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Basketball: MPBL turns to history books, thinks out of the box for team names

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Dominic Menor, ABS-CBN News

<p>For a bunch of players that see themselves as underdogs, the gritty names of some of the teams in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League fit that “chip on their shoulders” attitude.</p><p>Some are outright spunky (Defenders, Patriots and Supremos), while others sound less edgy but feature a feisty backstory (Bandera, Capitals and Cagers).</p><p>Classic and Clutch sound bold, Kuyas distinctive, and Athletics clean and straightforward.</p><p>At a time when team names in other leagues are constrained by corporate sponsorship, the MPBL gets to go to town and be creative with their branding.</p><p>ABS-CBN News breaks down how each of the 10 Maharlika clubs fared naming themselves.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/02/15/b1.jpg"/><figcaption>Bataan Defenders. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><div><strong>Bataan Defenders</strong></div><p>World War 2 serves as the inspiration for the Bataan club, which pays tribute to Filipino bravery amid this dark time in history with the use of the moniker Defenders.</p><p>The name is a homage to the province&#x27;s all-important role in national history; it was there where Filipino soldiers tried to hold off Japanese forces, a battle that was eventually lost and signaled the imperialist invasion complete. The province’s fall notwithstanding, that resistance has become the ultimate symbol of never saying die.</p><p>In a much lesser scale of conflict, the Defenders on the hard court pertain to stopping teams from putting the ball inside a basket, so there’s a bit of a word play there that works, too. (Also, additional coolness points for its loose reference to a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h3m7B4v6Zc">superhero group</a>.)</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/02/15/b2.jpg"/><figcaption>Batangas Athletics. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><div><strong>Batangas Athletics</strong></div><p>This is a safe moniker, presumably one that’s inclined to promote a straightforward, fan-friendly image. It’s understandable, because shouldn’t that be something all sports teams and organizations aspire for, a brand that’s clean, harmless and tested? (A lot of baseball teams in North America use the same name, the most popular one being the Oakland franchise in the major league.)</p><p>But for people from the province who remember the Metropolitan Basketball Association days, it’s easy to have mixed emotions about this.</p><p>The Batangas Blades was an all-time hometown-nickname combination. Besides its alliterative property and being collectively pronounced in just 4 economical syllables, the name has an intense nature to it. </p><p>Athletics has a nice ring to it, yes, but when the subject of local sports names comes up, it’s difficult for a few old-school fans to let go of Batangas and its turn-of-the-century Blades and how good the name was.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/02/15/b3.jpg"/><figcaption>Bulacan Kuyas. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><div><strong>Bulacan Kuyas</strong></div><p>Instead of going with a hard-core name, Bulacan opted for something less in-your-face. And even though it doesn’t pump one’s adrenaline like crazy like the Supremos or Defenders, what the Kuyas name does is it makes a fan feel right at home, that they belong and together they’re family.</p><p>The moniker derives from the political brand of Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado, first district representative of Bulacan. (Look his name up on the House of Representatives website, and “kuya” is really part of <a href="http://www.congress.gov.ph/members/search.php?id=sy-alvarado">his official name</a>.)</p><p>As mentioned earlier, the league deserves credit for going out of the box and encouraging its teams to apply non-English monikers. Even though it sounds self-promotional, Bulacan’s team name gets high points for sticking to the native language and, in a way, fostering a spirit of siblinghood.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/02/15/b4.jpg"/><figcaption>Caloocan Supremos. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><div><strong>Caloocan Supremos</strong></div><p>This is no doubt the most kickass moniker of all the 10 teams.</p><p>The use of the term Supremo, Andres Bonifacio&#x27;s nom de guerre, attaches the Caloocan squad to the ultimate symbol of local-warrior mentality it even gets one&#x27;s nationalistic juices flowing just saying it. (Added points because it rolls off the tongue.)</p><p>While his surname is more associated now with the bright lights and capitalist excesses of that eponymous business and recreational complex in Taguig, Bonifacio “comes home” now to Caloocan, where his legend as leader of the Katipunan was born. </p><p>The fight the new Supremos are in for this year has far, far less at stake but, if they want to live up to their name&#x27;s origin, they need to bring an against-all-odds mindset game in, game out.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/02/15/b5.jpg"/><figcaption>Imus Bandera. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><div><strong>Imus Bandera</strong></div><p>Another name inspired by an important historical reference, this one was an easy pairing to make because the city, lest people are unaware, is the country&#x27;s acknowledged “flag capital.” (The synonymous Watawat sounds more dynamic, though.)