The Tanduay Rhum Makers (1975–1987) and Tanduay Rhum Masters (1999–2001) were two basketball franchises associated with the same

Tanduay Distillers Tanduay Distillers, Inc. () is a Philippine alcoholic beverage company founded in 1854. It is a subsidiary of LT Group, a conglomerate owned by Filipino business magnate Lucio Tan. As of 2021, it is the world's largest rum brand. History ...

liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...

brand that played in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

(PBA). The original franchise, owned by Elizalde & Co., Inc., was a founding member of the PBA. From 1975-1980, the team played under the name Tanduay Distillery; Tanduay ESQ and Tanduay Esquires; then as, YCO-Tanduay in 1981-1983. The final name used by the original franchise was the Tanduay Rhum Makers (1983-1987). The original franchise won a total of three PBA championships. In 1988, its PBA franchise was acquired by Pure Foods Corporation and played as Purefoods. The second franchise played under the name Tanduay Rhum Masters and was owned by Tanduay Distillers, Inc. (the present owners of the Tanduay liquor business). It first played in the

Philippine Basketball League The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) was a commercial semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines. The league was composed of several commercial teams with several collegiate and provincial stars. History The PBL was formed on M ...

(1997-1999) and joined the PBA (1999-2001). The PBA records of the original Tanduay PBA franchise (1975-1987) were maintained for the second incarnation. Its PBA franchise was sold to

FedEx Express FedEx Express is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2023, it is the world's List of largest airlines, largest cargo airline in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the namesake and leadi ...

in 2002.

The original Tanduay franchise (Elizalde era, 1975–1987)

Businessman Manuel “Manolo” Elizalde formed the Philippines' first basketball dynasty, the

YCO Painters The YCO Painters were the multi-titled Filipino basketball team of the YCO Athletic Club that was active from the late 1940s to 1981 in the now-defunct Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA). YCO Athletic Club was founded ...

, during the post-

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

era. Players who have donned the famous YCO red and white jersey included

Carlos Loyzaga Carlos "Caloy" Loyzaga y Matute (August 29, 1930 – January 27, 2016) was a Filipino basketball player, coach and politician. He was the most dominant basketball player of his era in the Philippines and is considered as the greatest Filipino ba ...

Carlos Badion Carlos Velasco Badion (August 16, 1935 – June 20, 2002) was a Filipino basketball player. Although born in Lubao, Pampanga, he grew up in Tondo, Manila where he started his checkered career playing in sandlot tournaments and for Abad Santos ...

Loreto Carbonell Loreto "Bonnie" Dilema Carbonell (1933 – 23 September 2017) was a Philippines, Filipino basketball player who competed in the Basketball at the 1956 Summer Olympics, 1956 Summer Olympics. Career Playing career Sometime during his early years, F ...

Ed Ocampo Edgardo Luciano Ocampo (October 5, 1938 – July 29, 1992) was a Filipino basketball player and coach. Early life and education Ocampo was born in Pampanga, Philippines, on October 5 1938. He was one of four children of architects Fernand ...

Mariano Tolentino Mariano Tolentino (June 22, 1928 – 1998) was a Filipino basketball player who played for the national team competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics and in the 1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Ol ...

and

Kurt Bachmann Kurt Bachmann (July 18, 1936 – August 29, 2014) was a Filipino basketball player who competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics. Bachmann was born in Iloilo City. Bachmann led the De La Salle Green Archers to a juniors' National Collegiate Athletic ...

. Its rivalry with the

Ysmael Steel Admirals The Ysmael Steel Admirals were a basketball team that became active in the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) from 1958 to 1968. It was best known for its rivalry with the YCO Painters. It won numerous titles in the Na ...

preceded that of Crispa and

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

in the PBA. The first Tanduay basketball team was organized by Elizalde during the early 1960s to compete in a minor league called Businessmen’s Athletic Association (BAA). This farm team of the YCO Painters had a brief existence. In 1975, Elizalde became actively involved in the formation of the

as he joined forces with several

MICAA The Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) was a sports association which existed in Manila, Philippines from 1938 to 1981. Throughout its existence, it staged various sports and was participated by prominent Philippine c ...

team owners to break away from the

Basketball Association of the Philippines The Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) was the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) recognized national governing body for basketball in the Philippines. It was recognized by the FIBA in 1936 until 2007 when the Samahang B ...

stranglehold. The

maintained their ballclub in the MICAA and their newly-formed professional team was named Tanduay.

