Crispa beat Toyota in their 123rd and final PBA meeting to boost its chances of an outright semifinals berth in the 1983 Open Conference.
Crispa over Toyota
Tempo
Published Monday Oct. 10, 1983
Crispa made maximum use of its two-import advantage to throttle blood rival Toyota, 111-96, in a game that was crucial to both teams in their quest for a quarterfinal berth in the PBA Open Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
Billy Ray Bates teamed with Freddie Hubalde in the last three minutes after Robert Jaworski pushed Toyota to within two points, 94-96, for a 9-2 closing spurt to seal Crispa’s sixth win in 10 starts.
The Redmanizers thus revived their hope for an outright semifinal slot. Great Taste, with eight wins and two losses, appeared to have clinched the other semifinal seat.
On the other hand, the loss dropped Toyota into a four-way tie with Winston, Tandiay Rhum and Gilbey’s Gin.
The Winston Kings demolished Tanduay, 119-106, to score their third straight victory, and their fourth under new coach Lauro Mumar. It was Tanduay’s fifth consecutive loss after a fiery start.
Andy Fields, playing his second game after a bout with the flu, could not come up with his usual brilliant all-around play. He had to contend with Crispa’s Bates and Larry Demic and this apparently sapped his strength.
But Jaworski and Ramon Fernandez, with some help from Emer Legaspi and Nic Bulaong in the earlier going, carried the fight for the Super Corollas.
Toyota battled Crispa tooth-and-nail for three quarters before collapsing in the closing minutes as fatigue and Bates’ unstoppable sallies combined to take the sting out of the Corolla’s game stand.
The Super Corollas, with shock troopers Nick Bulaong and Emerito Legaspi coming off the bench and stringing eight points between them, took an early 20-13 lead as the Redmanizers turned up with a chilly first quarter shooting average.
Arturo Cristobal, however, sparked a swirling 8-0 offensive that wiped out the Toyota lead and shoved Crispa in front, 22-21, early in the second quarter.
A torrid exchange ensued between Ramon Fernandez and Billy Ray Bates, resulting in five deadlocks, the last at 49-all, before Crispa took the half by a hairline, 50-49.
Larry Demic, earlier rumored to be ill, showed up with Abet Guidaben, just recovered from flu, to complete a show of force by the Redmanizers. Toyota played minus Francis Arnaiz who was still ailing.
The individual scores:
Crispa 111 — Bates 46, Hubalde 15, Demic 14, Cezar 8, Fabiosa 6, Guidaben 6, Cruz 6, Cristobal 4, Co 4, Villamin 2.
Toyota 96 — Fields 20, Fernandez 19, Jaworski 15, Bulaong 10, Legaspi 8, Tuadles 7, King 7, Brewster 6, Herrera 4, Coloso 0, Relosa 0.
Quarterscores: 19-20, 56-49, 75-73, 111-96.
Note: Crispa wound up tying Great Taste for the best record after the eliminations at 9-5 to claim an outright semifinals berth.
Toyota, on the other hand, lost to Tanduay n a playoff for the last quarterfinals slot. The Super Corollas would disband before the 1984 season, ending the tenure of one of the PBA’s greatest teams.
The Redmanizers advanced to the finals where they swept the Coffee Makers in three games to complete the PBA’s second Grand Slam.
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