Sports Event Flashback : Crispa PBA Comeback Story

Sports Event Flashback : Crispa PBA Comeback Story

Source : Assorted Magazines (PBA Archives Collections)

AFTER a flurry of excitement the previous weekend, the planned Crispa comeback into the PBA set back for one year. Danny Floro, the heart-and-soul of the Crispa Redmanizers team, inform the PBA last February 21 that he was going back" the team's proposed participation in the pro league this season. A letter to PBA Commissioner Rudy Floro said the decision not to re-join next year was made "with deep regret even as he indicated Crispa's readiness guarantee its re-entry next year paying the required franchise fee has been estimated at P300,00 and P1 million bond to ensure that Crispa returns it will be for a of three years. These are the basic conditions that recently govern the entry of new teams renewal of membership in the pro league. Commissioner Salud however informed Floro that present PBA rules do not an entity "to become a member must be an active team."

In short, you conceivably reserve a franchise in advance. But the Commissioner made it clear the PBA "will always keep its doors  open for membership by a team like Crispa which contributed so much to the league, especially in the early years," In turning down the offer of Crispa to buy a franchise at this time in preparation for the 1990 season, Salud said he "truly appreciated the generous offer" which reflected Floro's intentions of reactivating Crispa's membership. Floro, who met over lunch at the Kimpura restaurant in Greenhills on Saturday, February 18, evidenced a keen interest in returning to the arena of 13 championship triumphs in the first decade of the PBA which began in 1975. Floro said that Crispa, regarded by many as "the people's team" in its long and storied rivalry with glamour squad Toyota during the first decade of the PBA, had looked at the real possibility of being ready, despite the short time, for the March 5 opening. of During a hearty Japanese lunch laced with stories of the early years when the members of the board were men consummate class and a sense of gallantry, Floro disclosed that he was building his comeback bid around three stalwarts who turned the Crispa name into a household word by their exploits in the PBA. The stalwarts are 1979 MVP Atoy Co, 1980 MVP Philip Cezar and the league's recognized "Sultan of Swipe" Bernard Fabiosa, all of whom failed to renew their contracts with Presto Ice Cream. Floro, the extremely popular team manager whose long-standing partnership with coach Baby Dalupan was one of the highlights of the first ten years of the PBA, told Salud that Saturday that he would submit a formal letter by the following Monday.

It will be recalled that Crispa first won the coveted grandslam under Dalupan and then repeated the feat in 1983 when Tommy Manotoc took over as coach and introduced the fabulous Billy Ray Bates to Filipino fans, before Narciso Bernardo assumed the task and led Crispa to the All Filipino first conference title in 1984. Manotoc, who was then elevated to the position of Deputy Commissioner of the PBA, served as the go-between in the sale of the Crispa franchise to Shell in 1985. At that time, both Floro and Commissioner Salud recalled that Manotoc had made a commitment to Crisps that if they ever came back the franchise fee would be P50,000. But that promise was not in writing and was apparently not entered into the records of the PBA and Floro was prepared to virtually charge it to experience and go by the rules that govern the pro league today.  Floro told me the idea of reviving the Crispa team first surfaced several months ago when veteran center Abet Guidaben was traded to Purefoods Hotdogs by San Miguel Beer in a controversial swap with Mon Fernandez who went on to win a record-breaking fourth MVP leading Gui daben, who was way ahead in statistical points at the time of the swap, beaten and bitter. He said the idea of a Crispa comeback was discussed in earnest the week prior to his luncheon with the PBA officials during a gathering at the home of Andy Jao, the analyst par excellence of Vintage Enterprises who at one time was manager of the Manila Beer team and had long been a friend and golfing buddy of Danny Floro. Floro indicated that Cezar, Co and Fabiosa appealed to him to give them a chance "to prove a point" that they still had some of the old Crispa "magic" as players who retired and not superstars whose careers ended because no team wanted them, Floro said he never had any problems with his players and the relationship between Crispa management and the team had always been "extremely friendly and open and based on mutual respect." He expressed confidence that the three anchormen of the glory days of Crispa are still capable of battling the best in the PBA even as he disclosed that Cesar, Co and Fabiosa were willing to "play first and talk about money later". Floro informed Commissioner Salud that former national coach Joe Lipa who recently led Philips Sardines to the PABL Maharlika Cup, beating fancied defending champions Magnolia Ice Cream in the best-of-three championship series, had been tapped to coach the returning Crispa squad and they had already dis cussed a tentative line-up. Aside from the original Crispa core of Cezar, Co and Fabiosa, Lipa was ready to bring in another Crispa veteran Itoy Esguerra, veteran free agent Noni Robles, Epoy Jalmasco who has been placed on the reserve roster by Shell and rookie free agent Salvador Ramos. They were also looking at the possibility of requesting San Miguel Beer to release Bobby Jose for just one year and indicated they would also ask Anejo playing coach Sonny Jaworski to release rookie Romeo dela Rosa to them so they could turn around and trade dela Rosa to Shell. Two things happened the moment the story broke in Tempo and the Manila Bulletin last February 20, Monday. Several players got in touch with coach Lipa asking him to recruit them for the Crispa squad. Among them were Jimmy Manansala and Freddie Hubalde of Shell. Hubalde won the MVP title in 1977 while having one of many outstanding season with Crispa. The other was that several PBA officials, players and fans welcomed the news with a great deal of expectation, shortlived though it may have been. Jaworski, who had some of his most memorable battles against the famed Crispa squad while playing for the glamour team Toyota welcomed the reports of a Crisps comeback as "simply great news." In an overseas telephone conversation I had with him the same day the story broke, Jaworski said he had always hoped for a Crispa return because Floro had "given so much to basketball." Jaworski said a Crispa team anchored around Cezar, Co, Fabiosa and Esquerra will be "a tough, competitive team when they really decide to play." A long-standing member of the PBA board of governors, Ignacio Gotao of Presto Ice Cream also welcomed the news of a planned Crispa comeback saying "it will be good for the PBA" even as he indicated a willingness to help form a competitive Crispa team by releasing one or two players if the need arose, Among the former Crispa players on the Presto team are Padim Israel, Arturo Cristobal and Joy Carpio who is still recovering from a knee injury.