2021 FilBasket Subic Championship

2021 FilBasket Subic Championship

Tournament details
Country	Philippines
Dates	(2021-October-28) (2021-November-22)October 28 – November 22, 2021
Teams	11
Final positions
Champions	AICC Manila
Runner-up	San Juan Knights

The FilBasket Subic Championship, also known as the FilBasket Subic Championship – Cocolife due to sponsorship reasons, was the inaugural tournament under FilBasket, now known as AsiaBasket. It was also the only tournament held in 2021. The tournament began on October 28, 2021, with the playoffs running from November 16 to 21, 2021. The entire tournament took place at the Subic Bay Gymnasium, located in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

The tournament was won by AICC Manila after defeating the San Juan Knights, two games to one, with Hesed Gabo winning Finals MVP honors.^[1]

Subic 2021 is also the only FilBasket / AsiaBasket tournament that is not under professional status, but that in itself has been disputed before and in the months after the tournament began by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB).^[2]

Teams

Eleven teams participated in the inaugural FilBasket tournament:

Name	Locality
7A Primus	—
AICC Manila	—
Batangas City Athletics	Batangas City, Batangas
Burlington EOG Sports	—
Davao Occidental Tigers	Davao Occidental
FSD Makati Army	Makati
Medical Depot	—
Muntinlupa Defenders	Muntinlupa
Nueva Ecija Bespren	Nueva Ecija
Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors	Pasig
San Juan Knights	San Juan

Format

All participating teams played in a single round-robin format, where each team plays one game against all other teams, for a total of ten games.

The top eight teams then advanced to a three-round, single-elimination playoff bracket. The Quarterfinals gives higher-seeded teams a twice-to-beat advantage, needing them only one win to advance. The Semifinals is a single game while the Finals is a best-of-three series.^[3][4]

Elimination round

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	AICC Manila	10	8	2	.800	—	Twice-to-beat in Quarterfinals
2	Davao Occidental Tigers	10	7	3	.700[a]	1
3	San Juan Knights	10	7	3	.700[a]	1
4	Nueva Ecija Bespren	10	6	4	.600[b]	2
5	Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors	10	6	4	.600[b]	2	Twice-to-win in Quarterfinals
6	Medical Depot	10	6	4	.600[b]	2
7	Burlington EOG Sports	10	6	4	.600[b]	2
8	Batangas City Athletics	10	5	5	.500	3
9	7A Primus	10	2	8	.200[c]	6
10	FSD Makati Army	10	2	8	.200[c]	6
11	Muntinlupa Defenders	10	0	10	.000	8

Source: Standings – via Genius Sports
Notes:

1. Davao Occidental wins tiebreaker over San Juan by head-to-head victory.
2. Nueva Ecija (2–1) and Pasig (2–1) win tiebreaker over Burlington (1–2) and Batangas City (1–2) based on head-to-head standings; Nueva Ecija wins tiebreaker over Pasig by head-to-head victory; Burlington wins tiebreaker over Batangas City by head-to-head victory.
3. 7A Primus wins tiebreaker over FSD Makati by head-to-head victory.

Results

Teams	7AP	AICC	BTG	BUR	DVO	FSD	MED	MUN	NEB	PSG	SJK
7A Primus		108–117	75–82	79–102	83–86	84–79	72–86	84–74	92–95	53–80	59–81
AICC Manila			81–78	95–91	87–90	86–83	72–63	99–64	94–82	74–78	75–69
Batangas City Athletics				83–86	101–96	102–88	93–99	90–77	87–93	87–72	77–83
Burlington EOG Sports					76–69	105–85	80–94	103–67	97–74	58–72	69–77
Davao Occidental Tigers						82–69	70–58	108–50	73–74	68–66	120–115
FSD Makati Army							68–81	103–89	88–86	64–84	81–83
Medical Depot								85–70	76–79	65–78	69–67
Muntinlupa Defenders									91–96	70–101	66–92
Nueva Ecija Bespren										70–68	65–104
Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors											70–72
San Juan Knights

Source: Schedule – via Genius Sports
Legend: Blue = left column team win; Red = top row team win.
Matches with lighter background shading were decided after overtime.