1977–1980

With

handling the coaching chores by 1977, replacing Bobby Littaua, Tanduay entered the semifinals for the first time in the 1977 All-Filipino Conference and almost made it to the finals but lost to Mariwasa-Honda Panthers on their last assignment as the Panthers went on to play the Crispa Redmanizers for the championship. The season had a Tanduay player Jaime Taguines becoming the second recipient of the Rookie of the Year honors. In

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, Tanduay had their first breakthrough year. After a third and fourth place finishes in the first two conferences of the season, the third conference Invitational championship allows the Esquires to simultaneously field their two imports. Gene Moore and David Payne led the team to score upset victories and enter the finals series against the Toyota Tamaraws. The Esquires lost to defending champion Toyota in four games. Tanduay again produced another Rookie of the Year awardee for the second straight season in Jaime Manansala.

1979–1984

The next six seasons would remain unfruitful and title-less campaign for the Tanduay ballclub despite being competitive and a darkhorse team in the early 1980s, signing some top amateur stars like Rey Lazaro, former San Beda Red Lions

Frankie Lim Francisco "Frankie" Lim (born February 29, 1960) is a Filipino former basketball player, basketball coach and executive. He played 15 seasons in the PBA. He later became a successful coach, leading his alma mater San Beda Red Lions to four NCA ...

and JB Yango. The team had a revamp of their lineup in 1984, giving up four of its veteran players, Roberto dela Rosa, Victor Sanchez, Alberto Gutierrez and Mike Bilbao to newcomer Beer Hausen.

1985–1987

Following the disbandment of the famed Crispa Redmanizers, the Tanduay Rhum Makers had a massive rebuilding, acquiring Crispa stars

Abet Guidaben Alberto "Abet" Guidaben (born September 14, 1952) is a Filipino former professional basketball player in the PBA. He was part of the fabled Crispa Redmanizers ballclub that won two Grand Slams, in 1976 and 1983. He was a two-time PBA Most Va ...

Freddie Hubalde Alfredo Hubalde (born September 14, 1953), also known as Freddie Hubalde, is a retired Filipino professional basketball player in the PBA. Collegiate career Hubalde played college ball for the Mapúa Institute of Technology, before eventuall ...

and

Padim Israel Federico Israel, Jr. (born September 2, 1956), better known as Padim Israel, is a former Filipino basketball player. He enrolled at Ateneo de Manila University in 1973 and saw action for Ateneo's varsity five. In his third year, he was asked to ...

, along with Willie Generalao from Gilbey's Gin. However, three weeks after the start of the

1985 PBA Reinforced Conference The 1985 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Reinforced Conference was the third and last conference of the 1985 PBA season The 1985 PBA season was the 11th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Board of governors Exec ...

, Guidaben was traded in favor of

Ramon Fernandez Ramon Sadaya Fernandez (; born October 3, 1953) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and current commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission. Fernandez won four PBA Most Valuable Player awards and a record of 19 PBA ti ...

from Manila Beer. Tanduay's coach at that time, Orly Castelo, was also replaced by former Gilbey's Gin coach

Arturo Valenzona Arturo "Turo" F. Valenzona (born November 5, 1942), is a former Filipino basketball player and head coach. Valenzona played college ball for the Far Eastern University before eventually playing in the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic A ...

. Tanduay finally won the first of three PBA championships beginning in the 1986 First Conference, behind imports Rob Williams and Andre Mckoy. After winning its first title, the team brought the championship trophy to the grave of their late owner, Manolo Elizalde, who died a year before. Tanduay won their second straight championship in the 1986 PBA All-Filipino Conference and their third title in the 1987 PBA Open Conference with best import

David Thirdkill David Thirdkill (born April 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the NBA, and was the 1993 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP. NBA career He was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the first round (15th o ...

