The Philippine Panorama, the Sunday
magazine of Bulletin Today, ran a feature of coach Baby Dalupan after
steering the Crispa Redmanizers to the 1976 PBA grand slam.
SUPER COACH
By Chelo R. Banal
Philippine Panorama
Published Sunday January 23, 1977
IT was the best of times. Crispa
overpowered stubborn Toyota 11 times during the 1976 pro basketball
league to sweep to an overwhelming triple victory. Needless to say,
it was a grand slam, a sensational season, a mind-blowing performance
and, in a very sweet sense, an everlasting Crispa thrill.
After a cold start in the pro (it was
the fourth in team standing in the PBA's first conference first
round), the Crispa Redmanizers recovered the fire of their MICAA days
to become the Toyota Comets' archrivals for the first and second
tournament titles. The rivalry would long be cherished. Finally,
Crispa dethroned two-time champ Toyota during the 1975 third
conference and since then never went down from its Number One post.
The Redmanizers won 39 of their 57
games during the PBA's first year series. Changing names to Crispa
Denims (for advertising purposes since the Crispa-Floro factory in
Pasig started milling out denim materials), the quintet bagged 46 of
its 61 games during the PBA's second year. Four championships out of
six conferences in the Philippine Basketball Association so far. The
statistics make Virgilio ' Baby' Dalupan the winningest coach in the
league.
