Barako Bull Energy Boosters
Barako Bull Energy Boosters | |||
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Fiesta
5 Finals Appearances PBL (1):*1996 All-Filipino Cup | |||
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The Barako Bull Energy Boosters were a professional basketball team of the Philippine Basketball Association owned by the Photokina Marketing Corporation. They entered the league in 2000 after a successful stint in the semi-professional Philippine Basketball League during the late 1990s under the name Agfa Color where the team won a championship in 1996. It was originally known as Red Bull Barako before the team announced its name change.
Barako Bull has won two Commissioner's Cups, in 2001 and in 2002 and the 2006 Fiesta Conference.
The franchise took a leave of absence after the
History
Philippine Basketball League
Photokina Marketing joined the Philippine Basketball League during the mid-90s. They played under the name Agfa Color in the early days of their PBL stint. Once, they had San Miguel player Danny Ildefonso as one of their players along with his NU Bulldogs teammate Lordy Tugade and Jonas Mariano coming back from a knee injury with Ginebra the year before.
It also saw the talent of
Agfa Color/Red Bull would always fall short of a title as Tanduay won several PBL championships at their expense. In 1999, they were among the best teams in the league but would lose to Welcoat Paints in the finals of Challenge Cup. In October, the PBA announced that Red Bull was accepted as the 10th member of the league beginning in the 2000 season.
Batang Red Bull Energizers
The franchise played their first PBA season as the Batang Red Bull Energizers. Red Bull was allowed to take six players from their PBL team and took Kerby Raymundo, Davonn Harp, Lordy Tugade, Jimwell Torion, Junthy Valenzuela and Bernard Tanpua. PBL Commissioner Yeng Guiao, a former PBA coach, resigned his post to join Red Bull as coach in the PBA. They also got Ato Agustin from the expansion pool.
After losing their opening game in the
In the Commissioner's Cup, Jack Hartman became Red Bull's first import but failed to show anything promising for Batang Red Bull which failed to enter the quarters once again. Before the end of the tournament, the Energizers get Raymund Tutt as replacement. Tutt scored 56 points in his PBA debut, which still stands today as the highest points scored by a Red Bull player in a single game.
Red Bull Thunder: Championship era
Tutt returned for the 2000 Governors Cup, and the renamed as the Batang Red Bull Thunder made a strong showing to finish in third place at the end of the tournament, their first trophy in the league. Davonn Harp was named Rookie of the Year at the end of the season.
During the
In 2001, Red Bull finished seventh in the All-Filipino Conference and met eventual champion San Miguel Beermen in the quarterfinals. With the Thunder needing to win twice to advance to the semis, Batang Red Bull shocked the Beermen winning the first game by double-figures, but lost in the deciding game capped off by Danny Seigle's three-pointer to seal SMB's win.
Former Duke University and NBA standout Antonio Lang bannered the Thunder in the Commissioner's Cup. After a sub-par performance in the tournament opener, Lang proved to be the right import for Red Bull. The Thunder advanced to their first finals appearance against the mighty San Miguel Beermen. Red Bull took the first two games of the series behind strong performances by Lang and Harp. The Beermen later tied the series at 2–2 in a physically intense battle that saw several suspensions on the Red Bull side. But in Game five, Red Bull won 79–77 after a potential game-tying basket by San Miguel import Nate Johnson was blocked from behind by Miller with no time left. In Game six, Lang recovered from a four-point outing in Game five to lead Red Bull to their first PBA championship. Lang was also named as Best Import of the Commissioners Cup.
In the Governor's Cup, Tutt returned for the team in hopes of claiming back-to-back title, but the Thunder was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Harp was loaned by Red Bull to the national team in 2002. The Thunder was eliminated by eventual champion Purefoods in the quarterfinals.
In the Commissioner's Cup, Harp returned for Batang Red Bull along with
Red Bull's hope for a second title was denied in the All-Filipino as Alaska booted them out in the semis.
In 2003, The Thunder used their first round pick to select 2002
Batang Red Bull renamed the team as Red Bull Barako for the Invitational tournament. They managed to enter the semis but was defeated by Alaska in a one-game showdown.
After a 1–2 start in the Reinforced Conference, the Barakos hired former
Red Bull made its third Finals appearance in 2004, losing to eventual champion Barangay Ginebra in the transitional tournament dubbed as the 2004 Fiesta Conference. The Barakos fielded in six imports during the said conference but its last import Victor Thomas won Best Import honors.
During the
But the event paved the way for guys like Tugade, Valenzuela and Enrico Villanueva to shine as Red Bull recovered to place fourth in the 2005 Fiesta Cup. The former Ateneo center won the Most Improved Player honors.
Red Bull Barako: Back-to-back Finals appearances
Red Bull became somewhat of a flashback to the
The Bulls won their third PBA title during the
During their title run, the Bulls replaced import Quemont Greer in place of a more team-oriented James Penny at the start of the quarterfinals. Red Bull swept Alaska in the quarterfinals while surviving a seven-game tussle with crowd-favorite
The championship gave Yeng Guiao his fifth PBA title, tying former
Before the Philippine Cup, Red Bull acquired the services of another former Atenean, Rich Alvarez, from Alaska. While the Bulls were highly favored to win the title, they started the tournament with a 3–6 record. However, they won six of their final seven games to finish with a 9–7 win–loss card in the classification phase, clinching an outright quarterfinals berth.
Red Bull survived a five-game clash with rival Barangay Ginebra in the quarterfinals. This was after the crowd-favorite Kings led the series 2–1, but the Bulls won the last two games by a combined margin of more than 50 points. The Bulls faced the San Miguel Beermen in the semifinals when controversy struck the Bulls, after they staged a mini-walkout during Game Four of their series. They eventually returned to the court and lost by double figures. This led to a 400,000 peso fine on the team, 100,000 on head coach Yeng Guiao, 6,000 for player Lordy Tugade and 1,000 for a member of the team's personnel.
However, Red Bull managed to beat San Miguel Beer in seven games after a buzzer-beating shot by Junthy Valenzuela to seal a two-point victory for the Bulls, setting up a rematch of the Fiesta Conference finals series against
The Bulls: Semifinal eliminations
The Bulls had only one pick in the
The Barakos also added former Shell Turbo Charger Carlo Sharma into their line-up during the off-season. The addition of Sharma gave the Barakos, who only has main man Enrico Villanueva as its legitimate low-post threat, additional ceiling and inside presence.
In the Philippine Cup, Red Bull placed third after the elimination round with an 11–7 win–loss card and an outright quarterfinals berth in which they defeated the Sta. Lucia Realtors, 3–1. In the semifinals, Red Bull lost against the San Miguel in seven games that highlighted by several physical encounters by both teams during the series.
Red Bull gained the top seed in the Fiesta Conference but dealt
With Red Bull debuting an updated version of their logo in 2007, the Barakos continued their semifinal qualification streak, finishing fourth in the eliminations of the
Although the Barakos posted an identical 11–7 card in the
Prior to the 2008–09 season, they lost
Barako Bull Energy Boosters: Leo Isaac at the helm
The newly christened Barako Bull Energy Boosters, with team manager
Despite the new name, coach, signings and image, the team floundered in the import-laden
Team manager
2010–11: Financial woes and disbandment
Philippine Cup
At the start of the 2010–11 season, they hired
Leave of absence
On January 20, 2011, the management of the Energy Boosters announced that they will take a leave of absence for the upcoming
Financial problems
Barako Bull was in the financial binge since 2009 after team management admitted that they are having difficulties in making the payroll of the team.[9] The team even requested for a co-sponsorship with Harbour Centre for the duration of the 2010 Fiesta Conference to ease their financial difficulties.[10] Alex Crisano and John Arigo even escalated the issue regarding their delayed salaries to then Commissioner Sonny Barrios.[11] After Crisano went public with his accusations, team management did not renew his contract after the 2009–10 season ended and had difficulty in getting his back pay.[12] Current members also expressed their grievances that their salary and their bonuses were not yet paid since December 2010, with some players as late as August 2010. Commissioner Chito Salud gave guidelines to Barako Bull for them to pay their standing obligations with the team members in lump sum.[11]