Disbandment

A business blackeye occurred in late 1987 when a couple of Tanduay drinkers died allegedly owing to the liquor. This caused a major backlash in terms of sales as revenues collapsed and put parent company Elizalde & Company Inc. near bankruptcy. Pure Foods Corporation, then a subsidiary of

Ayala Corporation Ayala Corporation (, formerly ''Ayala y Compañía''; ) is the publicly listed holding company for the diversified interests of the Ayala Group. Founded in the Philippines by Domingo Róxas and Antonio de Ayala during Spanish colonial rule, ...

, acquired Tanduay's PBA franchise. The franchise would play under the name Purefoods beginning the

1988 PBA season The 1988 PBA season was the 14th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Board of governors Executive committee * Rodrigo L. Salud (Commissioner) * Reynaldo Marquez (Chairman, representing Shell Rimula-X Diesel Oilers) * Jos ...

. The Tanduay business enterprise was acquired by the

Lucio Tan Lucio Chua Tan Sr. (; born July 17, 1934) is a Filipino billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He presides over the Filipino conglomerate company LT Group, Inc., a company with extensive business interests in sports, banking, airline, liq ...

group of companies A corporate group, company group or business group, also formally known as a group of companies, is a collection of parent and subsidiary corporations that function as a single economic entity through a common source of control. These types of gr ...

Second Tanduay franchise (Tan era, 1997-2001)

In the Philippine Basketball League (1997-1999)

In 1997, the Tanduay name resurfaced in the Philippine basketball scene at the

under the ownership of

and managed by son Lucio "Bong" K. Tan, Jr. Prior to using the name "Tanduay Gold Rhum Masters", this team was originally known as Stag Pale Pilseners from 1995-1996, with

Marlou Aquino Marlou Bucao Aquino (born October 7, 1972) is a Filipino former professional basketball player who currently serves as the team consultant for the Pangasinan Heatwaves of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). During his prime, he wa ...

Bal David Bal Viray David Jr. (born August 23, 1972) is a Filipino professional basketball coach and former player. He played his whole 10-year career for the Barangay Ginebra Kings of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He last coached the UST Gr ...

and

Jason Webb Jason Pagaspas Webb (born September 23, 1973) is a Filipino basketball coach and former basketball player. Playing career Webb played collegiate basketball for the De La Salle Green Archers from 1991 to 1995. After college, he played for Sta ...

in the lineup. The Rhum Masters won several PBL crowns under coach

Alfrancis Chua Alfrancis P. Chua (born January 17, 1966) 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), overseei ...

and players

Eric Menk Eric Conrad Padua Menk (born August 24, 1974) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player who played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the ASEAN Basketball League. Known as Major Pain, Menk is a four-time PBA cha ...

, Jomer Rubi, Chris Cantonjos and

Mark Telan Mark Clemence Telan (born January 12, 1976) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters in the Philippine Basketball Association. A former De La Salle Green Archer, he was 2-time UAAP ...

. It also held a PBL-record 18 straight wins in the 1998–1999 Yakult PBL Centennial Cup, but lost in five games to Doctor J Rubbing Alcohol, when the Centennial Rhum Masters blew a 2–0 lead in the best-of-five affair. After the team moved to the PBA,

Asia Brewery Asia Brewery, Inc. is a Philippines-based diversified beverage company owned by LT Group, Inc. (), a publicly listed holding company of Lucio Tan. History Asia Brewery, Inc. was established by Lucio Tan on January 27, 1982, with the inaugur ...

retained the PBL franchise and was renamed Colt 45 with

Renren Ritualo Florendo "Renren" De Ramos Ritualo Jr. (born June 14, 1979) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and current assistant coach. He last played for the Shopinas.com Clickers of the Philippine Basketball Association and is currently ...

leading the squad. Colt 45 placed fourth in the 1999 PBL Challenge Cup before disbanding.

