Davao Occidental Tigers–San Juan Knights rivalry

Davao Occidental Tigers–San Juan Knights rivalry
Teams
  • Davao Occidental Tigers
  • San Juan Knights
First meetingDecember 18, 2018 (MPBL)
Davao Occidental 87, San Juan 75
Latest meetingFebruary 29, 2024 (PSL)
Davao Occidental 75, San Juan 73
Next meetingJuly 29, 2024 (MPBL)
Statistics
Meetings total15
All-time series8–7 (Davao Occidental)
Longest win streakDavao Occidental W3
Current win streakDavao Occidental W1
Postseason history

The rivalry between the Davao Occidental Tigers and San Juan Knights has stretched across multiple leagues in the Philippines, most prominently in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, where the two teams met in the national finals twice in back-to-back seasons (2019 and 2021).[1] The two teams have also faced against each other in other leagues such as FilBasket and the Pilipinas Super League.

As of February 2024, the two teams have played against each other fifteen times, with the Tigers leading the series 8–7.

History

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Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League

[edit]

The rivalry began during the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League's 2018–19 season, when both the Davao Occidental Tigers and San Juan Knights joined as expansion teams. Their first regular season match-up came on December 18, 2018, at Rizal Memorial Colleges in Davao City, with the host Tigers winning the game 87–75. Both teams went on to finish the season with identical 20–5 records as they would meet in that season's national finals. The series went back-and-forth as both teams alternated wins leading to a game 5 at RMC. Heading into the final minute, Davao Occidental was leading by three points, but then Jhonard Clarito scored four consecutive points to give San Juan the lead with only eight seconds left. Emman Calo then attempted a two-point field goal that unfortunately missed, giving San Juan their first MPBL championship.

In the following 2019–20 season, their regular season match-up would come January 18, 2020 at the University of Southeastern Philippines. This time around, it was San Juan who won the game 84–65. Following, a one-year suspension of league play due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two teams would meet in a rematch for the national finals.[1] In game 4, with Davao Occidental leading 2–1, Mark Yee would make a three-pointer to give Davao Occidental the lead and eventually winning the championship, exacting their revenge against their rivals.[2][3]

Other leagues

[edit]
John Wilson is among the players who played for both Davao Occidental and San Juan.

In time for FilBasket's inaugural tournament, the 2021 Subic Championship, the Tigers would sign John Wilson, who won the 2020 MPBL Most Valuable Player award with San Juan. When both teams met in the elimination round on November 8, 2021, the game went to double overtime as Davao Occidental would win the game 120–115. Heading into the playoffs, both teams once again had identical records (7–3) and would even meet in the semifinals of the tournament. San Juan would win in the knockout game, 85–84, to advance to the finals.[4]

The Davao Occidental Tigers would join the Pilipinas Super League in 2022 for the Pearl of the Orient Cup. In the 2022–23 DUMPER Cup, multiple MPBL teams took part during the league's off-season, including the San Juan Knights, who competed as the San Juan Kings.[5] On February 9, 2023, both teams would play in their first professional meeting at RMC, with San Juan winning the game, 76–71. San Juan would go 15–0 while Davao Occidental went 12–3, marking the first time one team had the lead over the other. Both teams wouldn't meet in the playoffs, however, as the Tigers advanced to the finals while the Kings were eliminated in the semifinals by the Pampanga G Lanterns. Their most recent meeting came on February 29, 2024, in the PSL's 2023–24 President's Cup, with Davao Occidental beating San Juan yet again, 75–73.[6]

Annual finishes

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League Season Davao Occidental San Juan Series
W L PCT Playoff finish W L PCT Playoff finish
MPBL 2018–19 20 5 .800 Lost national finals 20 5 .800 Won national finals 3–3
2019–20 26 4 .867 Won national finals 26 4 .867 Lost national finals DVO 3–2
FilBasket Subic 2021 7 3 .700 Lost semifinals 7 3 .700 Lost finals 1–1
PSL 2022–23 12 3 .800 Lost finals 15 0 1.000 Lost semifinals SJ 1–0
2023–24 16 2 .889 Lost quarterfinals 13 5 .722 Lost semifinals DVO 1–0
MPBL 2024 To be determined To be determined TBD

Game summaries

[edit]
Legend
Davao Occidental win
San Juan win
Bold indicates home team
League Type Date Winning team Score Losing team Location Recap
MPBL Regular season December 18, 2018 Davao Occidental 87–75 San Juan Rizal Memorial Colleges Recap
Playoffs April 11, 2019 San Juan 84–74 Davao Occidental Davao City Recreation Center Recap
April 13, 2019 Davao Occidental 67–60 San Juan Rizal Memorial Colleges Recap
April 16, 2019 San Juan 67–62 Davao Occidental Filoil Flying V Centre Recap
April 22, 2019 Davao Occidental 77–66 San Juan Filoil Flying V Centre Recap
April 25, 2019 San Juan 87–86 Davao Occidental Rizal Memorial Colleges Recap
Regular season January 18, 2020 San Juan 84–65 Davao Occidental University of Southeastern Philippines Recap
Playoffs March 17, 2021 Davao Occidental 77–75 San Juan Subic Bay Gymnasium Recap
March 18, 2021 San Juan 70–65 Davao Occidental Subic Bay Gymnasium Recap
March 20, 2021 Davao Occidental 66–58 San Juan Subic Bay Gymnasium Recap
March 21, 2021 Davao Occidental 89–88 San Juan Subic Bay Gymnasium Recap
FilBasket Regular season November 8, 2021 Davao Occidental 120–115 San Juan Subic Bay Gymnasium Recap
Playoffs November 19, 2021 San Juan 85–84 Davao Occidental Subic Bay Gymnasium Recap
PSL Regular season February 9, 2023 San Juan 76–71 Davao Occiental Rizal Memorial Colleges Recap
February 29, 2024 Davao Occidental 75–73 San Juan Filoil EcoOil Centre Recap
MPBL July 29, 2024 To be determined Filoil EcoOil Centre

References

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  1. ^ a b "Davao Occidental advances to MPBL national finals vs San Juan by default". Inquirer.net. March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  2. ^ Lozada, Bong (March 21, 2021). "'Payback' as Davao Occidental wins MPBL national title, tops San Juan in OT". Inquirer.net. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  3. ^ Terrado, Reuben (March 21, 2021). "Still going strong at 39, Game 4 hero Mark Yee named Finals MVP". Sports Interactive Network. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  4. ^ "San Juan exacts revenge on Davao Occidental, reaches Filbasket finals vs AICC". Spin.ph. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  5. ^ "San Juan Knights, Davao Occidental join Pilipinas Super League". BusinessMirror. December 7, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  6. ^ "PSL: Davao Occi outlasts San Juan in battle of old rivals". Pinoystep. March 1, 2024. Retrieved March 1, 2024.