Bicol Volcanoes
- Alias
- Bicolandia Oragons
- Leagues Played
- Filipijnen - MPBL 60
- Links
- pilipinassuperleague.com Twitter Instagram YouTube Wikipedia
Wikipedia - Bicolandia Oragons
The Bicolandia Oragons, also known as Bicolandia Oragons–Shawarma Shack for sponsorship reasons, are a Filipino professional basketball team based in the Bicol Region. The team currently competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's South Division. They are the lone team in the Bicol Region and split their home games between the Ibalong Centrum for Recreation and the Albay Astrodome, both located in Legazpi, Albay.
Originally named the Bicol Volcanoes, the team was founded as one of six expansion teams for the league's 2019–20 season.
History
Founded in 2019, the Bicol franchise joined the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League as an expansion team for its 2019–20 season. The franchise was originally going to named the Albay Volcanoes, but changed its location identifier to Bicol to represent the entire region.
Led by ex-PBA cager Ronjay Buenafe, the Volcanoes finished with a 16–14 record, clinching the eighth seed in the playoffs. Bicol faced the first-seeded Davao Occidental Tigers in the First Round. The team won game 2 to tie the series, marking the first time that an 8-seed won a playoff game against a 1-seed. Unfortunately, Bicol would lose the deciding game 3 in overtime. Bicol was one of the 22 teams that took part in the 2021 Invitational. After finishing second place in Group B, the team would lose to Imus in the Quarterfinals.
After opting out of the 2022 season, the team returned for the succeeding 2023 season. The team would go on to win only one game in the 28-game season, which came against Mindoro in the 17th game.
On March 2, 2024, the team formally announced a name change to the Bicolandia Oragons, with Shawarma Shack as their main sponsor.
Het team ontleent zijn naam aan de iconische Mayon-vulkaan, een beroemd herkenningspunt in de provincie Albay. De naam "Vulkanen" is een weerspiegeling van de energie, kracht en vastberadenheid die het team op het veld toont.
Bicol Volcanoes staat onder leiding van ervaren coach Ato Agustin en bestaat uit een getalenteerde groep spelers, waaronder de voormalige PBA-sterren James Yap en Jay Washington. Het team heeft een aantal opmerkelijke prestaties neergezet, waaronder het winnen van de MPBL Southern Division-titel in 2019 en het bereiken van de MPBL-finale in 2020 en 2022.
Bicol Volcanoes geniet een sterke aanhang onder de basketbalfans in de Bicol-regio en daarbuiten. Het team is een bron van trots voor de lokale gemeenschap en staat bekend om zijn gepassioneerde en enthousiaste fans die bekend staan als de "Lava Boys."