Return to the PBA (1999–2001)

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, Tanduay made its return to the PBA. As part of the agreement, the league allowed six players from Tanduay's PBL lineup to be elevated. Tanduay also acquired Fil-American Earl Sonny Alvarado as the top pick. The records from the original Tanduay franchise (1975-1987) were retained for this franchise. In its first season, Tanduay placed second to Shell in the 1999 PBA All-Filipino Conference but their second stint in the PBA were marred by several controversies such as the deportation of alleged "Fil-sham" (bogus Filipino) Alvarado which led to a forfeiture of several Tanduay games during the 2000 season. In the 2001 offseason, Tanduay made soundwaves in the PBA when they signed

Danny Ildefonso Danilo Cabonitalla Ildefonso (born December 9, 1976) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He currently serves as an assistant coach for both the Converge FiberXers of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the NU Bulld ...

of corporate rival

San Miguel Beermen The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Magnolia ...

a whopping 16-year, 98 million peso offersheet. The league though, nullified the said deal since it was believed that the offersheet violated the team's salary cap. Bong Tan also made a controversial comment calling the PBA, "a San Miguel league", a reference to a speculation that the PBA is favoring the then-San Miguel Corporation teams San Miguel and Barangay Ginebra. It was also said that Tanduay violated the PBA's salary cap many times by having their players sign a separate contract apart from the required PBA Uniform Player's Contract that made the players richer than any PBA team's bench players by a few hundred thousand pesos. This was already denied by the management.

Disbandment

Realizing its failure to win a championship despite a stellar line-up of Fil-American players and established veterans, Tanduay disbanded after the 2001 season, selling its PBA franchise to

for a reported sum of PHP 60-75 million. A firesale ensued as the Rhum Masters traded their key players

(to

Barangay Ginebra Kings The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the precolonial polities of the same name, modern barangays are political subdivisio ...

Dondon Hontiveros Donaldo "Dondon" Cabañes Hontiveros (born June 1, 1977) is a Filipino politician and former professional basketball player and coach. He has been serving as vice mayor of Cebu City since 2024 by virtue of succession, due to the suspension of ...

(to the

) and

Jeffrey Cariaso Jeffrey Joaquin Cariaso (born September 12, 1972) is a Filipino-American professional basketball coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Blackwater Bossing of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He also played for variou ...

(to the

Coca-Cola Tigers Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

Season-by-season records

Awards

Individual awards

PBA Press Corps Individual Awards

Notable players

''In alphabetical order. Members of

PBA Hall of Fame The Philippine Basketball Association Hall of Fame is an institution that honors selected former players and personalities of the Philippine Basketball Association. It was launched on May 29, 2005, during the Reunion Game pitting two teams consis ...

and PBA 25 Greatest Players are in boldface.''

First Tanduay team (Elizalde era, 1975-1987)

- #19 *

- #5 *

- #10 * Allan Abelgas - #34 * Dennis Abbatuan - #18 * Ronnie Albor - #16 * Zito "Chito" Bacon - #5 * Raymundo "Chuck" Barreiro - #4 * Miguel “Mike” Bilbao - #4, #6, #20, #40 * Rene Canent - #18 * Eleazar "Ely" Capacio - #15 * David "Boy" Cezar - #17 * Benjamin “Benjie” Cleofas - #15 * Ricardo "Joy" Cleofas - #16 * Ramon "Onchie" dela Cruz - #9 * Roberto "Bert" dela Rosa - #7 * Valerio "Botchok" delos Santos - #10 * Joselito "Lito" Eguia - #12 * Angelito "Itoy" Esguerra - #16 * Wilfredo “Willie” Generalao - #42 * Alberto "Abet" Gutierrez - #9 & #13 * Cesar "Boy" Ijares - #36 * Federico “Padim” Israel #17 * Rudolfo "Rudy" Lalota - #9 * Zaldy Latoza - #10 * Reynaldo "Rey" Lazaro - #12 *

