This is a repost.
And I’ll just put a little 2019 re-imagination on
this 2012 original creation.
Anyway for a couple of years now, I have been
counting down the best players of the best PBA teams. Sometimes, I make my top
player list either out of boredom or amazement. Most often, the best PBA teams
aren’t really the best PBA teams.
But hey, whatever works.
Just type Sydrified or Sydman and
then add your favorite team with the tag "best players" on Google and
you might see one of my lists. Now it’s 2019 though, I am not so sure. I did
too many re-launches that messed up my Google presence.
I promise to be a good boy from this day forth.
Hehe.
Now let me just state something. I don't know how
to rate Tanduay's original version. I was born in 1982 and the only action I
saw was the old Crispa and Toyota videos in
Youtube. Plus, I don't know how to check out their old stats. Stats are the most
important component of my lists and the last thing I want to be at the moment
is the guy that disregards the facts.
That is why you have to forgive me for not
concentrating on the franchise careers of Ramon Fernandez, Freddie
Hubalde, Abet Guidaben, Rene Canent, Freddie Webb, Botchok Delos Santos, Abet
Gutierrez, Mike Bilbao, Padim Israel, Mike Bilbao, and the others who
donned the Tanduay colors from 1975 to 1987.
I am going to concentrate on the second version -
the one I remembered, experienced, loved and dread (with how this team
tragically ended).
Anyway when I did the original
post back in 2012, famed basketball
historians like PBA stats master Fidel Mangonon and Pinoy
Exchange's Jay P. Mercado helped in making this blog possible.
Uhurm.
In 1995, Stag Pale Pilsen joined
the PBL. Bong Tan was the team's chief financier while Alfrancis
Chua served as the coach. The team's starting unit composed of multi-time
PBL MVP Marlou Aquino, Mapua’s slam dunk sensation Reuben Dela Rosa, UP’s
scoring machine Paul Raymund Du, DLSU’s King Archer Jason Webb, and former UST
Growling Tiger Bal David. David at this point was left unsigned in the 1995
PBA Draft after becoming the third round pick of the Sunkist Orange
Juicers. Had he was signed to a contract, The Flash could have been
the third UST player to play as a rookie in 1995 after top pick Dennis Espino
and seventh overall pick Edmund Reyes.
Other notables from the 1995 squad are Randy
Alcantara, Derrick Bughao, former DLSU forward Alvin Magpantay, former UST
center Christopher Cantonjos, another DLSU star in Mark Telan, and free agents
Jorge Gallent and "The Firecracker" Bobby Jose.
With this formidable crew, Stag became the first
PBL team to finish a season with a grand slam. It also opened a lot of doors
for most of their starting crew afterward as Aquino would become the first
pick of the 1996 PBA Draft, Dela Rosa became the third pick, and the previously
unsigned David was signed to a free agent contract by Ginebra. The partnership
of Aquino and David would quickly translate to a title – this time in the PBA.
In the 1997 PBA Draft, Webb was taken third overall
by the Sta. Lucia Realtors after Fil-Ams Andy Seigle and Nic Belasco.
Du and Alcantara went to the MBA in 1998 as did
Dela Rosa who had a bad PBA stint.
Despite the departures to their key men, it was
evident that they ruled the PBL.
Over the course of their PBL time, the team enlisted
the services of UPHR quarterback Jomer Rubi, UST forward Gerard
Francisco, DLSU sniper Renren Ritualo, and Letran spinner Willie Miller. From
Stag, the team would play as the Tanduay Rhum Masters and the team would sign a dominating force in Eric Menk.
And in 1999, Tanduay became the
ninth team of the PBA.
Tan and Chua continued their
partnership and in their climb, they selected Menk as their direct hire Fil-Am
and guys like Telan, Cantonjos, Rubi, Magpantay, and Bughao were elevated as
rookies with Jose and Jorge Gallent getting signed as free agents.
The Rhum Masters would then snatch the first pick
from Alaska and used the pick to acquire basketball beast, Sonny
Alvarado.
In three years, the Rhum Masters was good for one
finals stint (they lost to the Shell Turbo Chargers in the 1999
PBA All-Filipino Cup Finals, 4 games to 2). The Rhum Masters was more
notable for their off-court controversies like the citizenship issues of Menk,
Alvarado, and Rudy Hatfield, trying to acquire Danny Ildefonso for a shit-load
of moolah, calling the PBA a “San Miguel” league, and trading away their stars
to SMC for duds before selling their franchise rights to the FedEx Express.
It’s hard to call them one of the best franchises
of all-time but they are certainly up there with regards to being the most
controversial.
ALMOST | RUDY HATFIELD
2000 Mythical Ten
What's worse than stopping Menk and Alvarado? Well…
it’s a third Fil-Am player that works as well as the aforementioned frontliners.