Attempted sale to Phoenix Petroleum
In March 2011,
Sale of franchise to Lina Group
Another buyer, the Lina Group of Companies, which also owns the
Final roster
This was the final roster used by the franchise:
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Season-by-season records
- Records from the last 3 seasons:
Season | Conference | Elim./Clas. round | Playoffs | ||||
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Finish | W | L | % | Stage | Results | ||
Red Bull Barako | |||||||
2007–2008 |
Fiesta Conference | 2nd | 11 | 7 | .611 | Semifinals 3rd-place playoff |
Barangay Ginebra 4, Red Bull 0 90*
Red Bull 102, Magnolia |
2008–2009 |
Philippine Cup |
10th | 5 | 13 | .278 | Did not qualify | |
Barako Bull Energy Boosters | |||||||
2008–2009 |
Fiesta Conference | 10th | 2 | 12 | .143 | Wildcard phase | Rain or Shine** 96, Barako Bull 88 |
2009–2010 |
Philippine Cup |
10th | 3 | 15 | .167 | Did not qualify | |
Fiesta Conference | 10th | 3 | 15 | .167 | Did not qualify | ||
2010–2011 |
Philippine Cup |
10th | 3 | 11 | .214 | Did not qualify | |
Elimination/classification round | 27 | 73 | .270 | 3 post-wildcard appearances | |||
Playoffs | 4 | 8 | .333 | 0 championships |
*one-game playoffs
**team had twice to beat advantage
Awards
Individual awards
PBA Most Valuable Player | Finals MVP | PBA Best Player of the Conference |
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PBA Rookie of the Year Award | PBA All-Defensive Team | PBA Mythical First Team |
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PBA Mythical Second Team | PBA Most Improved Player | PBA Sportsmanship Award |
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PBA Best Import | ||
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PBA Press Corps Individual Awards
Executive of the Year | Baby Dalupan Coach of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year |
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Bogs Adornado Comeback Player of the Year | Mr. Quality Minutes | All-Rookie Team |
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All-Star Weekend
All Star MVP | Obstacle Challenge | Three-point Shootout | Slam Dunk Contest |
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Notable players
PBA's 25th anniversary all-time team
- Ato Agustin – one of the selected players from the expansion draft in 2000; played for Red Bull from 2000 to 2001
- Vergel Meneses – played for Red Bull in the 2004–05 season
Other notable players
- Nelson Asaytono – played for Red Bull from 2002 to 2006
- Lowell Briones – played in 2001 for the team
- Glenn Capacio – selected from the expansion draft in 2000; played in the 2000 season. Current Head Coach of Global Port Batang Pier on the PBA
- Davonn Harp – selected from the PBL squad; played for team from 2000 to 2004 before leaving the country due to citizenship issues
- Noli Locsin – played for Red Bull in 2002
- Vince Hizon – played from 2001 to 2004
- Willie Miller– the first player to be selected first overall in the draft by franchise history; played from 2001 to 2003 and won the 2002 PBA Most Valuable Player Award.
- Kerby Raymundo – selected from the PBL squad; played for the team from 2000 to 2002.
- Lordy Tugade – part of the 2005–06 Fiesta Conference champion team where he was awarded the Finals MVP.
- Jimwell Torion – selected from the PBL squad; played for team from 2000 to 2006
- Enrico Villanueva – played for team from 2003 to 2007; won Best Player of the Conference and Most Improved player honors during his Red Bull stint.
- Larry Fonacier – played for team from 2005 to 2007 and was the 2005–2006 Rookie of the Year.
- Junthy Valenzuela – played from 2000 to 2008
- Mick Pennisi – played from 2000 to 2008; the last player from the original lineup to play for the team before being traded.
