The Manila Beer Brewmasters were a professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
team 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) from
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
-
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
** Spain and Portugal en ...
. It was formed after Basic Holdings, Inc., a company controlled by
Lucio Tan, acquired the PBA franchise of
Delta Motor Corporation
Delta Motor Corporation was a South African car manufacturer, which was created through a management buy-out after General Motors (GM) divested from South Africa in 1986. It was headed by former GM executive, Bob Price, who had returned to South ...
, owner of league pioneer
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 ...
. The team was named after the brands of
Asia Brewery, Inc., another Tan company - Beer Hausen (1984) and Manila Beer (1985-1986).
Beer Hausen intended to make
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 ...
its franchise player with Jaworski relegated in the background. It acquired seven players from the Toyota team.
Robert Jaworski
Robert Vincent Salazar Jaworski Sr. (; born March 8, 1946), also known by his nicknames Sonny, Big J, and Jawo (), is a Filipino former professional basketball player, head coach and politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines fro ...
refused to be a part of the new team, describing the sale as a 'farce,' and that players should not be sold "''por kilo''" ("
lock, stock and barrel
"Lock, stock, and barrel" is a merism used predominantly in the United Kingdom and North America, meaning "all", "total" or "everything". It derives from the effective portions of a gun: the Lock (firearm), lock, the Stock (firearms), stock, and ...
" or sold like cattle). Jaworski,
Francis Arnaiz
Francis C. Arnaiz (born June 4, 1951) is a Filipino former basketball player. He is best known for his career in the PBA, playing for Toyota and Ginebra San Miguel from 1975 to 1986.
Early basketball years
Arnaiz had a love for sports and wou ...
,
Arnie Tuadles,
Chito Loyzaga
Joaquín "Chito" Cuerva Loyzaga (born August 29, 1958) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and commissioner. He played for the San Beda College in the NCAA before going on to play in the Philippine Basketball Association.
PBA ...
and
Abe King refused to join Beer Hausen. Then-PBA president Carlos "Honeyboy" Palanca III offered to take in Jaworski and Arnaiz to his team,
Gilbey's Gin; Tuadles and Loyzaga joined
Great Taste and King joined
Gold Eagle Beer. This marked the beginning of the Jaworski-Fernandez rivalry and directly contributed at being the cornerstone in making the Gins arguably the most popular team in Philippine basketball history with Jaworski at the forefront.
In the team's inaugural season, Ramon Fernandez achieved more than 20 triple-double performances, won his second MVP and led his team to a runner-up finish in the
1984 PBA Second All-Filipino Conference, losing to
Great Taste via three-game sweep.
The following year, the ballclub was renamed Manila Beer and they bolstered their lineup through the acquisition of Crispa players
Atoy Co
Fortunato "Atoy" Gan Co Jr. (born October 15, 1951) is a Filipino former basketball player and coach who played 13 seasons in the Philippine Basketball Association, mostly with Crispa Redmanizers. Nicknamed "The Fortune Cookie" (a pun on his na ...
,
Yoyoy Villamin and Matthew Gaston. On October 1, 1985, three weeks into the Third Conference, Fernandez was traded to
Tanduay for
Abet Guidaben. Manila Beer made it to the finals for the second time in the
1985 PBA Reinforced Conference but were swept in four games in the best of seven series against guest team
Northern Consolidated (NCC).
The year 1986 saw the Brewmasters having a new coach in national team mentor
Joe Lipa. Manila Beer failed to make past eliminations and Lipa was replaced by
Tito Eduque in the following conference. The Brewmasters were powered by imports
Michael Young and
Harold Keeling
Harold A. Keeling (born September 18, 1963) is an American-born Venezuelan former professional basketball player who briefly played for the Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the mid-1980s. Born in New Orleans, Louis ...
in the Third Conference and went all the way to the finals and placed second to
Ginebra San Miguel
Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (; GSMI), formerly La Tondeña Distillers, Inc., is a Philippines-based diversified beverage company majority-owned by San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc.
History
La Tondeña was established in 1902 by Carlos T. Pal ...
, which had the super import tandem of
Billy Ray Bates
Billy Ray Bates (born May 31, 1956) is a retired American professional basketball player. Bates played shooting guard at McAdams High in Mississippi and attended Kentucky State University.
Bates played four seasons in the National Basketball ...
and
Michael Hackett.
In January 1987, the franchise announced its disbandment.
The Lucio Tan group would return to the PBA in
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 ...
with the second incarnation of
Tanduay.
Trivia
In their first season, the Brewmasters had seven former Toyota players and two players
namely Itoy Esguerra and Ramon Cruz, who were acquired from Crispa. In their third and final season, the team had six players from Crispa's 1983 grandslam team and two former players from Toyota, Edgardo Cordero and Tim Coloso, from their roster. Esguerra, Cruz, Cordero and Coloso are the only four players who completed three seasons with the ballclub.
While teams that disbanded would either placed last or were booted out of the semifinals in their last conference, only Manila Beer and the legendary Crispa Redmanizers ends up a losing finalist in their final PBA conference.
Season-by-season records
Notable players
''Members of
PBA Hall of Fame and
PBA 25 Greatest Players are in boldface.''
*
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 ...
- #10 center-forward
*
Alberto "Abet" Guidaben - #55/#5 center
*
Lim Eng Beng
Lim Eng Beng (; November 10, 1951 – December 21, 2015) was a Filipino basketball player who spent twelve seasons in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from 1975-1986.
Early life
Lim was born and raised in Tondo, Manila from an impo ...
- guard
*
Fortunato "Atoy" Co, Jr - #6 guard
*Nicanor "Nick" Bulaong - #20/#19 forward
*Emerito "Emer" Legaspi - #18 guard
*Leopoldo "Pol" Herrera - #14 forward
*Edgardo Cordero - #3 forward
*
Ricardo "Ricky" Relosa - #15 center-forward
*Timoteo "Tim" Coloso - #32 guard-forward
*
Elpidio "Yoyoy" Villamin - #13 forward-center
*Mon Cruz - #24 guard
*Mike Bilbao - #34 guard
*Rodolfo "Rudy" Lalota - #9 center
*Gary Vargas - #11 forward
*Matthew "Fritz" Gaston - #22 guard
*Abet Gutierrez - #13 - guard
*Vic Sanchez - #12 - forward
*Angelito "Itoy" Esguerra - #16 -guard-forward
*Roberto "Bert" Dela Rosa - #7 - guard
*Eddie Boy Mendoza - #17
*Ricardo Cui
*Tito Varela
*Ranulfo Robles
*Adonis Tierra
*Jesus Migalbin
Imports
*William 'Butch' Hays - 84 3rd Conference - 86 Reinforced
*Doug Harris - 85 Open
*
Lewis Brown - 85 Open (replaced Harris)
*Francoise Wise - 85 Reinforced; lost to NCC in the finals
*George Turner / Carlton Cooper - 86 Reinforced
*
Michael Young /
Harold Keeling
Harold A. Keeling (born September 18, 1963) is an American-born Venezuelan former professional basketball player who briefly played for the Dallas Mavericks in the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the mid-1980s. Born in New Orleans, Louis ...
- 86 Open; lost to Ginebra in the finals
See also
*
Tanduay Rhum Makers
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
...
*
Stag Pale Pilseners
*
Cossack Blue Spirits
*
Cobra Energy Drink Iron Men
*
Boracay Rum Waves/
Tanduay Light Rhum Masters
References
{{PBAdefunct
Basketball teams established in 1984
Defunct Philippine Basketball Association teams
Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1986
1984 establishments in the Philippines
1986 disestablishments in the Philippines