Rudy Hatfield was virtually a walk-on applicant that previously played for
the MBA's Laguna Lakers. Needless to say, Hatfield wowed the
Rhum Master fans with his intensity and tenacity. The H-Bomb only played one
season for Tanduay and he averaged 13.4ppg, 9.5rpg, 2.1apg, 1.0spg, and
37.6mpg in 43 games. He was sent to the Pop Cola Panthers in
2001 where he again scored a Mythical Ten citation.
5 | DONDON HONTIVEROS
After a season with the Cebu Gems,
Hontiveros got to fulfill his lifelong dream of playing in the PBA via the Rhum
Masters. The 1998 MBA Discovery of the Year joined Tanduay for
two seasons where he averaged 11.2ppg, 3.2rpg, 1.7apg, and 27.7mpg in 82
games. The Cebuano Hotshot's main mission with the squad was to ably back
up Jeffrey Cariaso but then he earned the starting nod with the citizenship
issues that involved Eric Menk and Sonny Alvarado. After the Tanduay management
traded all of their star players in lopsided deals, Hontiveros found himself donning
the San Miguel Beermen jersey.
4 | JASON WEBB
Tanduay's All-Time Assists Leader
Tanduay's All-Time Steals Leader
Tanduay's All-Time Games Played
I know a lot of people who'll probably hate this
notion. Jason Webb over Rudy Hatfield?!? THAT’S ABSURD! While
I for one was disappointed in his scoring capabilities (or incapabilities) when
he moved to the pros, Webb is not at all a bad player. Webb was in Alfrancis
Chua's wish list and was happy when he got his former ward from the Realtors uncontested.
The guy was still a gifted passer and a good playmaker back then although there
was a time when people thought Webb would become the PBA’s version of Anfernee
“Penny” Hardaway. Webb averaged 3.4ppg, 3.0rpg, 3.0apg, 1.0spg, and
27.2mpg in 121 games. Webb and Christopher Cantonjos are the only Tanduay
players to play 100 games and more for the squad and this would balloon to 175
if you also combine his games from its PBL version.
And yeah, Chua and Webb have since reunited via the Magnolia Hotshots in which there was a time when the former asked the latter to become the head coach (Webb would then cede the role to Chito Victolero).
3 | JEFFREY CARIASO
2000 Mythical Ten
2000 All-Defensive Team
Dubbed as The Jet because of his
ability to zoom to the basket, Mr. Cariaso found himself playing for the
expansion squad in 2000. With Menk, Hatfield, and Alvarado manning the paint,
it was Cariaso's job to light up the aerial fireworks. However, Cariaso will
also be instrumental in leading the Rhum Masters in surviving the PBA wear and
tear following the citizenship issues of Menk, Hatfield, and Alvarado. In the
two seasons The Jet played for the Rhum Masters, he averaged 16.3ppg, 5.1rpg,
3.9apg, and 36.7mpg in 79 games. Because his number 22 was already taken
by Jayvee Gayoso, he wore the number 28 - the only time Cariaso
wore a different number as a player in the PBA. The Jet flew for Tanduay for
two seasons and then joined Hatfield in Coca-Cola when Tanduay
disbanded.
2 | SONNY ALVARADO
1999 Mythical Five
1999 Total Points
1999 Highest Scoring Average
1999 Most Field Goals Made
1999 Most Free Throws Made
1999 Total Rebounds
1999 Most Defensive Rebounds
1999 Most Steals
Tanduay's All-Time Blocks Leader
1999 was the year of the Fil-Ams. It was also the
year of the Fil-Shams. It was ironic though that with the league flooded with players
of multiple ethnicities; it was still Benjie Paras who ruled
the individual prize. Anyway, the Rhum Masters barely looked like an expansion
squad when they selected Earl Sonny Alvarado as the top pick of
the 1999 PBA Draft. Dubbed as The Big Punisher, Alvarado shocked
everyone as an imposing force that could go either above the rim or outside the
rainbow territory with relative ease. There was even a point where Tanduay main
man Eric Menk got upstaged by Alvarado… and if you ship the Menk versus Taulava
rivalry, the Alvarado versus Danny Seigle rivalry could be a noteworthy watch
as well. Unfortunately for the former Texas-El Paso star, his
identity was revealed and he basically is not a Filipino. His citizenship was
regarded as fake and he was deported with little fanfare. Instead of defending
his Pinoy roots, Alvarado was off to Europe to play as an import. There is even
a story in which Alfrancis Chua allegedly knew Alvarado is Puerto Rican and
kept silent about it so he can pick him in the draft. Aside from the mentioned
accolades, the only foreigner top pick in PBA history averaged 23.3ppg,
13.2rpg, 3.8apg, 2.2spg, 1.1bpg, and 42.7mpg in 65 games.
