Wikipedia - Rizal Golden Coolers
The Rizal Golden Coolers, also known as the Rizal Xentromall Golden Coolers for sponsorship reasons, are a Filipino professional basketball team based in the province of Rizal. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. They are one of five teams based in the Calabarzon region and play their home games at Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The team began play during the 2018–19 season as the Rizal Crusaders. Team ownership said that the name was chosen as the province of Rizal is known for "crusades, mountaineering, and other stuff". Originally, the team was going to be called the Rizal Ankle Breakers, but was changed due to criticism that the name didn't have any relation to the province of Rizal.
In 2023, a volleyball team of the same name began play as one of eight charter teams in the Maharlika Pilipinas Volleyball Association's (MPVA) inaugural season.
History
Rizal struggled during its first two seasons, ending up with the worst record of the division in both instances. In the 2018–19 season, the team finished 7-18, last place in the Southern Division. In the 2019–20 season, the team finished 7-22, last place in the Northern Division.
Despite struggling in the 2021 Invitational, with a record of 1-4, the team rose up in the 2022 season. The Golden Coolers finished the season 10-11, earning a playoff appearance for the first time. As the sixth seed, they upset the third-seed Sarangani in the First Round, but would go on to be swept by Batangas City in the Division Semifinals,
Lagets namn kommer från den filippinske nationalhjälten José Rizal, som var en framstående författare, poet och aktivist. "Golden Coolers" hänvisar till den gyllene färgen på Rizals hud och hans förmåga att hålla sig lugn och samlad under tryck.
Rizal Golden Coolers har ett starkt lag med en blandning av erfarna veteraner och lovande ungdomar. Några av lagets nyckelspelare inkluderar Jay-R Reyes, Paolo Pontejos, Chico Lanete och Larry Rodriguez.
Laget har haft framgångar sedan det grundades och nådde MPBL-finalen 2019. Rizal Golden Coolers är ett av de mest populära lagen i MPBL och har en stor fanskara i Rizal-provinsen och hela Filippinerna.