1998 Mobiline Phone Pals season

The 1998 Mobiline Phone Pals season was the 9th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

1998 Mobiline Phone Pals season
Head coach	Tommy Manotoc Eric Altamirano
Owner(s)	Pilipino Telephone Corporation
All-Filipino Cup results
Record	4–7 (.364)
Place	7th
Playoff finish	N/A
Commissioner's Cup results
Record	5–7 (.417)
Place	6th
Playoff finish	Quarterfinals
Governors Cup results
Record	16–13 (.552)
Place	2nd
Playoff finish	Finals
Stats @ PBA-Online.net
Mobiline Phone Pals seasons

Off-season transactions

TRANSACTIONS
Ato Agustin ^Release; signed with Pampanga Dragons in the MBA
Merwin Castelo ^Signed to a two-year deal; release by Alaska
Gabby Cui ^Acquired from Sta.Lucia when they traded Richard Del Rosario
Braulio Lim ^Drafted Rookie; moved to Alaska during the mid-season
Franz Pumaren ^Retired from active playing

Occurrences

Mobiline coach Tommy Manotoc has hired three-time MVP William Adornado as one of his assistant coaches at the start of the season.

Beginning the Commissioner's Cup on May 22, former Purefoods coach Eric Altamirano signed a four-year contract to coach the Mobiline Phone Pals. Altamirano's contract with Purefoods expired last March 31.

Notable dates

February 8: Andy Seigle nailed a baseline jumper in the final 25 seconds and made a crucial steal afterwards as Mobiline redeemed itself from their first game blowout loss to Gordon's Gin by nipping defending champion Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies, 67-64. [1]

March 8: Al Solis shot seven triples, one short of his own personal record to finish with a game-high 27 points as Mobiline keeps its hopes alive for a semifinals berth in the All-Filipino Cup with an 89-77 win over San Miguel Beermen and give the Phone Pals its fourth win in 10 games. Prior to the game, the Phone Pals have lost their last four assignments. [2]

May 29: After losing their first two games in the Commissioners Cup with Alex Fraser as their import, Fraser was replaced by their original choice Terquin Mott, who debut with 50 points in giving the Phone Pals their first win in a 94-90 victory over Shell.

Centennial Cup title (finals stint)

Mobiline finally captured a PBA title in a "bonus" tournament called Centennial Cup, the Phone Pals defeated Formula Shell, 67-66, in the one-game finale. The perfect combination of imports Silas Mills and Artemus McClary led Mobiline to the Governor's Cup finals in a rematch with Formula Shell. The Phone Pals played without national team members Jeffrey Cariaso and Andy Seigle for the whole conference, they lost in the championship series that went into a full limit of seven games.

Awards

• Silas Mills was named Governors Cup Best Import.
• Patrick Fran was voted the season's Most Improved Player.

Roster

Pos. No. Player School G 3 Antonio Espinosa De La Salle G 8 Al Solis University of Visayas G 9 Jose Francisco FEU F 10 Alvin Teng Arellano University G 12 Glenn Capacio FEU F 14 Eric Reyes Ateneo de Manila G 17 Patrick Fran UST F 22 Jeffrey Cariaso Sonoma State College G 24 Merwin Castelo San Beda F 33 Joselito Martin NCBA C 52 Andy Seigle University of New Orleans F 81 Gabby Cui Ateneo de Manila F 20 Alex Fraser (C) University of Miami F 32 Terquin Mott (C) Coppin State University G 1 Silas Mills (G) Utah State University G 25 Artemus McClary (G) Jacksonville University Position Name/s Head coach:  Eric Altamirano Assistants: Ryan Gregorio / Frankie Lim (C) - Commissioners Cup Import, (G) - Governors Cup Import '

Trades / Subtractions

July 1998	To Sta. Lucia Realtors Lowell Briones	To Mobiline Phone Pals Jose Francisco

Player Signed New team Braulio Lim May 1998 Alaska Milkmen References "Seigle delivers winning basket as Mobiline thwarts Purefoods". Manila Standard. "Mobiline's Solis rises to the occasion". Manila Standard.