The Rizal Golden Coolers (also known as the Rizal Golden Coolers-Xentromall 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 South Division. The team have its home games in Ynares Center Montalban.
The Rizal franchise 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.
The Golden Coolers are one of five teams based in Calabarzon.
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,
Home arenas The Rizal-based team's main arena is the Ynares Center Montalban, located in Montalban
Current roster
Head coaches Rizal Golden Coolers head coaches # Name Start End Achievements Ref. 1 2018–19 2018–19 — 2 2019–20 2019–20 — 3 2021 2021 — 4 2022 2023 — 5 2024 2025 — 6 2026 2026 — 7 2026 present —
Notable players Individual award winners
All-MPBL Second Team Eric Camson – 2025
MPBL All-Star Day
All-Star selections Marco Balagtas – 2019 Mark Benitez – 2020 Troy Mallillin – 2022, 2023 Jboy Gob – 2023 Eric Camson – 2025
PBA players
Ex-PBA players Chad Alonzo Philip Butel Philip Manalang Jolo Mendoza Billy Robles Mark Yee
Season-by-season records League champions Division champions Qualified for playoffs Best regular season record
Season Regular season Playoffs Division Finish GP W L PCT GB Stage ResultsRizal Crusaders2018–19 Datu Cup South 13th 7 18 13 Did not qualifyRizal Golden Coolers 2019–20 North 16th 6 23 19.5 Did not qualify 2022 South 6th 10 11 8 Division quarterfinals won vs. Sarangani, 2–0 2023 North 10th 12 16 14 Did not qualify 2024 North 8th 15 13 11 Division quarterfinals lost vs. San Juan, 0–2 2025 South 3rd 19 10 6 Division quarterfinals lost vs. Biñan, 0–2 2026 South 6th 16 9 5 Division quarterfinals TBD All-time regular season record 85 100 All-time playoff record 2 6 0 Finals appearances All-time overall record 87 106 0 championships
References