1989 Añejo Rum 65ers season

The 1989 Añejo Rum 65ers season was the 11th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Draft picks

Off-season transactions

Occurrences

During the first week of April, the Añejo Rum 65ers acquired Rey Cuenco from Shell in a trade that sent the team's first round pick Romeo Dela Rosa to the Zoom Masters. Dela Rosa decided to sit out and opted not to signed a contract with Añejo before the season started. ^[1]

Awards

• Dante Gonzalgo was the season's Most Improved Player.
• Carlos Briggs was named Best Import of the Reinforced Conference.

Summary

Open Conference: The Rum Masters brought in Carlton McKinney as their import, they lost their first game to San Miguel, 99-114 on March 7. Two days after on March 9, Añejo scored their first win of the season with a 119-117 victory over Presto. ^[2] After just two games, McKinney was replaced by Daren Queenan, who debut with 56 points in Añejo's 112-122 loss to Purefoods on March 16. The Rum Masters lost their next five games and went down at the bottom of the standings with only one win to show as against seven losses. In a must-win situation on April 6 and without playing-coach Sonny Jaworski, who was fined and suspended for one game due to the punching foul he committed against Jojo Lastimosa of Purefoods two nights before, Añejo responded with a 155-135 win over Formula Shell, new recruit Rey Cuenco played his first game with the 65ers against his former team. ^[3] Añejo survived another do-or-die situation in their last game in the eliminations against Alaska on April 11, the Rum Masters stayed alive and force a playoff with the Airmen following a 117-107 victory. ^[4] In the knockout game on April 13, Alaska eliminates Añejo Rum, 133-120, as the Rum Masters failed to advanced in the semifinal round for the first time since playing-coach Sonny Jaworski handled the team starting in 1985.

All-Filipino Conference: The defending champions couldn't scored consecutive victories not until their last two games in the eliminations, winning over San Miguel and Alaska for a 6-5 won-loss slate. The Rum Masters won their first two matches in the semifinals against Shell and San Miguel but lost four of their next five outings and were booted out from the finals race by Alaska on August 13, leaving San Miguel Beer and Purefoods Hotdogs to dispute the title. Añejo placed fourth, losing to Formula Shell in their best-of-five series for third place.

Reinforced Conference: Import Carlos Briggs, standing just below six-feet, debut with 68 points in the Rum Masters' 142-153 loss to Presto Tivolis in the opening game of the Third Conference. The red-haired Briggs led Añejo to a 5-5 won-loss card in the elimination round. After winning their first two semifinal matches against San Miguel, 142-140, and Presto, 144-143, both in overtime, Añejo lost three straight and needed to sweep their remaining assignments to avail to win five games in the semifinals to earn a playoff for the finals berth, the Rum Masters defeated Alaska, 145-142 in overtime on November 19, ^[5] and then scored an incredible come-from-behind 135-134 win against Purefoods two nights later on November 21. Añejo clinched win number five with an easy 145-129 victory over Presto Tivolis. ^[6] The Rum Masters enters the championship series against sister team San Miguel Beermen with another one-point win over Purefoods in their playoff game. Añejo Rum lost to San Miguel in the finals in five games as the Beermen makes history by winning the Grandslam and the Rum Masters settled for runner-up trophy in the season-ending conference.

Notable dates

August 1: Robert Jaworski topscored with 18 points and starred in two crucial plays in the last minute, resulted to a triple by Chito Loyzaga and a runaway basket by Philip Cezar for the final count, a 101-98 victory over San Miguel, for their second win in the semifinals and their fourth straight triumph since the eliminations. ^[7]

October 15: Carlos Briggs sizzled for 81 points, with five three-point shots in a dazzling one-man show, leading Añejo to a pulsating 135-132 victory over Formula Shell. Briggs became the fifth player in PBA history to pass the 80-point mark.

October 24: Carlos Briggs converted nine three-point shots and finished with 64 points as Añejo got back at Purefoods, 150-137, in the second round of eliminations. The win was the fourth straight for the Rum Masters and improved their won-loss standings to 5-3.

November 5: Añejo beats Presto Tivoli in another overtime-thriller, 144-143, for their second win in the semifinals, Carlos Briggs was the top scorer with 71 points. ^[8]

November 21: In yet another great escape, Carlos Briggs' late-game heroics kept Añejo's finals hopes alive with a 135-134 triumph over Purefoods, the Hotdogs were 21 seconds away from a finals clash with San Miguel Beer when they led by four, 134-130, on Alvin Patrimonio's short stab. Briggs, who finish with 75 points, stole the ball from Dindo Pumaren with 18 seconds left and completed a three-point play off a foul by Jojo Lastimosa with eight seconds remaining that capped a stirring comeback by the Rum Masters. ^[9]

November 26: Añejo advances into the Third Conference finals with a 113-112 win over Purefoods Hotdogs, which played sans import Dexter Shouse in their knockout game. ^[10]

Roster

_{Assistant Coach: Rino Salazar Team Manager: Bernabe Navarro}

References