Toyota defeated Crispa in the final day of the semifinals to force a playoff between both teams for the right to face U-Tex in the 1977 PBA second conference championship series.
Toyota routs Crispa, gains playoff
By Bert Eljera
Bulletin Today
Published Friday Nov. 18, 1977
Toyota, playing with machine-like precision, steamrolled Crispa last night, 104-92, to arrange a playoff with the Redmanizers for the second championship slot in the Philippine Basketball Association second conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
Coming up with near-flawless outside shooting, the Tamaraws built up an imposing 25-point bubble in the first quarter and a 29-point lead in the third period and used this to cushion a fourth-quarter Crispa rally.
The two teams thus closed out the two-round semifinals with an identical 7-3 win-loss records in a tie for second place behind front-running U-Tex, which earlier bagged the first finals berth.
The playoff will be held at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow with the winner advancing into the traditional best-of-five championship series with the Wranglers.
In last night’s first game, 7-Up plastered Presto Ice Cream, 149-130, to finish with a 4-6 card and earn a place in a similar best-of-five series for third place with the loser of the Crispa-Toyota knockout match.
“The boys gave everything they had tonight,” said Toyota coach Dante Silverio after the game. “They knew that the stake was high and they proved equal to the challenge.”
Silverio added that the key to the victory was the Tams’ ferocious first-quarter onslaught triggered by Robert Jaworski, Ramon Fernandez and John Irving.
The Tams, deadly from both inside and out, dropped a crushing 21-2 bomb in the first six minutes of play which left the Redmanizers shocked beyond their wits.
With Crispa forced to field an all-Filipino lineup to give Cyrus Mann a much-needed rest, a minute and 42 seconds left in the first quarter, the Tamaraws went on a scoring rampage to erect that unbelievable 25-point lead, 41-16.
“The boys were caught flat-footed by that Toyota blast,” said Crispa mentor Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan.
While the Tams scored time and again with well-executed fastbreak and set plays, the Redmanizers could not do anything right and their vaunted scoring sock sputtered all evening.
Mann typified Crispa’s dolorous shooting performance. Pitted against Irving and Bruce King, the usually high-scoring American was limited to only two points in the first two quarters, his sole basket coming with 3:20 to go in the second period.
Toyota went on to erect a 29-point bulge, 86-57, late in the third quarter but Crispa mounted a desperate rally in the final quarter that saw them raze the lead to only 10 points, 92-82.
The scores:
Toyota — 104
B. King 27
Fernandez 20
Jaworski 18
Irving 16
Arnaiz 11
Sta. Maria 8
Bulaong 4
Legaspi 0
Acuna 0
Crispa — 92
Cezar 19
Guidaben 15
Soriano 12
Co 12
Mann 10
Fabiosa 8
Varela 6
Hubalde 6
Dionisio 4
Franco 0
Toyota 41 14 33 16 — 104
Crispa 16 22 24 30 — 92
Refs: E. Cruz, R. Bartolome, I. Cahanding
No comments:
Post a Comment