Batangas Blades  The Batangas Blades (or the LBC-Batangas Blades) were a professional basketball team of the now-defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association from 1998 to 2002. Its moniker was taken from the province's popularity in making Balisong (a Filipino-made knife). It also played for a short time in the Philippine Basketball League after the MBA folded in 2002. The team played its home games at the De La Salle Lipa SENTRUM from 1998 to 2001 and at the Lipa City Convention Center in 2002. The PBL version of the Blades also played a number of games at both venues. To compensate the loss of the Manila Metrostars after both clubs' merger, the Blades played a few home games in Manila's Mail and More Sports Complex (now San Andres Gym). In 1998, the Metropolitan Basketball Association was formed as a regional-based professional league which also challenged the commercial Philippine Basketball Association. The Blades were paraded in their first season by former Adamson Falcons players Eddie Laure, Dennis Madrid, former La Salle Green Archer and part-time comedian Maui Roca and Jeffrey Sanders. The Blades were owned by delivery giant LBC of Santi Araneta. Laure became the Blades' star player but the team had a disappointing 10-12 win-loss slate despite a late push for the playoffs. Despite Ralph Rivera and Fil-Am Stephen Antonio's arrival in 1999, the Blades went 12-18 and lost in three games to the San Juan Knights in the Northern Conference Wild-Card series. In 2000, Batangas missed the playoffs with a 12-14 record. In 2001, the Blades and the 1999 MBA National Champion Manila Metrostars were merged into a single team, retaining the Batangas Blades name. With the merger, the team became a stronger squad with Eddie Laure, Jeffrey Sanders and Metrostar superstars 2000 MBA MVP Rommel Adducul and Alex Compton. They also added LBC to its team name, making it the LBC-Batangas Blades. The Blades became the team to beat in the Northern Conference, compiling an 11-3 win-loss record in the first phase of the MBA season, but lost to the Andok's-San Juan Knights in the playoffs. During the second phase of the tournament, which was for the MBA National Championship, the Blades recorded another 11-3 record but this time edged the Knights 3-1 in the Northern Finals to enter their first finals appearance in history. The Blades defeated the Negros Slashers, 3-1 to win their first MBA national title.