</p><p>According to the official local-government <a href="http://www.imus.gov.ph/historical-sites-and-cultural-events/battle-of-alapan-site">website</a>, it is in Imus where the 3 Stars and the Sun “received its baptism of fire on May 28, 1898.” General Emilio Aguinaldo displayed the flag in public for the first time in Kawit, but had it not been for what is known as the Battle of Alapan in Imus, no such unfolding would have taken place.</p><p>Given that background, expect this out of the Imus squad -- its coaches and players would never consider raising the white flag.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/02/15/b6.jpg"/><figcaption>Muntinlupa Cagers. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><div><strong>Muntinlupa Cagers</strong></div><p>This is another proof that the league gets the value of using names with a double meaning.</p><p>The term “cagers” goes two ways -- it pertains to the basketball player, a term coined in the US that came about because games used to be played inside steel-fenced courts or cages. The other reference is tied up with the National Bilibid Prison on Sampaguita Road.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/02/15/b7.jpg"/><figcaption>Navotas Clutch. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><div><strong>Navotas Clutch</strong></div><p>A group of entities backing the club apparently collectively calls itself “Clutch,” although it doesn’t seem to be automotive-related.</p><p>Clutch, in sports parlance, is a moment in a game or match that calls for a player or team to produce a winning play despite being under duress. </p><p>The name doesn’t have a remarkable back story, but it’s solid nonetheless and gives off a cold-blooded, unyielding, we’re-all-business vibe. </p><p>Any team that deviates from the usual plural form of names and elects to go with an abstract noun deserves kudos, too.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/02/15/b8.jpg"/><figcaption>Parañaque Patriots. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><div><strong>Parañaque Patriots</strong></div><p>If people watched the Super Bowl of the National Football League recently, where the legendary New England Patriots lost, they’d figure where Parañaque lifted its name.</p><p>According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a patriot is someone who “loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests,” so the team follows the nationalistic theme, too.</p><p>First-district councilor Joan Villafuerte said Patriots ownership wanted to highlight the “makabayan” aspect of her city, so the name serves that purpose.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/02/15/b9.jpg"/><figcaption>Quezon City Capitals. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><div><strong>Quezon City Capitals</strong></div><p>This moniker may befuddle some, but it makes sense upon review of history 101.</p><p>For people who weren&#x27;t listening to their HeKaSi class, the big Q-C used to be the seat of the national government before it was transferred to Manila during President Ferdinand Marcos&#x27; term.</p><p>The moniker isn&#x27;t original, like the Patriots, seeing as said names are derived from North American teams (the Washington Capitals play in the National Hockey League).</p><p>It would&#x27;ve been more in line with the whole Maharlika theme if Quezon City had gone for a Tagalog name, such as “Makisig,” an homage to its virtue-inspired streets in Diliman which translates to “Brave” (as in Atlanta Braves, if the team wanted to have that connection with the big leagues in the US.)</p><p>Resorting to “Capitals” sounds safe, but there’s actually an underlying feistiness to it. </p><p>With QC symbolically retaking an identity that Manila rightfully owns, it’s as if the Capitals are on a mission to establish a new order, one that puts them ahead of everyone and second to none.</p><p>And who knows, this might entice Manila to put together a team of its own and challenge QC for the Big City bragging rights. A literal Manila Clasico? Count us in.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/02/15/b10.jpg"/><figcaption>Valenzuela Classic. <em>George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><div><strong>Valenzuela Classic</strong></div><p>The name doesn’t refer to a basketball-centric idea or historical moment connected with the city. Ownership said it adopted the name to mean “excellence of the highest order” and striving for it.</p><p>It’s offbeat, no doubt, and there’s some appeal in that, but its vagueness could leave people wondering what it represents. Perhaps along the way when the team emerges as a contender, the name recall will be snappier.</p><p>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.</p>

<p>The Caloocan Supremos, the Imus Bandera and the Bulacan Kuyas went for nontraditional names and they work.</p>

The Caloocan Supremos, the Imus Bandera and the Bulacan Kuyas went for nontraditional names and they work.

Basketball: MPBL turns to history books, thinks out of the box for team names

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Basketball: MPBL turns to history books, thinks out of the box for team names

Dominic Menor,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 15, 2018 11:29 AM PHT

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Updated Feb 15, 2018 05:27 PM PHT

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