Game 16: Crispa 118, Toyota 109 (Dec. 4, 1975)

Coach Baby Dalupan’s tactic of using an all-Filipino roster allowed Crispa to beat Toyota in the elimination round of the 1975 PBA All-Philippine Championship. The match came before the two archrivals meet in a  best-of-five title series.

Crispa downs Toyota, 118-109

Bulletin Today
Published Friday December 5, 1975

Crispa coach Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan used an all-Filipino crew in the final quarter last night and this move paid off handsomely as the Redmanizers subdued the Toyota Comets, 118-109, to top the elimination round of the All-Philippine basketball championships at the Araneta Coliseum.

Though the game had no bearing whatsoever in their forthcoming best-of-five series for the crown, the Redmanizers’ win was a moral victory for coach Dalupan who gambled with his Filipino boys and won.

Comet coach Dante Silverio responded to the gambit by sending in also an all-Filipino five, his team leading, 97-95. But it proved disastrous as the Redmanizers, considered as the best all-Filipino basketball team, merely reaffirmed that reputation by quickly racing to a 105-99 lead which Toyota never surmounted.

Royal Tru-Orange banked on a last-quarter explosion to beat U-Tex, 127-113, and emerged third in the final placings of the eliminations.

Orangemen and Weavers will also meet in their own best-of-five series for third place beginning tomorrow as a preliminary to the Crispa-Toyota match.

Though Crispa was always within striking distance of Toyota for most of the game, there seemed to be no grit and determination in their game and the Comets looked clearly in control of the contest.

This was the situation up to the final quarter when Dalupan suddenly excocted his strategy of sending only Filipinos.

Silverio, apparently worried that a victory by the Comets with Americans would be a hollow one, decided to lift his imports off the court and played Dalupan’s gamble.

“I think I’ll employ it again,” Dalupan said at the dressing room. “The combination clicked.”

Silverio, however, seemed to have learned a lesson and though he disregarded the match as no-bearing he nevertheless said. “I’ll not do it again.”

The crowd of some 7,000 watched agape as Dalupan recalled Peter Crotty to the bench and sent it Philip Cezar in his stead. Silverio quickly responded by pulling out Jones and sending in Cristino Reynoso.

William Adornado, who finished with 32 points and Rodolfo Soriano, who had 20, shared starring honors for the evening as the duo combined to bring off Crispa’s sixth win in 16 games against its arch-rival.

The individual scores: (Crispa score missing six points)

Crispa - 118
Adornado 32
Soriano 20
Cezar 16
Co 12
Crotty 8
Franco 8
Fabiosa 6
Burks 6
De la Cruz 2
Hubalde 2

Toyota - 109
Jaworski 25
Arnaiz 24
Segura 22
Jones 12
Bauzon 6
Cherry 6
A. Reynoso 6
Rocha 4
Fernandez 2
C. Reynoso 2

Crispa  28  28  35  27  -  118
Toyota  28  32  33  16  - 109
Refs: E. Cruz, E. Bernos