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HISTORY
San Miguel is one of nine companies who
broke away from the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic
Association in
1975 due
to their dismay with the Basketball Association of the
Philippines. This led to the formation of the first professional
basketball league known as the PBA.
ROYAL TRU-ORANGE
In
their first PBA season, they were known as
Royal Tru-Orange, an orange juice soda of
their parent company
San Miguel
Corporation
under the
Coca Cola
brand. Royal finished third place in all three
conferences in
1975.
Royal
was bannered by center Manny Paner, forward
Estoy Estrada and point guard Yoyong Martirez.
Both Paner and Estrada made it to the Mythical
Team.
That
was the time when the team had two imports of
unlimited height playing together - these were
the 6'9 Otto Moore and the 6'7 Larry Pounds.
They faced Toyota in the Finals of that best of
five series which they won in four games. Moore
and Pounds were backstopped by a crew made up of
a lot of Visayan cagers like Tony Torrente,
Yoyong Martirez, Jess Migalbin, Salvador Ramas,
Melchor Ravanes plus a host of others like Rudy
Lalota, Leo Paguntalan, and Marlowe Jacutin. The
team was coached by ironically, future Toyota
coach Ed Ocampo.
Royal
Tru Orange was the second team in PBA history to
break the Crispa-Toyota stranglehold as far as
winning championships were concerned. The year
before, in 1978, UTex was the first team to do
so when they beat Crispa for the title.
SAN MIGUEL
BEERMEN
San
Miguel won the
1982
PBA Invitational tournament, defeating the
Crispa
Redmanizers
in three games with Tommy Manotoc as head coach.
Marte Saldana won Rookie of the Year honors that
year after coming over from the MICAA ranks. He
complemented well with Best Import Award winner
Norman Black and was instrumental in San
Miguel's winning its second championship in 1982
Invitationals against Crispa. Another Saldaña,
Antero or Terry of
Toyota
was also favored to win the Rookie of the Year
award but he instigated a free-for-all against
the national team of
South Korea
and by way of penalty, Terry Saldaña was taken
out of the Rookie of the Award race.
After
Manotoc left to coach Crispa for the
1983
season (which later resulted in a grandslam),
San Miguel (was also known as Gold Eagle Beer)
managed to win just one third place finish for
the next two seasons. In
1985,
Gold Eagle changed its name to Magnolia Quench
Plus, a product of an SMC subsidiary, but
despite the efforts of import Norman Black,
Magnolia failed to enter the championship chase.
DISBANDMENT
Magnolia
folded after the 1985 season,
this was due to the political
climate that happened at the
height of the first
EDSA Revolution,
which led to the ouster of
Ferdinand Marcos.
Chairman
Danding Cojuangco,
a well-known Marcos crony fled
the country.
Following
its disbandment, the former
Magnolia players were absorbed
by a new PBA team in
Alaska Milk
for the
1986
season. But the San Miguel
franchise emerged under the
Magnolia Cheese banner during
the final months of the season.
RETURN TO THE
LEAGUE
In
1985,
the famed Northern Consolidated team won several
international basketball tournaments with
Samboy Lim,
Allan Caidic
and
Hector Calma,
including the PBA Reinforced Conference. The NCC
team was funded by Cojuangco, but the program
was halted a year later due to the change in
government.
With
Magnolia's return in
1987,
the team absorbed Lim, Calma, Franz Pumaren,
Elmer Reyes, Yves Dignadice, Alfie Almario,
Franz Pumaren, Pido Jarencio from the core of
the NCC team. Magnolia's prized catch, however,
was former Crispa, Manila Beer and Tanduay
stalwart Abet Guidaben. Import Norman Black
began his coaching career at this time.
Magnolia finished third in the Open and
All-Filipino Conferences. By the Reinforced
tournament, the team reverted back to its old
name San Miguel Beer. While the Beermen would
later wear their traditional red and white
jerseys, they wore a green and white color
during the conference.
With
Bobby Parks as import, San Miguel was able to
win the conference and the franchise's first in
five years defeating the Hills Bros
Coffeemakers, led by the Bruise Brothers' trio
of Yoyoy Villamin and Ricky Relosa, in five
games.
