The Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters and Zamboanga Master Sardines have consistently fought for contention in the South Division of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, finishing in the top six across all seasons in the league. From 2019 to 2022, both teams met in the playoffs in three consecutive seasons, all of their match-ups going the full three games, culminating in a division finals series in 2022. The rivalry previously featured the Zamboanga Valientes, the predecessor to the Master Sardines, as they first met Batangas City during their first meeting in 2018.
| Teams |
|
|---|---|
| First meeting | November 27, 2018 (MPBL) Batangas City 104, Zamboanga Valientes 93 |
| Latest meeting | August 10, 2024 (MPBL) Batangas City 93, Zamboanga 80 |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 15 |
| All-time series | Batangas City 9–6 Zamboanga |
| Longest win streak | Batangas City / Zamboanga W3 |
| Current win streak | Batangas City W1 |
| Postseason history | |
| |
As of 2024, Batangas City currently leads the all-time series, 9–6.
History
edit2018: First meeting
editThe first meeting between the two teams first happened on November 27, 2018, at Batangas City Coliseum. The home team Batangas City Athletics won the game against Zamboanga (who were then under the Zamboanga Valientes banner) with a score of 104–93.
2019–2022: Playoff contention
editThe two teams first met in the playoffs in 2019. Despite being the sixth seed and having a losing record in the regular season, the now-Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines won game 1 of the series. However, they weren't able to complete the upset, as Batangas City won the next two games at home to advance to the division finals. They then met again in 2020, this time in the division quarterfinals. Once again, both teams tied the series after two games, but this time around, it was Zamboanga who came away with the win.[1][2] As of 2023, it marked the only time in which Batangas City was eliminated before the last two rounds of the playoffs.
In 2022, both Batangas City and Zamboanga took up the top two positions in the South Division, setting up a potential South Division finals series. Both teams were able to reach the penultimate round.[3][4] Game 1 of the series was held at the Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum, making it the first game in which Zamboanga was the home team. Batangas City were able to win, 80–71. Zamboanga then tied the series in Batangas City's home grounds with a 63–53 victory of their own, forcing a game 3 in Zamboanga City. In game 3, Batangas City led by as much as 19 points, but Zamboanga were able to close the gap throughout the fourth quarter. Within the last minute, Jaycee Marcelino successfully made a shot that gave Zamboanga their first lead in the game with 40 seconds remaining. Zamboanga were able to hold on to clinch the South Division crown.[5][6]
2023–present: Cooldown period
editAfter their 2022 South Division finals series, they haven't met again in the playoffs since and only played in the regular season. In 2024, both teams tied in regular season record for the first time.
Annual finishes
edit- NOTE: Preseason games are not included.
| League | Season | Batangas City Athletics/Embassy Chill/Tanduay Rum Masters | Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines/Master Sardines | Series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | PCT | Playoff finish | W | L | PCT | Playoff finish | |||
| MPBL | 2018–19 | 15 | 10 | .600 | Lost division finals | 12 | 13 | .480 | Lost division semifinals | BTG 3–1 |
| 2019–20 | 19 | 11 | .633 | Lost division quarterfinals | 18 | 12 | .600 | Lost division semifinals | 2–2 | |
| FilBasket | Summer 2022 | 11 | 0 | 1.000 | Lost semifinals | 5 | 6 | .455 | Did not qualify | BTG 1–0 |
| MPBL | 2022 | 17 | 4 | .810 | lost division finals | 18 | 3 | .857 | Lost national finals | 2–2 |
| 2023 | 22 | 6 | .786 | lost division finals | 20 | 8 | .714 | Lost division semifinals | ZAM 1–0 | |
| 2024 | 20 | 8 | .714 | TBD | 20 | 8 | .714 | Lost division quarterfinals | BTG 1–0 | |
Game summaries
edit| Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Batangas City win | |||
| Zamboanga win | |||
| Bold indicates home team | |||
| League | Type | Date | Winning team | Score | Losing team | Location | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPBL | Regular season | November 27, 2018 | Batangas City | 104–93 | Zamboanga Valientes | Batangas City Coliseum | Recap |
| Playoffs | March 27, 2019 | Zamboanga | 72–58 | Batangas City | Rizal Memorial Colleges | Recap | |
| March 30, 2019 | Batangas City | 67–57 | Zamboanga | Batangas City Coliseum | Recap | ||
| April 2, 2019 | Batangas City | 80–72 | Zamboanga | Batangas City Coliseum | Recap | ||
| Regular season | August 26, 2019 | Batangas City | 77–67 | Zamboanga | San Andres Sports Complex | Recap | |
| Playoffs | February 17, 2020 | Zamboanga | 78–74 | Batangas City | Davao City Recreation Center | Recap | |
| February 21, 2020 | Batangas City | 84–75 | Zamboanga | Batangas City Coliseum | Recap | ||
| February 26, 2020 | Zamboanga | 69–52 | Batangas City | Batangas City Coliseum | Recap | ||
| FilBasket | Regular season | April 20, 2022 | Batangas City | 72–71 | Zamboanga | San Jose del Monte Sports Complex | Recap |
| MPBL | Regular season | August 1, 2022 | Batangas City | 87–83 | Zamboanga | Batangas City Coliseum | Recap |
| Playoffs | November 19, 2022 | Batangas City | 80–71 | Zamboanga | Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum | Recap | |
| November 22, 2022 | Zamboanga | 63–53 | Batangas City | Batangas City Coliseum | Recap | ||
| November 26, 2022 | Zamboanga | 67–66 | Batangas City | Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum | Recap | ||
| Regular season | April 25, 2023 | Zamboanga | 81–74 | Batangas City | Cuneta Astrodome | Recap | |
| August 10, 2024 | Batangas City | 93–80 | Zamboanga | Nueva Ecija Coliseum | Recap |
References
edit- ^ Leongson, Randolph B. (February 26, 2020). "Zamboanga stays calm in heated affair vs Batangas to reach MPBL semis". Spin.ph. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
- ^ Tupas, Cedelf P. (February 27, 2020). "Davao Occidental, Zamboanga forge MPBL South semis duel". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
- ^ "MPBL: Batangas advances to South Finals; Bacolod-Zamboanga goes to decider". Tiebreaker Times. November 13, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ Times, Tiebreaker (November 16, 2022). "MPBL: Jaycee Marcelino powers Zamboanga-FBS to South finals". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
- ^ "Zamboanga completes huge comeback to seal MPBL Finals date vs. Nueva Ecija". Dugout Philippines. December 2, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
- ^ "Squeaker sends Zamboanga to national finals". Philstar.com. November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2024.