Valenzuela City Darkhorse
 | This article needs more citations. (January 2024) |
| Valenzuela City Darkhorse | |
|---|---|
 2026 Valenzuela City Darkhorse season | |
| League | MPBL |
| Founded | 2017 |
| History | Valenzuela Classic 2018–2019, 2024 Valenzuela Idol Cheesedogs 2018 Valenzuela SPV TOP Marketplace 2019 Val City Carga Backload Solution 2019–2020 Valenzuela MJAS Zenith 2021 Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. 2022–2023 Val City Magic 2025 Valenzuela City Darkhorse 2026–present |
| Arena | WES Arena |
| Location | Valenzuela |
| Team colors | |
| Head coach | Estong Ballesteros |
The Valenzuela City Darkhorse is a Filipino professional basketball team based in Valenzuela. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. The team plays its home games at WES Arena.
The team joined as the Valenzuela Classic in 2018 as one of the league's charter teams and has gone under multiple names, mostly integrating the title sponsor.[1] The team is currently owned by the local government of Valenzuela. The Valenzuela-based franchise also took part in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 and also has a Maharlika Pilipinas Volleyball Association counterpart, the Valenzuela Classy.
The Valenzuela franchise is one of two teams based in the Northern Manila District of Metro Manila, the other team being the Caloocan Batang Kankaloo.
History
[edit]The Valenzuela Classic were one of the MPBL's ten charter teams, one of six based in Metro Manila, and one of three Valenzuela finished as one of three teams with a 6-3 record, claiming the fourth seed in the playoffs. They beat the Quezon City Capitals in the Quarterfinals before losing to the first-seeded Batangas City Athletics.
In the 2018–19 season, the team went 10-15, failing to make the playoffs as they ranked 10th in the North Division. In the following season, the team ranked at 10th once again with a record of 11-19.
Valenzuela then participated in the 2021 Invitational and failed to make the playoffs, ranking third in Group C after finishing 2-2. In the 2022 season, the team began playing home games at the Bahayang Pag-asa Sports Complex. The team finished 10-11, one game short of a winning record. Despite the losing record, the team still made the playoffs as the sixth seed, but were swept by the San Juan Knights in the First Round.
Home venues
[edit]Through the history of the Valenzuela franchise, it has only used one venue per season. They first started at the Valenzuela Astrodome from 2018 to 2020, followed by the Bahayang Pag-asa Sports Complex in 2022, and currently the WES Arena since 2023.
| Venue | Location | Capacity | 2018 | 2018–19 | 2019–20 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
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| Valenzuela Astrodome | Valenzuela | 3,000 |  |
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| Bahayang Pag-asa Sports Complex | N/A | |
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| WES Arena | N/A | |
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Personnel
[edit]Current roster
[edit]| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Updated as of: June 22, 2026 |
Head coaches
[edit]| Valenzuela City Darkhorse head coaches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Start | End | Achievements | Ref. |
| 1 | Chris Gavina | 2018 | 2018–2019 | — | |
| 2 | Eric Samson | 2018–2019 | 2018–2019 | — | |
| 3 | Juven Formacil | 2018–2019 | 2018–2019 | — | |
| 4 | Gerry Esplana | 2019 | 2019 | — | |
| 5 | Ronjay Enrile | 2019 | 2021 | — | |
| 6 | Aldrin Morante | 2022 | 2022 | — | |
| 7 | Lester Alvarez | 2022 | 2022 | — | |
| 8 | Jhon Velasquez | 2023 | 2023 | — | |
| 9 | Eric Martinez | 2023 | 2023 | — | |
| 10 | Aldrin Morante | 2024 | 2024 | — | |
| 11 | Raymond Valenzona | 2025 | 2025 | — | |
| 12 | Estong Ballesteros | 2026 |
current |
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Notable players
[edit]MPBL All-Star Day
[edit]PBA players
[edit]
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- CJ Payawal – 28th overall, 2024
Season-by-season records
[edit]Note: Statistics are correct as of the end of the 2025 MPBL season.
| League champions | |
| Division champions | |
| Qualified for playoffs | |
| Best regular season record |
| Season | League | Division | Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Played | Wins | Losses | Win % | GB | Round | Results | |||
| Valenzuela Classic | ||||||||||
| 2018 Rajah Cup |
MPBL | — | 4th | 9 | 6 | 3 | .667 | 2 | Quarterfinals Semifinals |
won vs. Quezon City, 2–1 lost vs. Batangas City, 0–2 |
| 2018–19 Datu Cup |
MPBL | North | 10th | 25 | 10 | 15 | .400 | 13 | Did not qualify | |
| Val City Carga Backload Solution | ||||||||||
| 2019–20 Lakan Season |
MPBL | North | 10th | 30 | 11 | 19 | .367 | 15 | Did not qualify | |
| Valenzuela XUR Homes Realty Inc. | ||||||||||
| 2022 | MPBL | North | 6th | 21 | 10 | 11 | .476 | 11 | Division quarterfinals | lost vs. San Juan, 1–2 |
| 2023 | MPBL | North | 15th | 28 | 3 | 25 | .107 | 23 | Did not qualify | |
| Valenzuela Classic | ||||||||||
| 2024 | MPBL | North | 10th | 28 | 14 | 14 | .500 | 12 | Did not qualify | |
| Val City Magic | ||||||||||
| 2025 | MPBL | North | 11th | 29 | 7 | 22 | .241 | 21 | Did not qualify | |
| Valenzuela City Darkhorse | ||||||||||
| 2026 | MPBL | North | Ongoing season | Currently in playoff contention | ||||||
| Regular season record | 170 | 61 | 109 | .359 | 2 playoff appearances | |||||
| Playoff record | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 | 0 finals appearances | |||||
| Cumulative record | 177 | 63 | 114 | .356 | 0 championships | |||||
References
[edit]- ↑ Leongson, Randolph (22 January 2018). "Maharlika basketball league tips off Thursday with 10 teams at Big Dome". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
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