Guidaben was named season
MVP
but not without controversy. Many people thought
that Villamin was more deserving than Guidaben.
GRAND-SLAM ERA
San
Miguel continued its winning ways in the
1988
season by winning the Open Conference that year.
After placing fourth in the next conference, San
Miguel traded Guidaben to
Purefoods
for
Ramon
Fernandez.
The trade was executed in the height of a
disagreement between Fernandez and Purefoods
management. Ricardo Brown was also added from
the squad after acquiring the former MVP from
Great Taste.
With
Fernandez, the Beermen regained won another
championship by defeating Anejo Rhum in the
finals of the Reinforced Conference. Fernandez
won his fourth and last
Most
Valuable Player Award.
In
1989,
San Miguel began one of the greatest seasons in
league history. The Beermen defeated
Shell
led by
Benjie Paras
and Ronnie Magsanoc in the Open Conference, 4-1.
In the All-Filipino Conference, San Miguel
defeated a young but hungry Purefoods team in
six games. At season's end, San Miguel completed
the PBA's third
grand slam
by trouncing
Robert
Jaworski's
Anejo Rhum
in five games with the enlistment of quality
imports Ennis Whatley and Micheal Phelps.
At the
time, San Miguel joined
Crispa
(1976,
1983)
as the only squads to win the coveted grandslam.
"El
Presidente" was a prime candidate to win his
fifth MVP, but Fernandez was denied by Paras,
who became the first and still the only player
to win the Rookie of the Year and
Most
Valuable Player awards
in the same season.
EARLY-1990's
San
Miguel went titleless for the next two seasons,
but in
1992,
San Miguel defeated Purefoods in seven games to
capture the All-Filipino Cup. Ato Agustin became
a star on the San Miguel lineup winning the
Most
Valuable Player Award.
However, some believe that
Swift's
Nelson Asaytono could have won it.
Following Presto's (formerly Great Taste)
disbandment in
1993,
San Miguel acquired shooter
Allan Caidic.
The trio of Agustin, Samboy Lim and Caidic in
1993 proved to the peak of San Miguel's
backcourt strength. It was during this time that
San Miguel's back court is the yard stick of all
PBA teams at that time.
San
Miguel won the Governor's Cup crown with Kenny
Travis as import. At this time, it was the
Beermen's 10th PBA title, surpassing
Toyota
for second on the all-time list.
1994 ASIAN GAMES
In
1994,
the league announced that the
winner of the All-Filipino Cup
would represent the
Philippines
in the forthcoming
Asian Games
in
Hiroshima.
San Miguel faced
Coney Island
for the championship, which the
Beermen won 4-2. However, with
several key San Miguel players
suffering from multiple
injuries, the team had no choice
but to add several players from
other PBA teams and in the
amateur ranks.
Alvin Patrimonio,
Jerry Codinera and Johnny
Abarrientos were among those
added to the mix. At one point,
San Miguel wore the national
team colors during the
Commissioner's Cup, only to lose
to Swift for third place.
At the
Asian Games, the SMB-led
national team failed to bag a
single medal by ending up in
fourth place behind
China,
Korea,
and
Japan.
Allan Caidic
was the Asian Games basketball
tournament leading scorer and
was named in the Asiad All-Star
Mythical Five Team.
After the
season, Fernandez announced his
retirement
from the PBA after a stellar 20
season career that spanned three
decades.
In
1995,
San Miguel was struggling to
maintain its ranks as among the
best teams in the league with
Sunkist
and
Alaska
were dominating at the time. But
San Miguel broke Sunkist's dream
of a grandslam by entering the
finals of the Governors Cup,
only to lose to Alaska in a
seven game showdown
MID-1990'S
DECLINE
San Miguel's
struggles would
continue in
1996,
the team
finished third
in the
All-Filipino
while nabbing
fourth in the
season-ending
Governors' Cup.
Early in the
year, San Miguel
traded Agustin
to Sunkist for
known-scorer
Nelson Asaytono.
The third
conference saw
the arrival of
Lamont Strothers
to the PBA.
After the
season, Norman
Black left the
team and became
the head coach
of Mobiline.
Replacing him
was former NCC
coach Ron
Jacobs.
