1986 Tanduay Rhum Makers season

The 1986 Tanduay Rhum Makers season was the 12th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Championships

After 11 long years, the Elizalde ballclub finally won their first PBA title in the Reinforced Conference. The Rhum Makers went on to win their second straight championship in the All-Filipino Conference, becoming only the fourth team to win the prestigious All-Filipino crown and came so close of achieving a rare Grandslam.

Awards

• Ramon Fernandez won his third Most Valuable Player award, joining William "Bogs" Adornado as a three-time PBA MVP winner.
• Rob Williams was the Reinforced Conference Best Import awardee.
• Jose "JB" Yango was voted by the Sports Columnist Organization of the Philippines (SCOOP) as the Most Outstanding player of the finals series in the team's two championships.
• Ramon Fernandez and Freddie Hubalde were named in the Mythical team first five selection.

Summary

The Tanduay Rhum Makers had only few additions from the free agent market during the off-season; comebacking players Anthony Dasalla and Marlowe Jacutin. The team were reinforced by Rob Williams, a first-round pick by the Denver Nuggets in the 1982 NBA draft, and Andre McKoy. The Rhum Makers scored four straight victories, starting off with a 120-112 win over Ginebra on April 8, followed by wins against Great Taste, Manila Beer and Shell, until newcomer Alaska Milk gave them their first loss with a 113-111 win on April 20. The Rhum Makers went on a slump, losing three more games before winning their last two outings in the eliminations for a 6-4 won-loss card. In the semifinals, Tanduay swept the first round and beat Ginebra, 122-119 on May 20, in a battle between teams which were unbeaten in the semis prior to their match, two nights later on May 22, Andre McKoy's jumper with one second left gave Tanduay a 123-121 overtime win over Alaska Milk as their winning streak reach to seven games while the Milkmen suffered its eight consecutive defeat. Tanduay's winning run were halted by Great Taste. On May 29, the Rhum Makers formalized its entry to the championship round against Great Taste with a 141-123 win over Shell. ^[1] For only the second time in franchise history, the Rhum Makers are playing in the finals and their first in eight years. Tanduay won their first-ever PBA title after 11 seasons with a 4-2 series triumph over Great Taste Coffee Makers.

In the All-Filipino Conference, the Rhum Makers had two more additions in their lineup; Zaldy Latoza, who last played for the team in 1984, and former Ginebra discard Alex Clariño. Tanduay went unbeaten for five games before losing their last match in the eliminations against Manila Beer. After dropping their first two assignments in the semifinals to Shell and Ginebra, the Rhum Makers won their last four outings and defeated Great Taste, 115-107 on August 21, to advance into the finals for the second straight conference and arranged a title showdown with crowd-favorite Ginebra San Miguel. Tanduay repeated as champions with a 3-1 series win over their arch rivals.

Reinforced Conference best import Rob Williams was back in the third conference along with his Houston Cougar teammate and Phi Slamma Jamma member Benny "The Outlaw" Anders, while PBA fans were waiting to see Anders go up against the Black Superman, Ginebra's Billy Ray Bates, the Grandslam-seeking Tanduay lost to Great Taste, 114-132, in the main game at the start of the PBA Open Conference on September 23. The Rhum Makers lost to Manila Beer in their next game with Williams sitting out and Anders scoring 40 points. The coaching staff and management decided to replace Anders in favor of Rob Williams' partner in the first conference, the returning Andre McKoy. Both Williams and McKoy were considered too short for the height limit of 6"6' and 6"3' for two imports in the third conference and McKoy was replace after Tanduay dropped their next two games to Shell and Alaska. The Rhum Makers remain winless when Andy Thompson, a brother of the Los Angeles Lakers' Mychal Thompson in the NBA, came and led Tanduay to their first victory on October 9, a 124-123 win over Magnolia Cheese. Three nights later on October 12 in a highly anticipated first meeting between the two protagonists of the All-Filipino Finals, Tanduay Rhum Makers beat Ginebra San Miguel, 114-109, to improve their record to two wins and four losses and gave the Gins their first defeat in the conference. ^[2] Tanduay continues its winning streak in the second round of eliminations with victories over Great Taste, Magnolia and Formula Shell, ^[3] before Manila Beer stopped their winning run. The Rhum Makers finished with an even 6-6 won-loss slate and were the third team to advance into the semifinals, following a 108-107 victory over Great Taste in their quarterfinal match on November 13. In the semifinal round, Tanduay's grandslam hopes ended in the second round of the semifinals, they lost to Manila Beer, 108-111, on Michael Young's buzzer-beating triple with one second left and still reeling from that heartbreaking defeat, the Rhum Makers trailed by 44 points against Ginebra at halftime and were routed, 130-151, two days later on November 27. Tanduay were swept in four games by Great Taste in their series for third place.

Roster

References