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 ...

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 ...

* Renzo Alcoriza –

Pre-game event winners * Lester Alvarez – Three-Point Shootout (

)

PBA players

Ex-PBA players * Lester Alvarez *

Marlou Aquino Marlou Bucao Aquino (born October 7, 1972) is a Filipino former professional basketball player who currently serves as the team consultant for the Pangasinan Heatwaves of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). During his prime, he wa ...

* Bryan Faundo *

Paulo Hubalde Dean Paulo Villegas Hubalde (born January 24, 1981) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Cebu Classic of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He is the son of PBA great, Freddie Hubalde. Hubalde plays the guard pos ...

* James Martinez * Ogie Menor * Hans Thiele

Season-by-season records

''Note: Statistics are correct as of the end of the

2024 MPBL season The 2024 MPBL season was the sixth season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and its third under professional status. The regular season began on April 6, 2024 with the opening ceremonies at the Calasiao Sports Complex in Calas ...

.''

References

{{navboxes, list= {{MPBL {{Central Luzon Sports

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on ...

2017 establishments in the Philippines Basketball teams established in 2017 Sports in Bulacan