Before the
1997
season ever
began,
controversy
surrounded the
hiring of Ron
Jacobs, due to
objections by
the Basketball
Coaches
Association of
the Philippines
(BCAP). The BCAP
believes that it
endangers the
chance of local
coaches to enter
the PBA. But,
Jacobs remained
coach of San
Miguel for the
league's 23rd
season.[4]
With San Miguel
in a sort of a
rebuilding mode,
Jacobs was able
to mold young
players like
Olsen Racela,
Mike Mustre as
well as veterans
Asaytono, "Mr.
Excitement" Bong
Alvarez,
Dignadice and
Art Dela Cruz
into a strong
team each
conference. San
Miguel won third
place in all
three
conferences of
the '97
campaign. The
Beermen failed
to enter the
finals in the
Commissioner and
Governors Cups,
respectively,
losing in two
do-or-die games
against Gordon's
Gin and
Purefoods. Jeff
Ward was the
import during
the second
conference while
Larry Robinson
played for SMB
in the third
conference.
Asaytono was a
candidate to win
the
Most Valuable
Player Award
but lost to
Purefoods'
Alvin Patrimonio.
In
1998,
San Miguel
drafted Noy
Castillo as the
second overall
pick in the PBA
Draft. But,
Castillo was
quickly shipped
to Shell in
exchange for
National
University
standout Danny
Ildefonso.
The Beermen made
a strong showing
in the
All-Filipino
Conference but
lost to Alaska
in the Finals in
seven games. In
the
Commissioner's
Cup, San Miguel
brought back
Strothers to
replace Jeff
Ward during the
tournament. SMB
made its return
to the finals
but was defeated
by Milkmen in
the rematch of
the All-Filipino
Cup, this time
in six games.
After the
conference,
Racela was
loaned to the
PBA Centennial
team. As
incentive, all
PBA teams were
allowed to hire
two imports for
the Governors
Cup. Strothers
and Robinson
teamed up for
San Miguel, but
with their
height
disadvantage
against other
teams, the
Beermen failed
to either win
the special
Centennial Cup
or the
season-ending
Governors Cup.
Ron Jacobs
resigned after
the season after
two seasons with
the Beermen. His
assistant coach
and former NCC
protégé Jong
Uichico took
over as coach.
LATE 1990'S CHAMPIONSHIP RUN
New coach Jong Uichico began his first season with San Miguel in 1999. As part of the PBA's new rule to allow each one direct-hire Fil-Foreigner, San Miguel acquired the services of Danny Seigle, younger brother of then Mobiline center Andy, to bolster the team along with former Pop Cola guard Boybits Victoria.
However, San Miguel struggled in the All-Filipino Cup and was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Formula Shell. One of their finest moments was during a match against Mobiline and star center Asi Taulava. San Miguel's 67-66 squeaker on Asaytono's two clutch free-throws handed the Phone Pals its first defeat after winning their first seven games.
In the Commissioner's Cup, San Miguel tapped former Mobiline import Terquin Mott. Mott, a known temperamental player during his first stint in the league, molded well with his local teammates as San Miguel was able to make a strong showing in the elimination round. San Miguel also part way with Asaytono, shipping him to Pop Cola for Nic Belasco and Dwight Lago. The Beermen upset the defending champion Alaska Milkmen in the semis to enter the Finals against All-Filipino winner Formula Shell with Benjie Paras and import John Best. San Miguel won the first two games of the series before Shell tied the series at 2-2. But the Beermen won the last two games to win their 12th PBA crown and their first in five years.
In the Governors' Cup, San Miguel brought back Strothers as the Beermen cruised into the Finals of the said tournament against Alaska. The Milkmen even led the series at 2-1 but San Miguel was able to win the last three games to win their second straight championship in six games.
Seigle was named as the Rookie of the Year at season's end and also threatened to beat Paras for the MVP plum, but the "Tower of Power" won the 1999 MVP.
San Miguel failed to win the 2000 All-Filipino Cup by finishing fourth in the tournament. The Beermen, however, defended the Commissioner's Cup trophy, with NBA veteran Stephen Howard on the lineup, defeating Sta. Lucia. In the Governors' Cup, with Strothers back, they defeated Purefoods in five games for their 15th PBA title.
Danny Ildefonso won his first Most Valuable Player Award at the end of the season.
