1985 PBA season

1985 PBA season
Duration	March 3 – November 28, 1985
Number of teams	6 + 1
TV partner(s)	Vintage Sports (MBS)
1985 PBA Draft
Top draft pick	Sonny Cabatu
Picked by	Shell Azodrin Bugbusters
Season MVP	Ricardo Brown (Great Taste Coffee Makers)
Open Conference champions	Great Taste Coffee Makers
Open Conference runners-up	Magnolia Ice Cream Makers
All-Filipino Conference champions	Great Taste Coffee Makers
All-Filipino Conference runners-up	Shell Azodrin Bugbusters
Reinforced Conference champions	Northern Consolidated (NCC)
Reinforced Conference runners-up	Manila Beer Brewmasters
Seasons
← 1984 1986 →

The 1985 PBA season was the 11th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Board of governors

Executive committee

• Mariano A. Yenko, Jr. (Commissioner)
• Tomas L. Manotoc (Deputy Commissioner)
• Carlos Palanca III (President, representing Ginebra San Miguel)
• Qurino Marquinez (Vice-President, representing Great Taste Coffee Makers)
• Andrew H. Jao (Treasurer, representing Manila Beer Brewmasters)

Teams

Team	Company	Governor
Ginebra San Miguel	La Tondeña Incorporada	Carlos Palanca III
Great Taste Coffee Makers	Consolidated Foods Corporation	Quirino Marquinez
Manila Beer Brewmasters	Shareholdings, Inc.	Andrew H. Jao
San Miguel Beermen	San Miguel Corporation	Leonides Valencia
Shell Azodrin Bugbusters	Shell Chemicals Philippines	Rafael Hernaez
Tanduay Rhum Makers	Elizalde & Company Tanduay Distillers, Inc.	Johnny Jose

Season highlights

• The season marked the first time without the famed Crispa Redmanizers participating in the league. New team Shell Azodrin Bugbusters takes over the franchise of the defunct winningest ballclub.
• The PBA found a new home in the University of Life Theater and Recreational Arena (ULTRA) in Pasig after 10 years of playing at the Araneta Coliseum.
• The Great Taste Coffee Makers continued its dynasty as they won their fourth straight title during the season and almost a Grandslam of sorts. ^[1]
• A blockbuster trade took place between two-time MVP Ramon Fernandez of Manila Beer switching places with one-time MVP Abet Guidaben of Tanduay. Fernandez played his first game with the Rhum Makers starting in October.
• The year saw the birth of a never-say-die squad known as Ginebra San Miguel with the 'Big J' Sonny Jaworski becoming the player-coach of the team starting the season. The Magnolia ballclub also offered the role of playing-coach to their returning import Norman Black at the start of the year.
• Guest amateur team Northern Consolidated (NCC) won the PBA Third Conference crown over the Manila Beer Brewmasters and recorded the first-ever 4–0 finals sweep in league history.

Opening ceremonies

The muses for the participating teams are as follows:

Team	Muse
Ginebra San Miguel	Katherine Sta.Maria
Great Taste Coffee Makers	Lisa Stanley
Magnolia Ice Cream	Desiree Verdadero
Manila Beer Brewmasters	Lani Mercado
Northern Consolidated (NCC)	Marivic Roldan
Shell Azodrin Bugbusters	Lyka Ugarte
Tanduay Rhum Makers

Champions

• Open Conference: Great Taste Coffee Makers
• All-Filipino Conference: Great Taste Coffee Makers
• Reinforced Conference: Northern Consolidated (NCC)
• Team with best win–loss percentage: Great Taste Coffee Makers (44–27, .620)
• Best Team of the Year: Great Taste Coffee Makers (2nd)

Open Conference

Main article: 1985 PBA Open Conference

Elimination round

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Great Taste Coffee Makers	8	4	.667	—	Advance to semifinals
2	Tanduay Rhum Makers	8	4	.667	—
3	Magnolia Ice Cream Makers	7	5	.583	1	Proceed to quarterfinals
4	Northern Cement (G)	7	5	.583	1
5	Manila Beer Brewmasters	5	7	.417	3
6	Shell Azodrin Bugbusters	4	8	.333	4
7	Ginebra San Miguel	3	9	.250	5

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
(G) Guests

Quarterfinal round

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
3	Magnolia Ice Cream Makers	9	6	.600	—	Advance to semifinals
4	Northern Cement (G)	8	7	.533 [lower-alpha 1]	1
5	Manila Beer Brewmasters	8	7	.533 [lower-alpha 1]	1
6	Shell Azodrin Bugbusters	4	11	.267	5

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
(G) Guests
Notes:

1. Semifinal berth playoff: Northern Cement 98–75 Manila Beer

Semifinal round

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Great Taste Coffee Makers	5	1	.833	—	Advance to the Finals
2	Magnolia Ice Cream Makers	4	2	.667	1
3	Northern Cement (G)	3	3	.500	2	Proceed to third place playoff
4	Tanduay Rhum Makers	0	6	.000	5

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
(G) Guests

Third-place playoffs

Team 1	Series	Team 2	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7
(3) Northern Cement	4–2	(4) Tanduay Rhum Makers	107–112	110–98	100–93	104–110	113–82	121–110	—

Finals

Main article: 1985 PBA Open Conference finals

Team 1	Series	Team 2	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7
(1) Great Taste Coffee Makers	4–2	(2) Magnolia Ice Cream Makers	108–99	105–111	103–97	93–95	121–95	122–104	—

• Best Import of the Conference: Norman Black (Magnolia)

