There will be no grand slam in the PBA this season. Defending champion Barangay Ginebra San Miguel made sure about that after the Gin Kings easily disposed off the reigning three-time Philippine Cup champion in their quarterfinals encounter.
The Beermen became the latest squad to move closer to winning the grand slam yet being denied of achieving winning the triple crown. Winning the grand slam was only done five times throughout the 42-year history of the PBA.
As early as the inaugural season of the PBA in 1975, the Toyota Comets became the first team to come closer to achieving the feat as they nearly swept all three conferences. Behind Byron Snake Jones, they won the first conference, beating the Crispa Redmanizers in four games and repeated in the second conference beating their fierce nemesis in the same number of games in the best-of-five.
But the Redmanizers denied the Comets a triple crown by winning in a thrilling five-game series.
Crispa started to build a dynasty and after winning the last conference of the inaugural season, the Redmanizers became the first squad to complete a grand slam in 1976, beating Toyota in all three conferences of the finals series.
The feat would have extended the following season as the Redmanizers won the first two conferences — the All-Filipino and the import-laced second conference behind their reinforcement Cyrus Mann. But in the 1977 Invitational Tournament, Crispa’s luck ran out as Toyota bannered by imports John Irving and Bruce Sky King ruled the season-ending conference, beating Emtex Brazil via a three-game sweep.
When Crispa and Toyota disbanded, a new powerhouse team emerged.
Great Taste Coffee, which battled Crispa twice in the finals during its last grand slam year in 1983, finally dethroned the Redmanizers in the 1984 season and from there, the Coffee Makers went on a roll. The Gokongwei franchise won the first two conferences and were within striking distance of achieving the triple crown, but they lost to the promising Northern Consolidated Cement (NCC) in the semis. In the finals, NCC, coached by Ron Jacobs, would dispatch Manila Beer.
Year 1986 saw Ramon Fernandez moving to Tanduay to join a squad that already has a talented crew that included Freddie Hubalde, JB Yango, Willie Generelao, the late Ely Capacio and Padim Israel among others.
After winning the first conference behind the exciting import tandem composed of the high-scoring Rob Williams and Andre McKoy, the Rhummasters coached by Turing Valenzona, defeated the Great Taste Coffee Makers. The brewing rivalry between Ramon Fernandez and Robert Jaworski heated up in the All-Filipino, but the Rhummasters were able to pull it thru in four games of their best-of-five finals series.
Now close to winning the grand slam, the Rhummasters made another push in the third conference only to be denied by Michael Young and the Manila Beer Brewmasters. Young’s long three-pointer with a second left sent the squad to a head on collision course with the explosive import tandem of Billy Ray Bates and Michael Hackett, who eventually propelled the Gin Kings to their first ever championship.
In 1995, Yeng Guiao and Derrick Pumaren figured in the first-ever trade of coaches in the PBA.
Pumaren took over a Sunkist team, then the brand name being carried by the RFM-owned franchise, primed to win a championship and the squad bannered by Vergel Meneses, Nelson Asaytono, Boybits Victoria, Kenneth Duremdes, Al Solis, Rudy Distrito, Zaldy Realubit and the much-improved Bonel Balingit defeated Alaska in the All-Flipino finals. In the second conference, they had a rematch with the Milkmen and the Juicers prevailed once more.
Luck ran out for Sunkist in the third conference as Alaska set up a titular showdown with San Miguel Beer, then being coached by Jacobs.
Two years after winning the grand slam, Alaska was back on its familiar role to win another triple crown by winning the first two conferences in 1998. But with its full commitment to the national team program, the Milkmen didn’t have the firepower to compete in the third conference. Formula Shell won the third conference, defeating the up-and-coming Mobiline team in the Governors Cup.
Nearly two decades since that failed bid by Tim Cone and Alaska, the American mentor, who ironically became the only coach to win the triple crown twice and the last mentor able to win his team, San Mig Coffee, to a grand slam, denied San Miguel Beer’s ambitious bid.
The Beermen are still licking the wounds of their painful setback, but vowed to bounce back in quest of yet another historic feat — by trying to become the first team to win the All-Filipino crown for four consecutive years next season.
Rey Joble has been a sportswriter covering the PBA games for more than a decade. He is a member of the PBA Press Corps and Philippine Sportswriters Association, the oldest journalism group in the country.
