The Bataan Risers, also known as 1Bataan Risers-Camaya Coast for sponsorship reasons, are a Filipino professional basketball team based in the province of Bataan. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. They are one of four teams based in the Central Luzon region and play their home games at Bataan People's Center in Balanga.
The Bataan franchise began play in 2018 as one of the MPBL's charter teams, originally going by the Bataan Defenders before switching to its current name the following season. Since its founding, the team is owned by the Provincial Government of Bataan.[1]
Bataan joined the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League as one of the ten charter teams for the league's inaugural season. The Defenders were one of two Central Luzon teams at the time, the other being the Bulacan Kuyas. In their inaugural season, as the Bataan Defenders, the team barely made the playoffs as it shared a 2–7 record with the Imus Bandera, but was able to clinch the last spot as they beat Imus in their head-to-head matchup. The team was swept in the Quarterfinals to the eventual champion Batangas City Athletics.
For the 2018–19 season, the team changed its name to the Bataan Risers. Coincidentally, that season saw the team rise to the league's best record that season with a record of 23–2. After sweeping the Caloocan Supremos in the First Round, they would fall in an upset against the Manila Stars in the Division Semifinals.
In the 2019–20 season, Bataan made the playoffs for the third consecutive season but lost to the Pampanga Giant Lanterns in the First Round. The team then opted out of participating in the 2021 Invitational before returning in 2022. During the 2022 season, all of the team's home games were placed at Orion Sports Complex in Orion. where they made the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year, but once again lost to Pampanga in the First Round.
In the 2023 season, Bataan returned to the Bataan People's Center. It also saw the team host that season's All-Star Game. Bataan's race to the playoffs has been close, but unfortunately, they finished the season one game below .500 with a 13–15 record. Placing ninth in the North Division, Bataan missed the playoffs for the first time in the team's history, leaving the Batangas City Embassy Chill as the only founding member to never miss the playoffs.
Season-by-season records
This is a list of the last five seasons completed by Bataan. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Bataan Risers seasons.
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, PCT = Winning percentage
The Bataan franchise has played most of their home games at the Bataan People's Center in Balanga. This is where the team also hosted the 2023 MPBL All-Star Game. In 2022, the team played all of their home games that season in Orion Sports Complex in Orion.
