Toyota foiled Crispa’s comeback attempt to gain a spot in the 1978 PBA All-Filipino Conference championship against sister team Filmanbank. The loss denied Crispa a finals appearance for the second straight conference.
Toyota, Filmanbank will dispute crown
By Bert Eljera
Bulletin Today
Published Friday July 7, 1978
Toyota squandered a big 29-point lead but held on to a 116-108 victory over Crispa and Filmanbank came from behind to beat Tanduay, 103-93, last night to enter the best-of-five series for the PBA All-Filipino Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
Like a stampeding herd, the Tamaraws trampled the fumbling Redmanizers in the first two quarters for a big 29-point lead, 62-33, but the Redmanizers, led by Fortunato Co, Jr., came charging back in the final period and almost turned the tide in their favor.
Robert Jaworski and Danilo Florencio came to the Tamaraws’ rescue after the Redmanizers had razed Toyota’s lead to four points, 106-102, two minutes and 27 seconds left.
Jaworski and Florencio, who combined for 37 points, sparked a decisive 8-2 Toyota counter-attack that gave Dante Silverio’s boys a safe 114-104 bubble, a minute to go.
The best-of-five title series starts tomorrow with the Tams heavily favored to win the All-Filipino Conference which has eluded them for the past two years.
Crispa plays Tanduay in a similar best-of-five affair for third place, the second time that the Redmanizers won’t figure in the championship.
Billy Robinson, booed and heckled by the crowd after he busted the eyebrow of Tanduay center Jimmy Taguines with an unintentional elbow hit, sparked the Bankers’ comeback in the fourth quarter.
Behind by a point, 71-72, at the end of the third frame, Robinson teamed up with Adriano Papa, Jr. in a searing 13-4 blast which put the Bankers ahead, 84-76, en route to a commanding 99-88 lead, two minutes remaining.
Toyota and Filmanbank thus shared the lead at the end of the semifinal round with identical 4-2 slates. Crispa slid to third with a 3-3 card and Tanduay brought up the rear with a 1-5 record.
“It was like a championship game,” said Silverio after the match. “It got a little scary in the fourth quarter but my boys fought back.”
Crispa mentor Baby Dalupan said he was happy with the way his boys played even if they lost the title.
Fortunato Co, Jr., typifying Crispa’s miserable performance in the first half, scored only two points in that stretch but he ended up with a game-high 40 points as he sparked the defending champions’ comeback in the second half.
Crispa’s horrendous shooting on the foul line contributed largely to the Redmanizers’ defeat. They made only half of their 28 free throws and converted only 47 of 115 tries from the field for a 40.87 percentage.
The Tams, who led 64-40 at halftime, sank eight of their 10 free throw tries and 54 of 117 field goal attempts for a 46.15 clip.
In the first half alone, the Redmanizers sank only 16 of 57 field goal tries for a low 28.07 clip.
The Redmanizers recalled Bernard Fabiosa and Alfredo Hubalde from the sick list in a bid to strengthen their emaciated lineup. They played with only eight men when they lost to Filmanbank last Tuesday.
Fabiosa rose to the occasion with his all-court hustle and 11 points while Hubalde, nursing an injured nose, was never a factor and saw very little action.
Jaworski led the Tams’s scoring with 29 points, followed closely by Florencio with 28 and Francis Arnaiz with 27.
Philip Cezar supported Co with 23 points.
The scores:
Toyota — 116
Jaworski 29
Florencio 28
Arnaiz 27
Fernandez 14
Estrada 14
Acuna 4
Legaspi 0
King 0
Javier 0
Crispa — 108
Co 40
Cezar 23
Fabiosa 11
Javier 9
Varela 8
D.L. Cruz 7
Adornado 4
Franco 4
Tanduyan 0
Hubalde 0
Toyota 35 29 26 26 — 116
Crispa 20 20 31 37 — 108
Refs: E. Cruz, R. Bartolome, J. Obias
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