Playoffs

Bracket

	Quarterfinals (Twice-to-beat)						Semifinals (Single game)					Finals (Best-of-3)
	1	AICC Manila	75	–
	8	Batangas City Athletics	65	–
							1	AICC Manila	88
							5	Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors	68
	4	Nueva Ecija	79	66
	5	Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors	99	79
												1	AICC Manila	74	74	72
												3	San Juan Knights	80	70	68
	2	Davao Occidental Tigers	88	–
	7	Burlington EOG Sports	81	–
							2	Davao Occidental Tigers	84
							3	San Juan Knights	85
	3	San Juan Knights	88	–
	6	Medical Depot	81	–

Quarterfinals

(1) AICC Manila vs. (8) Batangas City Athletics

November 16 4:30PM

Box Score

AICC Manila 75, Batangas City Athletics 65
Scoring by quarter: 23–21, 16–9, 14–14, 22–21
Pts: Gabo 16 Rebs: Mabulac 11 Asts: Bitoon 5		Pts: Viernes 20 Rebs: Arellano 9 Asts: Raymund 4
AICC wins series in one game

Subic Bay Gymnasium

(2) Davao Occidental Tigers vs. (7) Burlington EOG Sports

November 17 4:30PM

Box Score

Davao Occidental Tigers 88, Burlington EOG Sports 81
Scoring by quarter: 24–21, 17–19, 27–25, 23–16
Pts: Wilson 23 Rebs: Robles 14 Asts: Palencia 5		Pts: Castro 16 Rebs: Nermal 10 Asts: Castro 4
Davao Occidental wins series in one game

Subic Bay Gymnasium

(3) San Juan Knights vs. (6) Medical Depot

November 17 7:10PM

Box Score

San Juan Knights 88, Medical Depot 73
Scoring by quarter: 20–13, 18–11, 25–32, 25–17
Pts: Abundo 28 Rebs: Gamboa 7 Asts: Abundo 10		Pts: Cabahug 22 Rebs: two people 10 Asts: Melencio 4
San Juan wins series in one game

Subic Bay Gymnasium

(4) Nueva Ecija Bespren vs. (5) Sta. Lucia Realtors

November 16 7:10PM

Box Score

Nueva Ecija Bespren 79, Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors 99
Scoring by quarter: 20–25, 25–26, 19 –26, 15–22
Pts: Sarao 20 Rebs: Nacpil 10 Asts: Palma 9		Pts: Arana 25 Rebs: Arana 11 Asts: Costelo 9

Subic Bay Gymnasium

November 18 5:30PM

Box Score

Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors 79, Nueva Ecija Bespren 66
Scoring by quarter: 22–13, 18–13, 19–19, 20–21
Pts: Costelo 18 Rebs: Ablaza 12 Asts: Bautista 4		Pts: Sarao 14 Rebs: Sarao 10 Asts: Martin 5
Pasig wins series in two games

Subic Bay Gymnasium

Semifinals

(1) AICC Manila vs. (5) Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors

November 19 4:30PM

Box Score

AICC Manila 88, Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors 68
Scoring by quarter: 24–15, 25–17, 22–24, 17–12
Pts: Mabulac 15 Rebs: Taganas 8 Asts: Gabo 7		Pts: Apinan 14 Rebs: Apinan 11 Asts: Ablaza 4
AICC advances to the finals

Subic Bay Gymnasium

(2) Davao Occidental Tigers vs. (3) San Juan Knights

November 19 7:10PM

Box Score

Davao Occidental Tigers 84, San Juan Knights 85
Scoring by quarter: 15–16, 16–24, 27–22, 26–23
Pts: Celiz 20 Rebs: Robles 14 Asts: Robles 8		Pts: Wamar 26 Rebs: Ular 7 Asts: Abundo 7
San Juan advances to the finals

