Cebu Classic

Not to be confused with Valenzuela Classic.

Cebu Classic
League	MPBL
Founded	2018; 7 years ago (2018)
History	Cebu City Sharks 2018–2019 Cebu Sharks 2019 Cebu Casino Ethyl Alcohol 2019–2020 Cebu Classic 2025–present
Arena	Hoops Dome Southwestern University University of San Jose–Recoletos[1]
Location	Cebu, Philippines
Team colors
Head coach	To be announced

The Cebu Classic is a Filipino basketball team based in the Metro Cebu area. Having previously competed between 2018 and 2020 as an amateur team, the team will return for the 2025 season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League as a professional team. Historically, the team has played its home games across multiple venues across Metro Cebu.

The team began play in the 2018–19 season as the Cebu City Sharks, then renamed as the Cebu Sharks the following season.[2] The team most recently competed as the Cebu Casino Ethyl Alcohol, named after Casino Ethyl Alcohol from owners International Pharmaceuticals Incorporated.[3]

When the team rejoins the MPBL in 2025, it will once again be one of four teams based in Visayas and the lone team from the Central Visayas region.

History

2018–2020: First stint

The Cebu City Sharks were one of sixteen expansion teams in the 2018–19 MPBL season, as well as the first team based in Visayas. That season saw Cebu make the playoffs despite having a losing record, they eventually lost to the Davao Occidental Tigers. In the 2019–20 season, the team finished ninth, one game behind the eighth-place team in the South Division, the Bicol Volcanoes. The Cebu franchise also had an all-star selection in each of its first two seasons: Patrick Cabahug in 2019 and Will McAloney in 2020.

2025–present: Second stint

The Cebu franchise was mentioned as among the teams that were set to return for the league's 2023 season,[4] however its return did not materialize for unknown reasons. Two years later in 2025, another attempt at Cebu's return to the MPBL was first reported by journalist Snow Badua, stating from his source that the franchise was bought by new management and that it is "finalizing details” for its revival.[5]

Personnel

2019–20 roster

2019–20 Cebu Casino Ethyl Alcohol roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From G/F 0 Villoria, Kraniel 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 1995–07–14 Arellano G/F 5 Saycon, John Reel 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 1994–06–23 San Carlos G 9 Cortes, Harold (HG) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1986–11–09 Visayas G/F 10 Coronel, Jeff 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) UPHSD F/C 11 Octobre, Rhaffy (C) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1992–01–27 Visayas G 12 Nunez, Bongbong (HG) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 1995–04–12 USJ–R F/C 14 McAloney, Will (FF) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 216 lb (98 kg) 1993–09–01 San Carlos F 15 Galvez, Fletch 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 1996–10–12 USJ–R G 22 Mantilla, Jaybie 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 1996–02–11 Philippines C 25 Lao, Edrian 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 1988–02–25 Visayas G 27 Lee Yu, Joel (HG) 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 155 lb (70 kg) 1994–08–20 Far Eastern G 44 Dinolan, RJ (HG) 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 1996–06–18 USJ–R

Head coach Expedito Falcasantos Assistant coach(es) Carlos San Pedro Fermin Arvin Bryan Eclar Guinto Team manager Mark Castillo Legend (HG) Homegrown (FF) Filipino-foreigner (SGL) Special Guest Licensee (RS) Reserve player Injured [1]

Head coaches

Cebu Classic head coaches
#	Name	Start	End	Achievements	Ref.
1	Gilbert Castillo	2018	2018	—	[3]
2	Norberto Manalili	2018	2019	—	[6]
3	Expedito Falcasantos	2019	2020	—	[7]

Notable players

MPBL All-Star Day

All-Star selections

• Patrick Cabahug – 2019
• Will McAloney – 2020

Season-by-season records

	League champions
	Division champions
	Qualified for playoffs
	Best regular season record

Season	Regular season					Playoffs
	Division	Finish	W	L	PCT	Stage	Results
Cebu City Sharks
2018–19 Datu Cup	South	8th	11	14	.440	First Round	lost vs. Davao Occidental, 0–2
Cebu Casino Ethyl Alcohol
2019–20 Lakan Season	South	9th	15	15	.500	Did not qualify
Did not participate from 2022 to 2024
Cebu Classic
2025	TBA	To be determined				To be determined
All-time regular season record			26	29	.473	1 playoff appearance
All-time playoff record			0	2	.000	0 Finals appearances
All-time overall record			26	31	.456	0 championships

References

1. "Cebu raring to take on General Santos in MPBL home game this Saturday". Sun.Star. December 16, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
2. Panerio, Jonas Rey N. (May 27, 2019). "Sharks not just representing Cebu City, but the entire Cebu Province now". Cebu Daily News. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
3. Panerio, Jonas (May 22, 2018). "Cebu City Sharks excited over chance to play more home games in MPBL debut". Spin.ph. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
4. "MPBL welcomes Quezon Province, Negros Muscovados". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
5. Badua, Snow (February 12, 2025). "Greg Slaughter eyed as cornerstone of new Cebu team in MPBL". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
6. Panerio, Jonas Rey N. (May 27, 2019). "Cebu Sharks still 6 out of 10, says coach". Cebu Daily News. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
7. "New coach for Cebu". Sun.Star. September 10, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.