In 2001, they were favorites to win the All-Filipino Cup and San Miguel did so to enter the finals against sister team Barangay Ginebra and prized rookie Mark Caguioa. After the series was tied at 2-2, SMB survived in overtime to win Game Five and blew out the Kings in Game Six to capture their first All-Filipino title in seven years.
San Miguel was now favored to win the grand slam, but the young Batang Red Bull Thunder upset SMB in the finals of Commissioner's Cup in six games while the Sta. Lucia Realtors, behind former SMB mentor Norman Black defeated his former club 4-2 in the season-ending Governors' Cup.
Ildefonso, meanwhile won his second consecutive MVP in 2001. Some observers though believe that it could have been Ildefonso or teammate Danny Seigle who deserves to win the award.
POST-CHAMPIONSHIP DECLINE
Ildefonso, Racela, newly-acquired Dondon Hontiveros, Seigle and coach Jong Uichico concentrated their time with the RP National team in the 2002 season. Meanwhile, San Miguel was left with only Dorian Pena and Boybits Victoria on the team.
San Miguel fielded in Strothers and later former NBA veteran Mario Bennett for the Governors' Cup. After the Beermen finished eighth in the elimination round, SMB upset the Talk N' Text Phone Pals in the quarterfinals but was eliminated by Alaska in the semi-finals and finished fourth in the tournament. Strothers announced his retirement after the tournament.
In the Commissioner's Cup, San Miguel took Shea Seals and Art Long as import. But the temperamental Long got into a dirty scuffle with Red Bull import Antonio Lang during a game despite San Miguel finishing in fourth after the elimination phase. Terquin Mott replaced Long before the end of the elims. After eliminating Coca-Cola in the quarters, Red Bull eliminated them in the semis before finishing third.
In the All-Filipino, San Miguel was decimated by Danny Seigle's injury with the national team. Racela, Ildefonso and Hontiveros returned for San Miguel but they were eliminated by Coca-Cola in the semis to finished third for the second-straight conference.
San Miguel returned for the 2003 on a bright note. After the elimination round of the All-Filipino, they finished first in Group A to qualify for the quarterfinals phase of the tournament. But the Beermen failed to enter the semis after finishing 1-2 in the single-round robin format.
Their great finish in the All-Filipino helped the Beermen qualify for the Invitational tournament, but San Miguel failed to advance to the semis.
In the first Reinforced Conference in more than a decade, San Miguel fielded in several lemon imports before settling on former Sta Lucia import Kwan Johnson. After a 0-5 start, San Miguel went 10-3 the rest of the way to enter the Finals, but lost in seven games to the Coca-Cola Tigers.
17TH TITLE
San Miguel was once again favorites to win for the 2004-2005 season. Art Long made his return as import for San Miguel in the Fiesta Conference, a transition tournament. Long and the Beermen powered its way to a 9-0 start before finishing the tournament in first place after the eliminations. But once again, San Miguel failed to enter the semis after a 1-2 record in the quarterfinals.
In the 2004-2005 Philippine Cup (formerly the All-Filipino Cup), the Beermen finished the classification phase with an even 9-9 record. In the quarterfinals, San Miguel swept the Sta Lucia Realtors in a three-game series. Then, the Beermen also swept Alaska in the quarterfinals. In the semis against sister rival Barangay Ginebra, the Beermen took a 2-1 series in the best-of-five affair but the Kings won the next two games to win the series, that capped with Rodney Santos' game-winner in the deciding game. The Beermen then beat Shell to cop third-place in the tournament.
Chris Burgess was San Miguel's import for the 2005 Fiesta Conference. San Miguel finished the classification phase in second place to gain an outright semi-finals berth. The Beermen eliminated Red Bull in the semi-finals to enter the finals against the Talk N' Text Phone Pals. Midway to the semis, Burgess was replaced by Ace Custis and became an effective replacement for San Miguel. With Danny Ildefonso regaining his form as well as veterans Olsen Racela, Dondon Hontiveros and Danny Seigle. The Beermen defeated the Phone Pals 4-1 to give the team its 17th PBA title in team history and ended its four year title drought. It was Jong Uichico's sixth PBA crown as coach
Credits: www.wikipedia.com
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