Push Admin

This Day in PBA History: SMB denies Purefoods Cinderella finish

Article (news)

Rey Joble

There’s a better reason why San Miguel was poised to spoil Purefoods from having a Cinderella Finish when the two glamorous squads met in the 1988 PBA Open Conference championship series.The series became even more compelling for various reasons.The core of the Purefoods squad which purchased the old Tanduay franchise was composed of the national team standouts – Alvin Patrimonio, Jojo Lastimosa, Jerry Codinera, Glenn Capacio and Jack Tanuan were members of the 1987 Philippine Team, which succeeded their predecessors from the old Northern Consolidated squad bannered by Samboy Lim, Hector Calma, Yves Dignadice, Franz Pumaren and Tonichi Yturri among others, who were all playing for the San Miguel Beermen.So when the Hotdogs barged their way to the championship round to face the Beermen, the more senior group was not ready to budge in from the challenge posted by their more junior counterparts.“Let’s put it this way, maski paano nagkaroon kami ng legions of fans,” said Pumaren. “Now, ito yung mga bagong aspirants na gustong pumasok. Mayroon silang glamour boys, mayroon kaming sariling glamour boys. Other than Ginebra, that was really the hype of the PBA, yung fan base ng dalawang teams na ito. Yun yung time namin sa ULTRA na halos every game noon, puno – San Miguel-Purefoods, Ginebra-Purefoods, San Miguel-Ginebra.”“But we’re not willing to surrender being the best in the PBA at that time.”And then, there’s the old rivalry between two of the best big men in the league at that time – Mon Fernandez, then the playing coach of Purefoods, and Abet Guidaben, the star center of San Miguel, who was the reigning MVP at that time.Guidaben was looking to equalize Fernandez’s three MVPs at that time, making the rivalry more fierce it brought back their long battles during the days of Crispa and Toyota.So when the two teams clashed in their first of the numerous championship battles they had in the PBA, the finals encounter was so intense.The more experienced Beermen gave the Hotdogs a reality check in playing for the championship as San Miguel dominated its counterpart, 129-116, as Ricardo Brown knocked in 31 points in the series opener. The Beermen took a 27-11 lead early and never looked back.In Game 2, reigning Best Import David Thirdill took matters into his own hands and pumped in 52 points, including seven of his team’s last nine points, to power the Hotdogs in evening up the series at 1-1 following a 107-101 victory.Purefoods even made it back-to-back and this time, it’s the rookie Lastimosa and Solis, who joined forces, allowing the Hotdogs to book a 96-88 triumph.Both teams traded victories in the next two games and when Purefoods moved on the cusp of completing a Cinderella Finish following a 103-97 win in Game 5, San Miguel blasted its rival, 105-85, to set up a rubber match.On this day, June 9, 1988, San Miguel was able to get the job done, winning 94-92, as the Beermen were able to limit the usually explosive Thirdkill to only 16 points.Looking back, Fernandez thought Thirdkill was a big letdown in the series that cost them the championship.“I was happy with the result, we came in runner-up kaagad with my new role as playing coach,” Fernandez said. “Natalo kami ng San Miguel at that time because David Thirdkill didn’t really perform to my expectations compared to the way he performed in Tanduay. Bumaba yung performance niya, so that’s one of the major reasons.”Black, Thirdkill’s counterpart, who was playing multiple roles as import, player and coach at the same time, felt they were able to do a great job stopping the player who brought Tanduay to winning the 1987 Open Conference crown while playing alongside Fernandez, Willie Generelao, Freddie Hubalde, JB Yango and Onchie dela Cruz, key players of the Rhum Makers, who also became an integral part of Purefoods’ first conference in the PBA.“When we were reinforced by the NCC players, we had a lot of talent and I was able to play with them during that time,” added Black. “It was really a big deal. These players were from the national team built by Mr. Danding Cojuangco, who was actually the one who hired me. I had a chance of playing with these guys for several years, including the 1988 Open Conference when we beat David Thirdkill, Mon Fernandez and Purefoods.”Patrimonio was not able to join Purefoods in its first conference in the PBA as he was still under contract with Swift in the PABL. He joined the Ayala-owned franchise in the All-Filipino, but for the four-time league MVP, it was one of the most difficult decisions he had to do at the early stage of his career.“Ang mindset ko talaga is sa All-Filipino na ako makakapasok,” said Patrimonio. “Syempre, maiisip mo rin na ‘dapat naglaro non, baka nakatulong ako sa team.’ Tapos, yung import, David Thirdkill, ang galing. Pero siguro, mayroong bigger purpose sa amin.”Solis, the starting point guard of the Hotdogs, considered it the one that got away for Purefoods.“Sa akin, dyan ako nanghihinayang sa mga championship series na hindi namin nakuha yung import namin si Thirdkill,” said Solis. “Naka 3-2 na kami, tapos last two games ang sama ng inilaro ng import namin. Doon ako nanghihinayang. Akala ko talaga makukuha na namin. Napakagaling na import yun, yun yung isa na hindi ko makalimutan na dapat nakuha namin.”