Roster
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| 1997 Mobiline Cellulars season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Norman Black Tommy Manotoc (Governors' Cup) |
| General Manager | Debbie Tan |
| Owner(s) | Pilipino Telephone Corporation |
| All-Filipino Cup results | |
| Record | 9–13 (40.9%) |
| Place | 5th |
| Playoff finish | Semifinals |
| Commissioner's Cup results | |
| Record | 4–6 (40%) |
| Place | 6th |
| Playoff finish | N/A |
| Governors' Cup results | |
| Record | 7–8 (46.7%) |
| Place | 5th |
| Playoff finish | Quarterfinals (lost to Purefoods in one game) |
| Mobiline Cellulars seasons | |
The 1997 Mobiline Phone Pals season was the eighth season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The team was known as Mobiline Cellulars for the All-Filipino Cup and Commissioner's Cup.
| Round | Pick | Player | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Andrew John Seigle | University of New Orleans |
| 2 | 9 | Antonio Espinosa, Jr | La Salle |
February 23: Rookie Patrick Fran saved the day for the Cellulars in the 84–78 victory over Purefoods Corned Beef Cowboys which clawed back from a 20-point deficit to come close to within three with still 71 seconds remaining. Mobiline scored their first win of the season after losing to defending champion Alaska Milkmen on opening day a week ago. [1]
Former San Miguel coach Norman Black became the new head coach of Mobiline Cellulars, replacing Yeng Guiao at the start of the season. [2] Tonichi Yturri and Matthew Gaston was hired as assistants. [3]
Coach Black steered the team to a semifinal stint in the All-Filipino Cup after two years of being a doormat. After the Cellulars got eliminated in the Commissioner's Cup, Mobiline top honcho Choy Cojuangco and RFM chairman Joey Concepcion agreed on a player-coach trade during the first week of August. Norman Black coached his third team in 13 years with Pop Cola while Bottlers' team consultant Derrick Pumaren moved to the Cellulars.
Mobiline also acquired Ato Agustin from Pop Cola in exchange for Elpidio Villamin and Peter Martin. Starting the Governor's Cup, former Grand Slam coach Tommy Manotoc has taken Norman Black's place at the Mobiline bench with Derrick Pumaren as his co-mentor. [4]
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| Name | Deal Information | Former team |
|---|---|---|
| Lowell Briones | Pick by Purefoods in the Rookie draft and dealt to the Cellulars the following day | N/A |
| Patrick Fran | Rookie Free Agent | N/A |
| Franz Pumaren | Acquired from San Miguel | San Miguel Beermen |
| Eric Reyes | Acquired from Sunkist late last year in a trade with Eugene Quilban | Sunkist |
| Alvin Teng | Acquired from Sunkist late last year in a trade with Jack Tanuan |
| Off-season | To Purefoods Cadel Mosqueda | To Mobiline Glenn Capacio |
| Off-season | To Alaska Dwight Lago | To Mobiline Jeffrey Cariaso |
| Player | Signed | New team |
| Yoyoy Villamin | September 1997 | Pop Cola |
| Peter Martin | September 1997 | Pop Cola |
| Tournament | Name | Number | Position | University/College | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commissioner's Cup | Isaiah Morris | 35 | Forward | University of Arkansas | June 15 to July 22 |
| Governors' Cup | Artemus McClary | 25 | Guard/forward | Jacksonville University | September 23 to November 18 |
The TNT Tropang Giga is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since 1990.
The Sta. Lucia Realtors were a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from 1993 to 2010. Prior to joining the PBA, it played in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) from 1987 to 1992.
The Pop Cola Panthers were a professional basketball team that played in the Philippine Basketball Association from 1990-2001. The franchise was owned by RFM Corporation. In 2001, when RFM Corporation sold its entire stake in Cosmos Bottling Corporation to Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI), the PBA franchise was included in the transaction. Upon ownership by CCBPI, the PBA franchise renamed the Coca-Cola Tigers beginning the 2002 PBA season and was considered as an expansion team.
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Joseller "Yeng" Medina Guiao is a Filipino professional basketball head coach, politician, commentator and sports commissioner. He is currently the head coach of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketball Association. He previously served as the interim head coach of the Philippine national team. Guiao won seven PBA titles since starting his head coaching job for Swift in the early 1990s. He is a former Philippine Basketball League commissioner from 1997 to 2000. He was also the Vice Governor of the Province of Pampanga from 2004 to 2013, serving three different Governors, Mark Lapid, Eddie Panlilio and Lilia Pineda. He is a former congressman, representing the 1st District of Pampanga from 2013 to 2016.
The 1989 PBA season was the 15th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
The 1997 PBA season was the 23rd season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
The 1998 PBA season was the 24th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
The 1999 PBA season was the 25th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
The 2000 PBA season was the 26th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
Frederick "Derrick" S. Pumaren, better known on his nickname Manong Derrick, is a Filipino basketball coach who was recently the coach of the De La Salle Green Archers in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). He coached several teams in the UAAP, PBA, and PBL.
The 1997 Pop Cola Sizzlers season was the eighth season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known as the Pop Cola Bottlers in the All-Filipino and Commissioner's Cup.
The 1997 Alaska Milkmen season was the 12th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
The 1996 Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs season was the 9th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The team was known as Purefoods Corned Beef Cowboys starting the Governor's Cup.
The 1999 Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs season was the 12th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
The 1996 Mobiline Cellulars season was the seventh season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The team was formerly known as Pepsi Mega Bottlers in the All-Filipino Cup.
The Purefoods Corporation had a basketball rivalry with the Republic Flour Mills (RFM) company in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) for most of the 1990s, where they competed not only in sports but also in products.
The 1998 Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies season was the 11th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The team was named Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies in the All-Filipino Cup.
The 1998 Mobiline Phone Pals season was the ninth season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
The 1998 PBA All-Star Weekend is the annual all-star weekend of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Instead of the old formats of pitting its stars from the North against the South or the veterans versus the youngsters, the league this time featured the Philippine Centennial Team against a PBA Selection, reinforced by imports.
