1994 San Miguel Beermen season

The 1994 San Miguel Beermen season was the 20th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Off-season transactions

Summary

San Miguel won their first three games of the season,^[1] and had the best record in the eliminations at 8-2. The Beermen made it to the finals first and went on to play the Coney Island Ice Cream Stars for the All-Filipino Cup crown as the two teams battle for the All-Filipino title supremacy for the third straight year. The Beermen regain the championship over the defending champions Coney Island, winning in six games to become the first team in the 1990s era to win two consecutive titles since the same San Miguel team won the Grandslam in 1989, an added incentive to their finals victory was the right to represent the Philippines for the Asian Games basketball Gold.

The Beermen struggled to find the right import in the Commissioner's Cup. Billy Thompson, with sterling NBA credentials, lasted only two games and was replaced by Billy Martin, who played 10 games.^[2] During the semifinal round, Eric Martin came in to replace Billy Martin and his arrival did not do any good with the Beermen either as they blew their bid for a third straight title. Martin was sent home by coach Norman Black before the series for third place started.

As defending champions in the Governor's Cup and seeded in the semifinal round, the San Miguel Beermen were still reeling from injuries to their key players and a tired team after the Asian Games, landed fifth place and failed to defend their crown.

Occurrences

After winning over the Swift Mighty Meaties in Game 1 of their series for third place in the Commissioner's Cup, the San Miguel Beermen forfeited third place trophy and requested the PBA to allow them to carry the national team colors for the remaining games as part of their tune-up in preparation for the upcoming Hiroshima Asian Games in October. The Beermen began playing with amateur cagers Marlou Aquino, Dennis Espino, Kenneth Duremdes, Jeffrey Cariaso, Edward Joseph Feihl and Bryant Punzalan joining the Philippine team.

All-Filipino Cup roster

Commissioner's Cup roster

Governor's Cup roster

_{Assistant Coaches: Filomeno Pumaren / Joseph Uichico Team Manager: Eddie Veneracion}

References