Shell Turbo Chargers
| Shell Turbo Chargers | ||||
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| History | ||||
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Shell Azodrin Bugbusters 1985-1986 Shell Oilers 1986 Formula Shell Spark Aiders 1986-1987 Shell Azocord Super Bugbusters 1987 Shell Rimula X Diesel Oilers 1988 Shell Rimula X 1990-1993; 1994-1995 Shell Helix Oilers 1986; 1988; 1993-1994 Formula Shell Zoom Masters 1989-1990; 1995-1999 Formula Shell Gas Kings 1995 Shell Velocity 1999-2000 Shell Turbo Chargers 2000-2005 | ||||
| Joined PBA | 1985 | |||
| Team colors | Blue, Red, Silver, Green, yellow, purple, & white | |||
| Company | Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation | |||
| Owner(s) | Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation | |||
| Head coach | Freddie Webb, Ed Ocampo, Joe Lipa, Dante Silverio, Arlene Rodriguez, Rino Salazar, Chito Narvasa, Perry Ronquilio, John Moran, Leo Austria | |||
| Disbanded | 2004-05 | |||
| Championships | ||||
| None | ||||
| Uniforms | ||||
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The Shell Turbo Chargers was a former Philippine Basketball Association team under the ownership of Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation. Shell has been a member of the PBA since 1985 until 2005 when the team filed for a leave of absence after the season. Shell sold its franchise to PBL team Welcoat Paints in February 2006.
Shell has won four PBA championships, two from 1998-1999. Aside from being known as the Turbo Chargers, Shell was also known as Shell Azudrin Bugbusters, Shell Azocord Super Bugbusters, Shell Oilers, Shell Rimula X, Formula Shell Zoom Masters, Shell Helix Oilers and Shell Velocity.
History
Shell acquired the franchise of the famed Crispa Redmanizers in 1985 for a reported two million pesos. In Shell's first season, the team was known as Shell Azudrin Bugbusters and acquired several remnants of the Crispa franchise in Philip Cezar and Bernie Fabiosa plus a former redmanizer William Bogs Adornado from Great Taste. under head coach Freddie Webb. Shell got its first All Filipino finals berth against Great Taste when they defeated Ginebra in a rubber match.
The following season in 1986, Shell carried the name Pilipinas Shell Oilers, Shell Helix and Formula Shell Spark Aiders respectively with Olympian Ed Ocampo taking over from Freddie Webb, who resigned as Shell coach midway in the semifinals of the first conference. Shell remained a hard-luck team with national coach Joe Lipa, becoming Shell's third coach in 1987 3rd conference, as the team was now known as Shell Azocord Super Bugbusters.
The team's rise to fame came during the late-1980s when they were bannered by two University of the Philippines, Diliman standouts Ronnie Magsanoc and Benjie Paras to solidify Shell as one of the popular teams in the pro league. Former Toyota mentor Dante Silverio was also responsible for transforming Shell to a championship-caliber ballclub.
Paras is also the only P.B.A. player to win the Rookie of the Year and the coveted Most Valuable Player plum in the same season when the center won it all in 1989.
In the 1990 PBA Open Conference, Shell won its first-ever PBA championship defeating crowd-favorite Añejo Rhum 4-2. But the series was marred by Anejo's infamous walkout in the sixth and final game of the series to award the Shell the win in Game six and the series clincher.
At that time, Shell was reinforced by import Bobby Parks, who holds seven Best Import Awards in his PBA career, most of them with the Shell franchise.
A year later, Shell suffered one of the biggest collapses in PBA finals history during the 1991 PBA First Conference, when they blew a 3-1 series lead in the series eventually losing to Ginebra in seven games on a Rudy Distrito game-winner.
Shell won the 1992 PBA First Conference crown but waited six years before winning another PBA crown, by capturing the 1998 Governor's Cup. They defeated Mobiline Phone Pals in seven games.
Their final championship came during the 1999 PBA All-Filipino Conference defeating heavy favorite Tanduay Rhum in six games. Shell was bannered by Paras, Gerry Esplana, Victor Pablo, Chris Jackson and Noy Castillo as one of their primary players under head coach Perry Ronquilio.
1999 also became a banner year for Paras, who won his second Most Valuable Player award in his career, despite the arrival of several talented Filipino-foreigner players during the same season. However, injuries in the next three seasons forced Paras to retire after the 2003 season.