- #4, #14 * Geronimo Lucido - #12 1976 Rookie of the Year * Jaime "Jimmy" Manansala - #11 1978 Rookie of the Year * Alexander "Alex" Marquez #44 - "The Kamikaze Kid" * Abelardo "Abe" Monzon #2, #22 & #44 * Horacio "Ace" Moreno - #88 & #8 * Jerry Pingoy - #14 * Marte Samson - #11 * Quirino "Rino" Salazar - #7 * Victor "Vic" Sanchez - #14, #12 – "Rambo" * David "Dave" Supnet #66 & #6 * Jaime "Jimmy" Taguines - #44 - 1977 Rookie of the Year * Alex Tan -#40 * Antonio "Tony" Torrente - #7 * Reynaldo "Rey" Vallejo -#1 * Luis "Tito" Varela -#32 - "Kojak" *

Freddie Webb Freddie Nelle Webb (born November 24, 1942) is a Filipino retired basketball player and coach, former politician, and television and radio personality. Education He completed his elementary education at San Beda College and his degree in Bach ...

- #14 – "Fastbreak Freddie" * Jose Bernardo "JB" Yango - #24 - "The Cuyapo Kid"

Imports

* Benny "The Outlaw" Anders #0 (1986) * Odell Ball #41 (1980) * Curtis Berry #00 (1982) * Bill Bozeat #12 (1976) * Kevin Cluess #35 (1980) * Bernie Harris #35 (1977) * Mark Haymore #32 (1981) * Jerome Henderson #31 (1982) * Tim Hirten #20 (1976) * Andre McKoy #33 (1986) * George Melton #33 (1983) * Gene Moore (1978, 1981) * Russell Murray #33 (1981-1982) * David Payne #36 (1978) * David Pope #66 (1985) * Lawyer (Butch) Taylor #44 (1980) *

John Terry John George Terry (born 7 December 1980) is an English professional Coach (association football), football coach and former Association football, player who played as a centre-back. He was previously captain of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, the En ...

#24 (1975) *

#22 (1987) * Andy Thompson #22 (1986) * John Q. Trapp #34 (1975) * Ronnie Valentine - #44 (1985) *

Freeman Williams Freeman Williams Jr. (May 15, 1956 – April 19, 2022) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Portland State Vikings, where he was a two-time All-Americ ...

#20 (1987) * Rob Williams #21 (1986) * Merlin Wilson #44(1979, 1985) * Francois Wise #3 (1983)

Second Tanduay team (Tan era, 1999-2001)

* Rene Alforque #18 * Sonny Alvarado #15 - "The Punisher" * Chris Cantonjos #33 * Jeffrey Cariaso #28 – "The Jet" * Jayvee Gayoso #22 – "Mr. Adrenaline" *

#7 - "Cebuano Hotshot" * Rudy Hatfield – "The H-Bomb" #34 * Pido Jarencio #25 – "The Fireman" * Bobby Jose #11 – "The Firecracker" *

Noli Locsin Luis Manuel Bespejo Locsin (born October 19, 1971), better known as Noli Locsin, is a Filipino retired professional basketball player. Dubbed as "The Tank", He is best known for his playing years with the Ginebra San Miguel franchise in the Phi ...

#6 – "The Tank" *

#30 - "Major Pain" * Dindo Pumaren #10 – "The Bullet" * Mark Telan #13 * Jomar Rubi #7 * Jason Webb #1 * Bong Hawkins * Bonel Balingit * Jon Ordono

Imports

* Maurice Bell #3/4 (2000-2001) * Joe Ira Clark #24 (1999-2000) * Ronnie Fields #20 (1999) * Kevin Freeman #33 (2001) * Billy Thomas #12 (2001)

References

{{PBAdefunct Basketball teams established in 1975 2001 disestablishments in the Philippines Basketball teams disestablished in 2001 Defunct Philippine Basketball Association teams Philippine Basketball League teams 1975 establishments in the Philippines

The original Tanduay franchise (Elizalde era, 1975–1987)

1977–1980

1979–1984

1985–1987

Disbandment

Second Tanduay franchise (Tan era, 1997-2001)

In the Philippine Basketball League (1997-1999)

Return to the PBA (1999–2001)

Disbandment

Season-by-season records

Awards

Individual awards

PBA Press Corps Individual Awards

Notable players

First Tanduay team (Elizalde era, 1975-1987)

Imports

Second Tanduay team (Tan era, 1999-2001)

Imports

See also

References