Game 84: Toyota 127, Walk Tall 116 (July 17, 1980)

Toyota stayed in the hunt for a spot in the finals of the 1980 PBA first conference after beating Crispa Walk Tall in their second semis meeting.

Toyota tops Crispa, 127-116

Bulletin Today

Published Friday July 18, 1980

Toyota displayed its old killer’s instinct last night and crushed Crispa, 127-116, to gain at least a playoff for the finals berth in the Philippine Basketball Association first conference at the Araneta Coliseum.

Francis Arnaiz, the man they call “Mr. Clutch,” banged in a game-high 28 points, including a pair of baskets that gave the Tamaraws a safe 120-110 lead with less than two minutes left, a spark Toyota to its fourth victory.

The win gave the Tamaraws the lead in the four-team semifinals with a 4-1 record, a full game ahead of the Jeansmakers and the U-Tex Wranglers, who share second with identical 3-2 slates.

The Wranglers gained the tie as expected with a 150-115 drubbing of the import-less Great Taste Discoverers.

Toyota and U-Tex clash in the main game on Sunday in a match rich with possibilities. If Toyota wins and Crispa beats Great Taste, Toyota and Crispa will qualify for the best-of-five championship series.

If U-Tex beats Toyota and Crispa prevails over Great Taste, there will be a triple tie for first among U-Tex, Toyota and Crispa. U-Tex, with a quotient of plus 102, will qualify for the finals outright while Toyota (plus 52) and Crispa (minus 6) will meet in a knockout match to determine the other finalist.

As per tournament rules, all games in the semifinals are counted in determining the quotient of each team.

Crispa is heavily favored to beat Great Taste on Sunday because the Discoverers are again expected to play without their two imports — Jim Hearns and Lewis Brown. The two did not play in the last three games of the Discoverers.

With their running game working like a charm, the Tamaraws zoomed to an 18-point lead, 53-35, early in the second quarter.

The Jeansmakers razed that lead to two, 70-68, in the third period but Arnaiz fired eight points in an 18-3 flurry that gave Toyota an 84-71 margin.

Crispa came close again at 104-112, 4:25 left, but Arnaiz made two baskets in an 8-6 counter-attack to seal the game for Toyota, 120-110, 1:47 remaining.

The individual scores:

Toyota — 127

Arnaiz 28

Fields 24

Jaworski 23

A. King 20

B. King 11

Tuadles 11

Fernandez 8

Florencio 2

Salazar 0

Herrera 0

Legaspi 0

Crispa — 116

Cuyler 28

Guidaben 20

Cezar 17

Hubalde 17

Co 14

Boston 8

Fabiosa 6

Varela 2

Mamaril 2

Dionisio 0

D.L. Cruz 0

Natividad 0

Quarterscores: 35-24, 65-57, 97-83, 127-116

Toyota  35  30  32  30 — 127

Crispa  24  33  26  33 — 116

Refs: R. Bartolome, J. Obias, T. de los Reyes