All-Filipino Conference

Main article: 1985 PBA All-Filipino Conference

Elimination round

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Great Taste Coffee Makers	8	2	.800	—	Advance to semifinals
2	Shell Azodrin Bugbusters	5	5	.500	3
3	Tanduay Rhum Makers	5	5	.500	3
4	Ginebra San Miguel	5	5	.500	3
5	Manila Beer Brewmasters	4	6	.400	4
6	Magnolia Ice Cream Makers	3	7	.300	5

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Semifinal round

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Great Taste Coffee Makers	12	4	.750	—	Advance to the finals
2	Shell Azodrin Bugbusters	8	8	.500 [lower-alpha 1]	4
3	Ginebra San Miguel	8	8	.500 [lower-alpha 1]	4	Proceed to third-place playoff
4	Tanduay Rhum Makers	7	9	.438	5

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
Notes:

1. Second-seed playoff: Shell 89–76 Ginebra

Third-place playoffs

Team 1	Series	Team 2	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5
(3) Ginebra San Miguel	2–2 [lower-alpha 1]	(4) Tanduay Rhum Makers	115–122 (OT)	110–108	106–97	102–104	—

1. The PBA finals ended earlier than the third-place playoffs. Rather than continue the series, the team that won more games in the series was named third place. As both teams won an identical number of games (2), the team that scored the most points in the series up to that point (Ginebra 431–433 Tanduay) was named third place.

Finals

Main article: 1985 PBA Open Conference finals

Team 1	Series	Team 2	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5
(1) Great Taste Coffee Makers	3–1	(2) Shell Azodrin Bugbusters	103–98	113–106	102–103	110–91	—

Reinforced Conference

Main article: 1985 PBA Reinforced Conference

Elimination round

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Manila Beer Brewmasters	9	3	.750	—	Advance to semifinals
2	Ginebra San Miguel	7	5	.583 [lower-alpha 1]	2
3	Magnolia Quench Plus	7	5	.583 [lower-alpha 1]	2	Proceed to quarterfinals
4	Northern Cement (G)	7	5	.583 [lower-alpha 1]	2
5	Great Taste Coffee Makers	6	6	.500	3
6	Tanduay Rhum Makers	4	8	.333	5
7	Shell Azodrin Bugbusters	2	10	.167	7

Source: ^[2]
(G) Guests
Notes:

1. Head-to-head quotient: Magnolia 1.033, Ginebra 1.000, Northern 0.967; semifinal berth playoffs: Ginebra 99–96 Northern, Ginebra 106–98 Magnolia

Quarterfinal round

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
3	Northern Cement (G)	9	6	.600	—	Advance to semifinals
4	Great Taste Coffee Makers	8	7	.533 [lower-alpha 1]	1
5	Magnolia Quench Plus	8	7	.533 [lower-alpha 1]	1
6	Tanduay Rhum Makers	5	10	.333	4

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
(G) Guests
Notes:

1. Semifinal berth playoff: Great Taste 99–95 Magnolia

Semifinal round

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Manila Beer Brewmasters	4	2	.667	—	Advance to the finals
2	Northern Cement (G)	3	3	.500 [lower-alpha 1]	1
3	Great Taste Coffee Makers	3	3	.500 [lower-alpha 1]	1	Proceed to third-place playoff
4	Ginebra San Miguel	2	4	.333	2

Source: ^[3]
(G) Guests
Notes:

1. Second-seed playoff, Northern 123–107 Great Taste

Third-place playoffs

Team 1	Series	Team 2	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7
(3) Great Taste Coffee Makers	0–4	(4) Ginebra San Miguel	168–197	133–139	126–155	124–145	—	—	—

Finals

Main article: 1985 PBA Reinforced Conference finals

Team 1	Series	Team 2	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7
(1) Manila Beer Brewmasters	0–4	(2) Northern Cement	102–139	117–133	113–130	106–138	—	—	—

• Best Import of the Conference: Michael Hackett (Ginebra)

Awards

• Most Valuable Player: Ricardo Brown (Great Taste)
• Rookie of the Year: Leo Austria (Shell)
• Most Improved Player: Padim Israel (Tanduay)
• Best Import (Open): Norman Black (Magnolia)
• Best Import (Reinforced): Michael Hackett (Ginebra)
• Mythical Five:
  • Ricardo Brown (Great Taste)
  • Willie Pearson (Great Taste)
  • Abet Guidaben (Tanduay/Manila Beer)
  • Manny Victorino (Great Taste)
  • Bogs Adornado (Shell)
• Mythical Second Team:
  • Robert Jaworski (Ginebra)
  • Willie Generalao (Tanduay)
  • Ramon Fernandez (Manila Beer/Tanduay)
  • Philip Cezar (Shell)
  • Abe King (Great Taste)
• All-Defensive Team:
  • Chito Loyzaga (Ginebra)
  • Philip Cezar (Shell)
  • Elpidio Villamin (Manila Beer)
  • Robert Jaworski (Ginebra)
  • Abe King (Great Taste)

Cumulative standings

Team	GP	W	L	PCT
Great Taste Coffee Makers	71	44	27	.620
Northern Consolidated (NCC)	55	33	22	.600
Manila Beer Brewmasters	48	25	23	.520
Ginebra San Miguel	57	28	29	.492
Magnolia Ice Cream/Quench Plus	54	26	28	.481
Tanduay Rhum Makers	59	24	35	.406
Shell Azodrin Bugbusters	48	16	32	.333

References

1. "Looking back: The PBA's history". Manila Standard.
2. "PBA boxscores@October 1985".
3. "PBA boxscores@November 1985".