1986 Tanduay Rhum Makers season

1986 Tanduay Rhum Makers season
Head coachArturo Valenzona
Owner(s)Elizalde and Company
Reinforced Conference results
Record16–8
(66.7%)
Place1st
Playoff finishChampion
All Filipino Conference results
Record12–4
(75%)
Place1st
Playoff finishChampion
Open Conference results
Record9–15
(37.5%)
Place4th
Playoff finishSemifinals
Tanduay Rhum Makers seasons
← 1985
1987  →

The 1986 Tanduay Rhum Makers season was the 12th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Transactions

Players Added Signed Former team
Anthony Dasalla Off-season Gold Eagle Beer (1984)
Marlowe Jacutin Country Fair Hotdogs (1984)
Alex Clariño July 1986 Ginebra San Miguel
Zaldy Latoza Re-acquired Tanduay Rhum (1984)

First PBA title

The Tanduay Rhum Makers were a team on a mission right at the start of the 1986 PBA season, playing their first full conference with Ramon Fernandez. The Rhum Makers were reinforced by the pair of Rob Williams, a first-round pick by the Denver Nuggets in the 1982 NBA draft, and Andre McKoy.

Tanduay started out with four straight victories before a skid of four straight losses, the Rhum Makers would win seven games in a row, the last two in the eliminations and their first five matches in the semifinals. After being thwarted by Great Taste in their first attempt to reach the finals for the first time since 1978, the Rhum Makers would formalize its entry to the championship round against Great Taste following a 141-123 win over Shell on May 29.

The ballclub of the late Don Manolo Elizalde won their first-ever PBA title after 11 long years with a 4-2 series victory over Great Taste Coffee Makers.

2nd championship (rivalry with Ginebra)

Tanduay has carried on the momentum of their Reinforced Conference triumph by winning their first five assignments in the All-Filipino before losing their last game in the eliminations to Manila Beer. On August 21, the Rhum Makers advanced into the finals for the second straight conference and arranged a title showdown with Ginebra San Miguel as they frustrated Great Taste anew, 115-107, dethroning the defending, two-time All-Filipino champions.

Tanduay went on to win their second straight championship by defeating crowd-favorite Ginebra San Miguel, three games to one, in the best-of-five title series as they became only the fourth team to win the prestigious All-Filipino crown.

The foiled grandslam bid

The Rhum Makers' bid for a grandslam started on a wrong foot, losing their first four games in the Open Conference. Rob Williams' Houston Cougar teammate and Phi Slama Jama member Benny "The Outlaw" Anders and Williams' old partner Andre McKoy played two games each. Andy Thompson, a brother of the Los Angeles Lakers' Mychal Thompson in the NBA, led Tanduay to their first victory as the Rhum Makers escaped with a 124-123 win over Magnolia Cheese. [1] Three nights later on October 12 in a highly anticipated first meeting between the two protagonists of the All-Filipino Finals and the much awaited import match-up between Rob Williams and Ginebra's Billy Ray Bates, Tanduay beat Ginebra San Miguel, 114-109, for their second win and gave the Gins their first defeat in the conference after four straight victories.

The Rhum Makers makes it to the four-team semifinal round when from 0-4, the team had a five-game winning streak and won 8 of their next 10 games. Tanduay was simply outplayed by the two teams that will play for the Open championship - Ginebra and Manila Beer, during the second round of the semis. The Rhum Makers lost to Manila Beer on Beermen import Michael Young's three-point shot with one second left and two days after, Tanduay fell behind by a large margin of 44 points at halftime against arch rival Ginebra as their grandslam hopes ended.

Awards

  • Ramon Fernandez won his third Most Valuable Player award, joining William "Bogs" Adornado as a three-time PBA MVP winner.
  • Rob Williams won the Reinforced Conference Best Import award.
  • Jose "JB" Yango was voted by the Sports Columnist Organization of the Philippines (SCOOP) as the Most Outstanding player of the finals series in the team's two championships.
  • Ramon Fernandez and Freddie Hubalde were named in the Mythical team first five selection.

Won-loss records vs Opponents

Team Win Loss 1st (Reinforced) 2nd (All-Filipino) 3rd (Open)
Alaska 5 3 2-2 1-0 2-1
Ginebra 8 7 2-2 5-2 1-3
Great Taste 12 9 6-4 3-0 3-5
Magnolia 2 0 N/A N/A 2-0
Manila Beer 2 5 2-0 0-1 0-4
Shell 7 3 4-0 2-1 1-2
RP-Magnolia 1 0 N/A 1-0 N/A
Total 37 27 16-8 12-4 9-15

Roster

Tanduay Rhum Makers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt.
F 5 Philippines Clariño, Alex 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Lyceum
G 7 Philippines Torrente, Antonio 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
G/F 8 Philippines Dasalla, Anthony 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Far Eastern
G 9 Philippines Dela Cruz, Ramon 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Philippine Christian
G 10 Philippines Hubalde, Freddie 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Mapúa
F 12 Philippines Sanchez, Victor 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Mapúa
F 13 Philippines Gutierrez, Abet 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Ateneo de Davao
F/C 15 Philippines Capacio, Ely 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
F 17 Philippines Israel, Padim 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Ateneo
C 19 Philippines Fernandez, Ramon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) San Carlos
F 23 Philippines Latoza, Zaldy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) TUA
F 24 Philippines Yango, Jose 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) San Beda
G/F 32 Philippines Jacutin, Marlowe 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Visayas
G 42 Philippines Generalao, Willie 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Visayas
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured

Imports

Tournament Name # Height From
1986 PBA Reinforced Conference Rob Williams 21 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) University of Houston
Andre Mckoy 33 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Wisconsin-Whitewater
1986 PBA Open Conference Rob Williams 21 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) University of Houston
Benny Anders 0 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) University of Houston
Andre Mckoy 33 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Wisconsin-Whitewater
Andy Thompson 22 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) University of Minnesota

References

  1. ^ "Andy's PBA memories". Philstar.com.