Filipino basketball rivalry
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). 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.
Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.
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. 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.
Other leagues.
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.
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. 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.
References.
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