1 | ERIC MENK
1999 Mythical Ten
1999 All-Filipino Conference Best Player
1999 Most Offensive Rebounds
2000 Highest Scoring Average
Tanduay's All-Time Points Leader
Tanduay's All-Time Rebounds Leader
Tanduay's All-Time Minutes Leader
Without question, Major Pain is the heart and soul of the second version
of the Tanduay franchise. Elevated by Bong Tan and Alfrancis Chua as a direct
hire Fil-Am, Menk became popular in the PBL because of his battles with Fil-Tongan
sensation Asi Taulava. He was also a key addition to Stag/Tanduay when the
squad delivered title after title without the awesomeness of Marlou
Aquino (who has since moved to the PBA). Menk was fundamentally sound
and hardworking as hell. He would quietly score 20 points or more with I guess
15 rebounds to show also. It was almost evident that this guy brought the words
"crashing the paint" to a whole new level. While he never got a Mythical
Five selection with the team, he was the only Tanduay player to win
a BPC when the Rhum Masters almost won against Benjie Paras
and the rest of the Shell Turbo Chargers in the 1999 PBA All-Filipino Cup. Just like Alvarado, Menk was constantly harassed by
the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration with
regards to his citizenship. When he was able to prove that his claims are
legit, Tanduay was already cellar-dwelling in the standings and was on the
verge of sale. Menk would finish his career with Tanduay with 21.6ppg,
13.0rpg, 2.7apg, and 43.8mpg in 80 starts.
If I'm going to make this a Top Ten, I'll probably
add the names of Hatfield, Christopher Cantonjos, Noli Locsin, and
Dindo Pumaren on the list. The problem here though is that their
history is too brief... which was why I refrained from making this a top ten
list.
Of course, there are those other notable personas
that donned the Tanduay jerseys like Mark Telan, Bong Hawkins, Bobby
Jose, Jayvee Gayoso, Pido Jarencio, Jomer Rubi, Wynne Arboleda, Derrick Bughao,
Alvin Magpantay, Rene Alforque, Allan Yu, Jorge Gallent, and others but
without championship and tenure, adding more names on the list would make the
list forced.
While some could see Tanduay as a blessing because
it gave mediocre stars a chance to strut their wares in the PBA, they kind of
jeopardize the careers of Telan and Cantonjos. Teams are going to draft these
guys in the top five but since they were elevated, they started their PBA
campaigns as backups to Menk and Alvarado.
Shell selected Erwin Luna in 1999. Pop Cola needed
a big man and ended up with Roel Buenaventura. So yeah, if Telan and Cantonjos
started their careers as draft applicants, these two could have had a better
career.
But then, what could have been the careers of Webb
and Dela Rosa if they were part of the Tanduay squad that was elevated? I bet
Chua knows how to use both players and we could have probably seen the scoring
version of Webb.
The Tanduay rebirth lasted for just three years. At
this point, we heard the rumors of Bong Tan's unbelievable contract deal
to Danny Ildefonso that was basically a 16-year, 96-million
deal. Their 2001 season was hell because aside from the fact that Alvarado
was already deported, Menk was on the verge of joining Alvarado in persona-non-grata land... as were other Fil-Ams like Taulava, Alex Crisano, Dorian
Pena, Mick Pennisi, Davonn Harp, Jon Ordonio, and Hatfield (the
instigators of the witch hunt, Rob Parker and Al Segova have
already left the PBA).
Because of the events, Chua was relieved as head coach to make way for Derrick Pumaren.
After saying that the PBA was a "San Miguel
league", Bong Tan traded Hontiveros, Cariaso, Cantonjos, and Menk to
the San Miguel Corporation teams. And then before the 2002
PBA season, the Tanduay Rhum Masters were officially shut down to give way
for the FedEx Express.
Derrick Pumaren was retained as coach by the Express alongside holdovers Dindo Pumaren, Wynne
Arboleda, and David Friedhof.
Currently, the mess Tanduay made is still felt in
the PBA. When Welcoat took over from Shell, the Dragons were able to elevate
only three players. Including Menk, the Rhum Masters had a total of six. And
then NLEX had to pull out as the league’s thirteenth franchise and decided to
buy the Air21 slot because the PBA decided to scrap the PBA D-League direct
hires altogether. At least in this situation, NLEX owned a couple of existing
contracts like what they have with Asi Taulava.
Tanduay is still in the basketball circuit, playing in various leagues with the most prominent of which is the MPBL's Batangas Athletics that became the first league champions.
I hope you like what I made.
END