Shell suffered several slumps in the next four seasons (2000-2003) before resurfacing in during the 2004-2005 season as one of the contenders for the PBA crown. Under head coach Leo Austria (who won the Rookie of the Year honors in 1985 as a player for Shell), the Turbo Chargers placed fourth in the PBA Philippine Cup and third in the season-ending 2005 PBA Fiesta Conference.
Disbandment
During the 2004-05 PBA season, Shell was rumored to be disbanding after the season because their mother company, Royal Dutch Shell in the Netherlands believed that it was not feasible for them to maintain a franchise in the PBA.
It was believed that port company Harbour Centre was planning to purchase the rights of the Shell franchise. However, both parties did not come into an agreement as Harbour Centre was offering less than what Shell wanted. On August 3, 2005, Shell announced that it was taking a leave of absence from the league.
Before the announcement, Shell traded away most of its players. Tony Dela Cruz and Rich Alvarez were dealt to the Alaska Aces while Ronald Tubid was sent to the Air21 Express. The remaining members of the team were selected through the dispersal draft.
Shell was given a six-month deadline for the team to either return to the league in the next PBA season or sell the team to a prospective buyer. On January 2006, PBL powerhouse Welcoat Paints bought the squad for and entered the league in the 2006-07 PBA season
Season-by-season records
| Legend |
|---|
| Champion
Runner-up Semifinalist |
Three-conference era
Two-conference era
| Season | Conference | Team name | Elim./Clas. round | Playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | W | L | % | Stage | Results | |||
| (2004) | Fiesta Conference | Shell Turbo Chargers | 8th | 7 | 11 | .389 | Wildcard phase | Red Bull 83, Shell 82 |
| 2004-05 | Philippine Cup | 3rd | 12 | 6 | .667 | 2nd-seed playoff Quarterfinals Semifinals 3rd-place playoff | Talk 'N Text 85, Shell 79 Shell 2, Purefoods 1 Talk 'N Text 3, Shell 0 San Miguel 105, Shell 100 | |
| Fiesta Conference | 9th | 7 | 11 | .389 | Wildcard phase Quarterfinals Semifinals 3rd-place playoff | Shell def. Sta. Lucia**, 84–75, 95–85 Shell 2, Purefoods 0 Talk 'N Text 3, Shell 1 Shell 102, San Miguel 86 | ||
| Elimination round | 26 | 28 | .482 | 2 post-wildcard appearances | ||||
| Playoffs | 8 | 10 | .444 | 0 championships | ||||
*one-game playoffs
**team had twice-to-beat advantage
Cumulative records
| Era | W | L | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three-conference era (1975–2003) | 401 | 530 | .431 |
| Two-conference era (2004–2005) | 34 | 38 | .472 |
| Total | 435 | 568 | .434 |
Players of note
PBA 25 greatest players
- William "Bogs" Adornado #33 - played for Shell in its inaugural year
- Philip Cezar #18 - "The Sultan of Swat"/"The Scholar"/"Mr. Stretch"/"King Philip" played for Shell in its inaugural year
- Bernie Fabiosa #15 - "The Sultan of Swipe"/"Fabulous" played for Shell in its inaugural year
- Abet Guidaben #41 - final team he played before ending his PBA career
- Freddie Hubalde #10 - played for Shell in 1989.
- Ronnie Magsanoc #5 - "The Point Laureate"/"The Navigator" led Shell to two championships, many time All-Star and Mythical team selections
- Benjie Paras #14 - "The Tower of Power" is a 2-time PBA MVP, only player to win the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in the same season (1989)
Other notable players
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(A-F)
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(G-L)
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(M-R)
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(S-Z)
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Imports
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(A-F)
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(G-L)
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(M-R)
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(S-Z)
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Coaches
- Freddie Webb
- Ed Ocampo†
- Joe Lipa
- Dante Silverio
- Arlene Rodriguez
- Rino Salazar
- Chito Narvasa
- Perry Ronquillo
- John Moran
- Leo Austria
- Bobby Parks
General Managers
- Ernesto Inocencio
- Charlie Favis
- Ramon (Mao) Vergel De Dios
- Jimmy Ayson
- Bobby Villarosa
- Bobby Kanapi
| Preceded by Crispa Redmanizers |
PBA teams genealogies 1985-2005 |
Succeeded by Welcoat Dragons |
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