Subic Bay Gymnasium

Finals: (1) AICC Manila vs. (3) San Juan Knights

Game 1

November 20 6:00PM

Box Score

AICC Manila 74, San Juan Knights 80
Scoring by quarter: 14–15, 15–25, 30–18, 15–22
Pts: Gabo 22 Rebs: Mabulac 7 Asts: Gabo 4		Pts: Abando 17 Rebs: Clarito 11 Asts: Abundo 6
San Juan leads series, 1–0

Subic Bay Gymnasium

Game 2

November 21 6:00PM

Box Score

San Juan Knights 70, AICC Manila 74
Scoring by quarter: 16–11, 10–28, 19–15, 25–20
Pts: Abando 16 Rebs: two people 8 Asts: Abundo 7		Pts: Bitoon 13 Rebs: Mabulac 10 Asts: Manalang 3
Series tied, 1–1

Subic Bay Gymnasium

Game 3

November 22 6:00PM

Box Score

AICC Manila 72, San Juan Knights 68
Scoring by quarter: 20–17, 16–14, 18–12, 21–25
Pts: Mabulac 18 Rebs: Juico 8 Asts: Gabo 6		Pts: Abando 17 Rebs: Calma 13 Asts: Abundo 4
AICC wins the series, 2–1

Subic Bay Gymnasium

Hesed Gabo was declared as the Finals MVP of the tournament.

Statistical leaders

Category	Player	Team	Statistic
Points	Orlan Wamar	San Juan Knights	199
Field Goals	Emil Renz Palma	Nueva Ecija Bespren	72
3-Point Field Goals	Patrick Jan Cabahug	Medical Depot	36
Rebounds	Michael Mabulac	AICC Manila	133
Assists	Alvin Abundo	San Juan Knights	84
Blocks	Simon David Camacho	Medical Depot	39
Steals	Emil Renz Palma	Nueva Ecija Bespren	28

Professional status dispute

League organizers have stated that FilBasket at that time is amateur league and that there are plans to turn professional in future tournaments.^[5] This, however, has been disputed by the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), contending that FilBasket is a professional league hence it should fall under its jurisdiction.^[6] Although the organizers were able to push through with the Subic Championship, after the tournament concluded in November, the GAB issued a cease and desist order against FilBasket, once again contending the league's status and ruling the tournament as "unlawful".^[7][8]

Resolution

On January 19, 2022, the GAB declared it would not pursue legal action but noted that it will continue to monitor the league.^[9] FilBasket organizers then subsequently submitted its intention to start the transition to professional status, which would be granted on February 23, 2022, in time for the league's next tournament: the 2022 Summer Championship.^[10][11]

References

1. "Highlights | The Filbasket Subic Championship (2021)". YouTube. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
2. "The Best of Filbasket / Asiabasket". YouTube. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
3. "FULL GAME: AICC Manila vs Davao Occidental Tigers". FilBasket. 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
4. "Printable Round Robin Tournament Brackets". www.printyourbrackets.com. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
5. Rosale, Dale (October 27, 2021). "FilBasket kicks off Thursday". Cebu Daily News. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
6. Mendoza, Martin (October 25, 2021). "Filbasket clears up GAB issue, to push through with inaugural tournament". Rappler. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
7. Navarro, June (November 23, 2021). "GAB issues cease and desist order vs Filbasket". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
8. Ramos, Gerry (January 14, 2022). "GAB fires warning after Filbasket's maiden tournament ruled 'unlawful'". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
9. Henson, Joaquin (January 20, 2022). "FilBasket case closed, says Mitra". The Philippine Star. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
10. Li, Matthew (February 22, 2022). "Filbasket, Super League begin process of turning pro". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
11. Ramos, Gerry (February 23, 2022). "Filbasket eyeing March 15 opener for first tourney as pro league". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved February 24, 2022.