- Rich Alvarez – played from 2005 to 2008
- Cyrus Baguio – played from 2003 to 2008
- Celino Cruz – played from 2003 to 2008
- Carlo Sharma – played from 2005 to 2009
Imports
- Thaddeus Delaney – franchise's first-ever import in the 2000 Commissioners Cup
- Jack Hartmann – import in the 2000 Commissioners Cup
- Raymund Tutt – played for Red Bull in 2000 and 2001 seasons; holds franchise record of 56 points in one game
- Antonio Lang – played for Red Bull in 2001 and 2002 seasons; led Red Bull to the 2001 Commissioners Cup titles and was named as the Best Import of the said tournament
- Joseph Bunn– played for Red Bull in 2002
- Julius Nwosu – played for Red Bull in 2002; led the team to the 2002 Commissioners Cup title
- Sean Lampley – played for Red Bull in 2002
- Scott Burrell – played for Red Bull in 2003; led the team to 10th straight wins upon his arrival
- Victor Thomas – played for Red Bull in 2004; named Best Import of the 2004 Fiesta Conference
- Dalron Johnson – played for Red Bull in the 2005 Fiesta Conference
- Earl Barron – played for Red Bull in the 2005 Fiesta Conference before joining the Miami Heat in the 2005–06 season
- Quemont Greer – played for Red Bull in the 2005–06 Fiesta Conference
- James Penny – replaced Greer in the 2005–06 Fiesta Conference, led the team to the title
- Adam Parada – played for Red Bull in the 2008 PBA Fiesta Conference
- Cornelius McFadgon – played for Barako Bull in the 2009 PBA Fiesta Conference
- Sammy Monroe – played for Barako Coffee in the 2010 PBA Fiesta Conference
Coaches
PBL
PBA
- Yeng Guiao (2000–2009)
- Leo Isaac (2009–2010)
- Junel Baculi (2010–2011)
References
- ^ "Barako Bull won't return to PBA". ABS-CBN News. March 17, 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
- Manila Standard Today, September 4, 2010
- ^ Taulava joins Meralco in 5-player, 3-team trade, GMANews.TV, September 22, 2010.
- ^ ASI MAKES NEWCOMER MERALCO SERIOUS CONTENDER, PBA.ph, September 24, 2010
- ^ Powerade gets additional future pick on Taulava trade, Rey Joble, GMANews.tv, September 26, 2010.
- ^ Barako Bull applies for leave of absence Archived February 9, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Musong R. Castillo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, January 20, 2011
- ^ OWNERS OKAY SMART GILAS FOR 2ND CONF, TELECAST STAYS ON VHF, D-LEAGUE A GO, PBA.ph, January 25, 2011
- ^ Barako 3rd PBA franchise to fold up in last 6 years, GMA News Online, March 20, 2011.
- ^ CHUA COMMITS, BARAKO BULL HERE TO STAY InsideSports.ph, July 29, 2009
- ^ PBA OKs Harbour Centre-Barako Bull ‘jersey deal’ Archived March 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Musong R. Castillo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, March 6, 2010
- ^ a b PBA commissioner wants Barako players paid in lump sum, Rey Joble, GMANews.tv, February 2, 2011
- Joaquin Henson, The Philippine Star, January 14, 2011
- ^ Phoenix needs PBA board's approval for purchase of Barako, GMA News Online, March 1, 2011
- ^ Almost, but not quite: No Phoenix Petroleum in pro league — for now, Rey Joble, GMA News Online, March 29, 2011
- ^ Phoenix Petroleum’s PBA entry a big concern for San Miguel, Rey Joble, GMA News Online, March 14, 2011
- ^ Air21 acquires Barako franchise, Musong Castillo, Philippine Daily Inquirer, June 9, 2011
- ^ Barako’s sale to Air21 needs 7 votes from PBA Board members, Rey Joble, GMA News Online, June 15, 2011
- ^ PBA has new broadcast partner for 37th season, GMA News Online, July 8, 2011
Awards and achievements | ||
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Preceded by | PBA Commissioner's Cup Champions 2001–2002 |
Succeeded by Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters |
Preceded by | PBA Fiesta Conference Champions 2005–2006 |
Succeeded by |