1985 Manila Beer Brewmasters season

The 1985 Manila Beer Brewmasters season was the 2nd season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

1985 Manila Beer Brewmasters season
Head coach	Loreto Carbonell Aaron James Edgardo Ocampo
Owner(s)	Asia Brewery
Open Conference results
Record	8–8 (.500)
Place	5th
Playoff finish	Quarterfinals
All Filipino Conference results
Record	4–6 (.400)
Place	5th
Playoff finish	Eliminated
Reinforced Conference results
Record	13–9 (.591)
Place	2nd
Playoff finish	Finals
Manila Beer Brewmasters seasons

Off-season transactions

TRANSACTIONS
Fortunato Co, Jr ^Acquired from Crispa
Elpidio Villamin ^Acquired from Crispa
Fritz Gaston ^Acquired from Crispa
Gary Vargas ^Acquired from Gilbey's
Rudy Lalota ^Acquired from Tanduay
Eduardo Mendoza ^Acquired from Tanduay

Occurrences

Coach Loreto Carbonell was replaced by former U-Tex import Aaron James to be the team's new head coach starting the All-Filipino Conference. After three straight losses, James was given his walking papers and former Toyota coach Edgardo Ocampo takes over the coaching chores for the Brewmasters, Carbonell remains on the bench as the assistant coach.

On September 25, two-time MVP Ramon Fernandez was sent by Manila Beer to Tanduay Rhum Makers in exchange for one-time MVP Abet Guidaben in a blockbuster trade that took place in two and a half weeks after the start of the PBA Third Conference.

Notable dates

March 28: Ramon Fernandez converted Manila Beer's last three points and became the first player in the season to score a triple double of 13 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists as the Brewmasters snapped a three-game losing streak and improved to three wins and four defeats following a 92-89 win over Magnolia, which went down to their fourth straight loss after winning their first three games. Import Doug Harris, who is going to be replaced by the comebacking Lewis Brown after the Lenten break, topscored for Manila Beer with 29 points.

September 26: Abet Guidaben played his first game in Manila Beer uniform as the Brewmasters beat Magnolia, 93-91, for their fifth win in six games. [1]

October 17: Manila Beer turned back Northern Consolidated, 126-121, to make it as the first outright semifinalist in the Third Conference and with the best record after the double round eliminations with nine wins and three losses.

November 17: In a match to decide the first finalist, Manila Beer trailed by nine points against Northern in the fourth period when they banked on an 18-2 salvo and posted a 98-91 lead with 30 seconds left in the ballgame. The Brewmasters enters the finals with a 99-93 win, sending NCC to a playoff match with Great Taste to determine the other finalist.

Finals stint

Heavily fancied at the start of the season, but struck out twice in their cracks for a round of four berth in the Open and All-Filipino Conferences and the crisis which ultimately resulted in the decision to trade Ramon Fernandez, Manila Beer came back in the Third Conference and pulled a hat trick as they will be playing in their second finals appearance. [2]

Manila Beer were swept in four games by the guest national team Northern Consolidated, coach by Ron Jacobs and with two naturalized players; Jeff Moore and Dennis Still. The Brewmasters lost in the four-game series by an average of 25.5 points and were routed in Games One and Four. The finals sweep by NCC was the first time in PBA history that it happen in a best-of-seven series.

Main article: 1985 PBA Reinforced Conference Finals

Roster

Manila Beer roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. G/F 3 Cordero, Edgardo 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) UST G 6 Co, Jr, Fortunato 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Mapua Tech F 9 Lalota, Rodolfo 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Mapua (Jrs) C 10 Fernandez, Ramon (T) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) University of San Carlos G/F 11 Vargas, Gary 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) PSBA F 13 Villamin, Elpidio 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) F 14 Herrera, Leopoldo 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Wesleyan University F 16 Esguerra, Angelito 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Letran College G 17 Mendoza, Eduardo 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) University of Visayas G 18 Legaspi, Emerito 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) UE G 22 Gaston, Matthew 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Ateneo de Manila G 24 Cruz, Ramon 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) UE G/F 32 Coloso, Timoteo 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Letran College F/C 50 Harris, Doug (O) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Central Washington F/C 33 Brown, Lewis (O) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) UNLV C 55 Guidaben, Abet (A) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) San Jose-Recoletos F/C 5 Wise, Francois (R) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Long Beach State	Head coach Loreto Carbonell Aaron James Edgardo Ocampo Assistant coach(es) Loreto Carbonell Legend (C) Team captain (O) Import (Open) (R) Import (Reinforced) (T) Traded (A) Acquired via trade Injured

_{Team Manager: Andy Jao}

References

1. "PBA boxscores: September 1985".
2. "The miracle of Manila Beer".