1977 Crispa Redmanizers season

1977 Crispa Redmanizers season
Head coach Baby Dalupan
Owner(s) P. Floro and Sons, Inc.
All Filipino Conference results
Record 222
(.917)
Place 1st
Playoff finish 1
Open Conference results
Record 228
(.733)
Place 1st
Playoff finish 1
Invitational Conference results
Record 55
(.500)
Place 4th
Playoff finish 4
Crispa Redmanizers seasons
1976 1978

The 1977 Crispa Redmanizers season was the third season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Colors

Crispa Redmanizers
                    (dark)
                    (light)

Occurrences

In the main game on the opening day of the league's third season on April 17, the Crispa Redmanizers edge their rival Toyota Tamaraws, 122-121, in a match marred by post-game rumble at the Araneta Coliseum dugout involving players from both teams.

Summary

Two-time MVP Bogs Adornado was out of action for the whole season with an injured knee, despite missing his services, the Redmanizers all but smothered the field, topping the two-round eliminations in the first conference, with a 13-1 won-loss record, and swept the four-team semifinals, while fans were looking forward to another Crispa-Toyota title clash, the Tamaraws were eliminated from the finals race by Mariwasa-Honda, as Billy Robinson drilled in 56 points in a 121-114 victory, it was the first time in seven conferences Toyota missed a finale, the Crispa Redmanizers defeated the Panthers in the best-of-five title-series, 3 games to 1, clinch their fifth straight championship on July 24 in a 139-128 victory in Game 4.

Cyrus Mann return to play for Crispa in the second conference, this time teaming up with Ricky Hicks, [1] the Redmanizers led the way in Group B standings with an 11-3 card, Hicks has since been sent home. In the semifinal round, the U-Tex Wranglers sailed into the championship round in unprecedented fashion, and in the process, shoved Crispa in a knockout battle against Toyota for the remaining finals berth, the Redmanizers prevail over the Tamaraws in a playoff, 90-87. In the championship series, U-Tex forced a deciding fifth game, winning games 1 and 4. Crispa finally squeeze through with a 90-88 win in the final game for their sixth straight title, which coach Baby Dalupan said was his toughest championship. [2]

Chris McMurray, who previously played for Seven-Up in the second conference, joined Cyrus Mann as the Redmanizers' import for the Invitational Conference, which features the Palmeiras from Brazil, Mann's former team, who became known as Emtex Sacronels and Ramrod Blocks from Australia, Crispa's sudden lack of fire cause the Redmanizers right from the start, losing three straight games and eventually missed the finals for the first time, placing fourth behind Tanduay.

Awards

With the absence of two-time MVP William "Bogs" Adornado, coming into his own is Freddie Hubalde, who outshown his collegiate teammate Atoy Co in a performance that earned him the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.

Roster

ROSTER # POS HT
Cristino Calilan 23 Guard 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
David Cezar 16 Guard 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Philip Cezar 18 Forward 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Fortunato Co, Jr 6 Guard 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Virgilio Dela Cruz 12 Guard-Forward 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Gregorio Dionisio 9 Guard 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Bernie Fabiosa 15 Guard 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Rey Franco 19 Guard 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Abet Guidaben 5 Center 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Freddie Hubalde 10 Guard-Forward 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Rey Pages 8 Forward 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Rodolfo Soriano 7 Forward 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Armando Torres 17 Guard 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Tito Varela 14 Guard 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Cyrus Mann Import 25 Center 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Ricky Hicks Import Forward 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Chris McMurray Import Forward 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)

References