1992 Swift Mighty Meaties season
The 1992 Swift Mighty Meaties season was the 3rd season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
| 1992 Swift Mighty Meaties season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Yeng Guiao |
| Owner(s) | RFM Corporation |
| First Conference results | |
| Record | 12–13 (.480) |
| Place | 4th |
| Playoff finish | Semifinals |
| All-Filipino Conference results | |
| Record | 13–8 (.619) |
| Place | 3rd |
| Playoff finish | Semifinals |
| Third Conference results | |
| Record | 18–5 (.783) |
| Place | 1st |
| Playoff finish | Finals |
Stats @ PBA-Online.net | |
| Swift Mighty Meaties seasons | |
Off-season transactions
| TRANSACTIONS |
|---|
| Nelson Asaytono Acquired from Purefoods in exchange for future picks in 1994 and 1995 |
| Enrique Reyes Drafted Rookie |
| Bonel Balingit Drafted Rookie |
| Delfin Rizane Drafted Rookie |
| Rudy Distrito Acquired in a trade that sent Pido Jarencio to Ginebra |
| Juancho Estrada Rookie free agent signed |
| Richard Bognot Acquired from Shell when they traded Rey Cuenco, whom they got from Ginebra |
Summary
The RFM franchise strengthen its lineup in their bid to become a championship-caliber team with pre-season acquisitions of Nelson Asaytono from Purefoods and Rudy Distrito from Ginebra and with the signing of rookies Eric Reyes and the tallest player in the league, 6-9 Bonel Balingit, Swift is expected to contend in all three conferences of the season. The Mighty Meaties had David Henderson as their import in the First Conference, they lost their first two games by close margins to Presto in the opening game of the season and Purefoods in two overtimes. The Mighty Meaties then won three games in a row but were in danger of missing out the semifinals after losing four straight games, including a heartbreaking one-point loss to Presto in Baguio City on March 14. Facing elimination on March 19, Swift escaped with a 115-114 win over corporate rival Purefoods on David Henderson's off-balance shot from 15-feet with four seconds remaining. [1] The Mighty Meaties clinch a playoff and a knockout game with Purefoods for the last seat in the semifinals by beating the already eliminated Ginebra San Miguel, 136-122 on March 24. [2] Swift enters the semifinal round by defeating Purefoods, 123-117, in their playoff game two nights later on March 26. [3] The Mighty Meaties won three of their first four games in the semifinals for an 8-7 won-loss card and tied with Alaska and skidding Presto and just a game behind leaders Shell and San Miguel, the Mighty Meaties lost a close game to the Beermen and dropped their next two outings to Alaska and Shell as they were booted out from the finals race.
Swift raced to a 7-3 won-loss slate in the All-Filipino Conference and were tied with San Miguel Beermen at second place and a game behind defending champion Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs. The Mighty Meaties lost four of their first five games in the semifinals, two of which against the inspired 7-Up quintet and with no chance to avail the win five games in the semis to earn a finals playoff. Swift placed third with a 3-0 sweep over 7-Up.
Days before the start of the Third Conference, Swift coach Yeng Guiao was quote as describing their import Tony Harris as "Black Superman 2" in reference to Billy Ray Bates, the legendary import who led the famed Crispa Redmanizers to a grandslam and crowd-favorite Ginebra San Miguel to their first championship. Dubbed as the "Hurricane", Harris quickly made an impressive debut and exploded for 87 points in his first game, leading Swift to a 134-106 rout off All-Filipino Conference champion San Miguel Beermen. [4] Harris put in big numbers of 69, 57, 54 points in their next three games which Swift won. The Mighty Meaties' next two outings are scheduled out-of-town and on October 9 in Davao City, the menacing hurricane sizzled with 82 points in Swift's 166-144 rout of Purefoods. [5] The day after on October 10 in Iloilo City, Harris scored a record-breaking 105 points in leading Swift to a 151-147 victory over Ginebra San Miguel as the Mighty Meaties rolled to their six straight win. Their winning streak was snapped by Alaska on October 15 as Harris was outscored by Sean Chambers and held down to 38 points by the Milkmen's defense in a 102-115 loss. Swift top the eliminations with nine wins and two losses and booked the first finals seat on November 26 with their 14th win in 18 games, winning for the third time in four meetings with Ginebra San Miguel in a 145-139 victory as Tony Harris scored 68 points.
First title
Swift easily won their first championship in three years as their opponent 7-Up Bottlers, playing for the first time in the finals, offered a very least challenge and got swept in four games. Swift coach Yeng Guiao won his PBA title as a coach and the Mighty Meaties became the second team to score a 4-0 sweep in the best-of-seven title series.
Scoring record
October 10: Tony Harris' 105-point output in Swift's 151-147 win over Ginebra in Iloilo City broke the previous record of 103 points set by Michael Hackett on November 21, 1985. The Hurricane already had 58 points at the half and a total of 86 points going into the final period. [6]
October 18: Tony Harris knocked in quarter outputs of 26, 22, 23 and 27 to finish with 98 points as he scored the league's new third all-time highest individual output in Swift Mighty Meaties' 179–161 win over Presto Ice Cream. [7]
Awards
- Tony Harris was the runaway choice for the Best Import Award in the Third Conference.
- Nelson Asaytono and Al Solis were named in the Mythical first team selection.
Roster
| ROSTER | # | POS | HT | COLLEGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Solis | 8 | Guard | 5"11' | University of Visayas |
| Eric Reyes | 10 | Forward | 6"4' | Ateneo de Manila |
| Nelson Asaytono | 11 | Forward | 6"3' | University of Manila |
| Bonel Balingit | 12 | Center | 6"9' | University of Visayas (Juniors) |
| Elpidio Villamin | 13 | Forward-Center | 6"3' | |
| Rudy Distrito | 14 | Guard | 5"11' | University of the East |
| Juancho Estrada | 15 | Guard-Forward | 6"1' | Adamson University |
| Terry Saldaña | 17 | Forward | 6"3' | Letran (Juniors) |
| Delfin Rizane | 20 | Guard | 6"0' | Southwestern University |
| Ricardo Marata | 23 | Guard | 5"8' | Southwestern University |
| Richard Bognot | 24 | Forward | 6"3' | |
| Alejandro De Guzman | 26 | Forward | 6"2' | Far Eastern University |
| Jack Tanuan | 41 | Center | 6"5' | Far Eastern University |
| David Henderson 1st conference import | 7 | Center-Forward | 6"5' | Duke University |
| Tony Harris 3rd conference import | 22 | Guard-Forward | 6"2' | University of New Orleans |
Assistant Coach: Roehl Nadurata Team Manager: Elmer Yanga
References
- "Shell, Swift zap foes". Manila Standard.
- "Swift forces playoff". Manila Standard.
- "Swift books ticket to semis, applies broom on Purefoods". Manila Standard.
- "Harris fires 87 for Swift". Manila Standard.
- "Swift races to win No.5". Manila Standard.
- "Harris fires 105 as Swift posts no.6". Manila Standard.
- "Harris' show resumes (Page 31)". Manila Standard.
|
