| 1977 Toyota Tamaraws season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Dante Silverio |
| Owner(s) | Delta Motors Corporation |
| All-Filipino Conference results | |
| Record | 13–10 (56.5%) |
| Place | 3rd |
| Playoff finish | Semifinals |
| Open Conference results | |
| Record | 19–11 (63.3%) |
| Place | 3rd |
| Playoff finish | Semifinals |
| Invitational Conference results | |
| Record | 9–1 (90%) |
| Place | 1st |
| Playoff finish | Finals |
| Toyota Tamaraws seasons | |
The 1977 Toyota Tamaraws season was the third season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
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| Transactions |
|---|
| Nicanor Bulaong Rookie; from Far Eastern University |
| Pablo Javier Rookie; from Toyota's farm team Crown Motors in the MICAA [1] |
| Abe King Rookie; from Toyota's farm team Crown Motors in the MICAA [1] |
| Emerito Legaspi Rookie; from Toyota's farm team Crown Motors in the MICAA [1] |
| Quirino Salazar Acquired from Tanduay |
The Toyota Tamaraws were the top qualifier in the Group A standings with nine wins and five losses in the All-Filipino Conference. The Tamaraws missed out a finals stint for the first time in seven conferences and settled for a third-place finish via 3–0 sweep off Tanduay.
In the Open Conference, the Tamaraws came up with the best imports seemingly - Bruce "Sky" King and John "Dr.I" Irving. Toyota wound up again with a 9-5 win-loss card after the two-round eliminations. In the semifinal round, Toyota forced a playoff game with arch rival Crispa for the second finals berth following a 104–92 victory, but fell short in the do-or-die game, 87–90. The Tamaraws clinch third place at the expense of Seven-Up.
Toyota came back with a vengeance in the Invitational championship, snapping Crispa's dynastic rule while claiming the league's first three-game title-romp. The visiting Emtex Sacronels (a guest team composed of players from the Brazil national basketball team, including Oscar Schmidt) had a clean seven-game sweep in the elimination round and sealed a titular meeting with the Tamaraws. King and Irving displayed an overwhelming show of power in Toyota's three-game sweep over the Brazilians. The championship was the first for coach Dante Silverio in the third conference.
| Roster | # | Position | Height |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberto Reynoso | 4 | Center | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Abe King | 6 | Forward-Center | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Robert Jaworski | 7 | Guard | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Francis Arnaiz | 8 | Guard | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Orlando Bauzon | 9 | Guard | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Ramon Fernandez | 10 | Forward-Center | 6 ft 4.5 in (1.94 m) |
| Bruce King Import | 11 | Forward-Center | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Pablo Javier | 12 | Guard | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Jesus Sta. Maria | 13 | Guard-Forward | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Rino Salazar | 14 | Guard | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Rodolfo Segura | 15 | Forward | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Virgilio Cortez Moved to Mariwasa | 16 | Forward-Center | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Fort Acuña | 17 | Forward-Center | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Emerito Legaspi | 18 | Guard-Forward | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Nicanor Bulaong | 20 | Forward | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Aurelio Clariño Moved to U-Tex | 23 | Center | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| John Irving Import | 34 | Center | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Oscar Rocha | 45 | Guard-Forward | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |