Game 39: Toyota 100, Crispa 90 (Dec. 12, 1976)

Francis Arnaiz and Robert Jaworski led a fiery windup as Toyota beat Crispa in Game 1 of the 1976 PBA All-Philippine Championship. Arnaiz led the Tamaraws with 32 points.

Toyota trips Crispa

By Al Mendoza

Bulletin Today

Published Monday December 13, 1976

Francis Arnaiz and Robert Jaworski sparked a crushing 13-4 Toyota windup last night as the Tamaraws scored a 100-90 win over the error-prone Crispa Redmanizers in the opener of their best-of-five series for the PBA All-Philippine championship at the Araneta Coliseum.

Arnaiz and Jaworski, the country's best backcourt combination, took charge in finally applying the brakes on Crispa's last-ditch offensive, unleashing a telling 10-2 blast that gave Toyota an unreachable 97-86 lead, one minute and 30 seconds left.

“Wala. Ginaling talaga sila. Organisado ang laro nila. Walang nag-aapura. Lahat tama sa tiyempo, (They really played well. They were organized and their timing was always right),” Crispa coach Baby Dalupan admitted after the game.

Asked to comment on the officiating, Dalupan said, “Okey lang. No comment.”

U-Tex uncorked a murderous 22-4 barrage in the last three minutes to stun Noritake, 106-95, in the first game of their own series for third place.

That splurge razed a 91-84 Noritake lead and avenged the Wranglers' 115-106 loss to the Porcelain-makers at the start of the third conference.

Romualdo Cabading scored 12 of the Wranglers' last 18 points as Narciso Bernardo's boys completed six steals and interceptions in that three-minute stretch.

Crispa and Toyota meet anew tomorrow at 7:45 p.m. after the 6 p.m. match between Noritake and U-Tex.

Crispa took a 34-29 margin early in the second quarter with big help from Cyrus Mann, who finished with 21 points and three blocks, one against Byron “Snake” Jones.

But from the moment Dalupan lifted him, Jones went to work and sparked a crippling 12-0 attack, giving Toyota a 41-34 bulge that the Tamaraws maintained at the end of the second quarter, 47-40.

Toyota went on to post two 15-point leads and although Crispa managed to even the count at 73-all mostly on foul shots, the Tamaraws continued to dominate the contest, dropping another 8-2 bomb opening the fourth quarter for an 83-75 Toyota bulge.

Mann tried hard to regroup his team but the best the Redmanizers do was cut Toyota's lead to three points, the last at 84-87 before Toyota's deadliest Tamaraws for the night – Arnaiz and Jaworski – dropped that fatal 13-6 windup.

Arnaiz shot a game-high 32 points, 22 of them in the last two quarters. Jones had 16, Jaworski 14, Segura 10 and Fernandez 9.

Alfredo Hubalde and Fortunato Co each fired 20 points as another Redmanizer scored in double figures.

Toyota – 100

Arnaiz 32

Jones 16

Jaworski 14
Segura 10

Fernandez 9

Acuna 6

Smith 6

Bauzon 4

Clarino 2

Cortez 1

Crispa – 90

Mann 21

Co 20

Hubalde 20

Fabiosa 7

Soriano 7

Bunton 6

P. Cezar 6

Dionisio 3

Franco 0

Varela 0

Toyota 21 26 28 25 – 100

Crispa 22 18 33 17 – 90

Refs: E. Cruz, F. Santarina