1997 Mobiline Phone Pals season

Last updated
1997   Mobiline Cellulars season
Head coach Norman Black
Tommy Manotoc
Owner(s) Pilipino Telephone Corporation
All-Filipino Cup results
Record913
(40.9%)
Place5th
Playoff finishSemifinals
Commissioner's Cup results
Record46
(40%)
Place6th
Playoff finishN/A
Governors' Cup results
Record78
(46.7%)
Place5th
Playoff finishQuarterfinals (lost to Purefoods in one game)
Mobiline Cellulars seasons
  1996
1998  

The 1997 Mobiline Cellulars season was the eighth season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The team change its moniker from Cellulars to Mobiline Phone Pals beginning the Governor's Cup.

Contents

Draft picks

RoundPickPlayerCollege
11 Andrew John Seigle University of New Orleans
29Antonio Espinosa, Jr La Salle

Notable date

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]

Occurrences

Former San Miguel coach Norman Black became the new head coach of Mobiline Cellulars, replacing Yeng Guiao at the start of the season. [2] 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 Grandslam coach Tommy Manotoc has taken Norman Black's place at the Mobiline bench with Derrick Pumaren as his co-mentor. [3]

Roster

Mobiline Phone Pals roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
G 3 Flag of the Philippines.svg Espinosa, Tonyboy 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) De La Salle
G 5 Flag of the Philippines.svg Pumaren, Franz 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) De La Salle
G 6 Flag of the Philippines.svg Agustin, Ato 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Lyceum
F/C 7 Flag of the Philippines.svg del Rosario, Richard 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) De La Salle
G 8 Flag of the Philippines.svg Solis, Al 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Visayas
F 10 Flag of the Philippines.svg Teng, Alvin 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Arellano
G/F 12 Flag of the Philippines.svg Capacio, Glenn 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Far Eastern
F 14 Flag of the Philippines.svg Reyes, Eric 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Ateneo
G/F 16 Flag of the Philippines.svg Briones, Lowell 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Visayas
G 17 Flag of the Philippines.svg Fran, Patrick 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) UST
F 19 Flag of the Philippines.svg Santamaria, Joey 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) De La Salle
F 22 Flag of the Philippines.svg Cariaso, Jeffrey 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sonoma State
C 52 Flag of the Philippines.svg Seigle, Andy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) New Orleans
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (IN) Inactive
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured

Transactions

Additions

NameDeal InformationFormer team
Lowell BrionesPick by Purefoods in the Rookie draft and dealt to the Cellulars the following dayN/A
Patrick FranRookie Free AgentN/A
Franz Pumaren Acquired from San Miguel San Miguel Beermen
Eric ReyesAcquired 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

Trades

Off-seasonTo Purefoods
Cadel Mosqueda
To Mobiline
Glenn Capacio
Off-seasonTo Alaska
Dwight Lago
To Mobiline
Jeffrey Cariaso

Subtractions

PlayerSignedNew team
Yoyoy Villamin September 1997Pop Cola
Peter MartinSeptember 1997Pop Cola

Recruited imports

TournamentNameNumberPositionUniversity/CollegeDuration
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

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TNT Tropang Giga</span> Philippine professional basketball team

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sta. Lucia Realtors</span> Basketball team

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pop Cola Panthers</span> Basketball team

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Black</span> American basketball player

Norman Augustus Black is a Consultant to the San Beda University Red Lions Basketball team playing in the NCAA Philipppines. He is a former professional basketball player who played in the CBA, NBA, and PBA. He's the former head coach for the Meralco Bolts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeng Guiao</span> Filipino basketball player, coach, and politician (born 1959)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 PBA season</span> 23rd PBA season

The 1997 PBA season was the 23rd 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfrancis Chua</span> Filipino basketball coach and player

Alfrancis P. Chua is a Filipino sports executive and former basketball player and coach. He is currently the team manager of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the sports director of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), overseeing the professional sports teams of the SMC group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ato Agustin</span> Filipino basketball player, politician, and coach

Renato Guilas Agustin is a Filipino former professional basketball player, politician, and current assistant coach for the San Miguel Beermen. He played college basketball for the Lyceum of the Philippines before moving on to play professional basketball in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

The 1994 Pepsi Mega season was the fifth season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

The 1997 Pop Cola Bottlers season was the eighth season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

The 1997 Alaska Milkmen season was the 12th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

The 1999 Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs season was the 12th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

The 1999 Sta.Lucia Realtors season was the seventh season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

The 2000 Sta. Lucia Realtors season was the eighth season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

The 1990 Pepsi Hotshots season was the 1st season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

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 Sta. Lucia Realtors season was the sixth season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Victor Pablo is a retired Filipino professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association.

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.

References

  1. "Rookie lifts Mobiline past Purefoods". Manila Bulletin Online.
  2. "Seigle-led Mobiline completes lineup". Manila Bulletin Online.
  3. "Manotoc named Mobiline head coach". Manila Standard.