Sports Weekly Magazine
August 3-10, 1979
Vic Villafranca
Tradition ostensibly won over performance, myopia over 20-20 vision and last-minute backstage maneuvers over the weight of statistics when Crispa’s Fortunato (Atoy) Co came from behind to win the most valuable player race of the 1979 PBA All-Filipino over a heavily-favored Ramon Fernandez of Toyota and three other nominees for the bauble which carries with it a Php 50,000.00 cash prize.
It was a black day for objectivity and fair play and the general reaction of the crowd at the Plaza presidential hall in Makati to the verdict ranged from total disbelief to total disgust.
One of the judges in the panel of sportswriters, radio and TV men that rendered the pivotal decision in the contest, Ronnie Nathanielsz of GTV Channel 4, howled over what he described as “an obscene decision.”
“I’m ashamed to be part of the group that was instrumental in carrying out what in my view was an obscene verdict and an unmitigated act of unfairness,” said a fuming Nathanielsz. “I wonder how those guys can sleep tonight or look at their faces in the mirror tomorrow morning.”
Five feet away from where Ronnie ranted, Kitchie Benedicto of KBS, shook her head sadly.
Beside her, TV director Bert de Leon asked, “what happened?”
On the floor, a coach of a PBA ballclub which had tangled with Fernandez’s team in the last All-Filipino, put his arms around the poleaxed Fernandez and blurted, “Mon, you were robbed.”
Rene Dalugdog, who represented the TV group in the media panel of judges, shook Fernandez’s hand and said he couldn’t understand what happened. “But I want you to know,” he told Fernandez, “that in my book, you should have been it, I voted for you and I voted in accordance with my conscience.”
Announced by PBA Commissioner Leo Prieto, Co’s victory over Fernandez, Sonny Jaworski of Toyota, and two other Crispa players, Freddie Hubalde and Philip Cezar, drew only lukewarm applause from the crowd. There were hisses too, and some scattered boos.
Asked what he thought of the crowd’s reaction, Jun Hizon, producer of the PBA games, said he felt “it smacked of indifference; no spontaneity whatsoever.”
Hizon also observed that from what he observed of the winner’s actuations after he received the award, “It seems as if even Atoy himself Is not altogether happy over the way the whole thing turned out.”
At the Vineyard pub, Rod Reyes, now of the National Media Production Center and formerly one of the country’s top sportswriters, said, “Nakakahiya.”
Then also from Rod came the night’s oft-repeated question, “What happened?”
Indeed, what happened?
Going into the fourth and last phase of the four-tiered format of the race for MVP, Fernandez looked as if he had his first MVP all wrapped up with the way he outscored Co in statistical points garnered in the regular games of the last All-Filipino series and likewise in the All-Star games where both he and Co were participants.
Fernandez finished ahead of Co with 2,856 statistical points against Co’s 2,726 in the All-Filipino. That SP total, which gave Fernandez 30 percent, was tops for this phase of the tilt. Co got 28.63 percent for his 2,726 points.
As for their performances in the four game All-Star series, Fernandez was only second to Freddie Hubalde with his 381 statistical points against Hubalde’s 389, but Co fared worse. He finished fifth behind Hubalde, Arnulfo Tuadles of Toyota and Abet Guidaben of Crispa with his 302 SP’s.
Overall, the statistical points earned by both Fernandez and Co showed the Toyota center 209 statistical points up on Co.
Counting the 30 percent garnered by Fernandez in topping the popularity tilt put by the Don Cigarettes, Fernandez went to the awards dinner holding 69.79 percent of the whole cake, or a 4.43 percent lead over Co who had 65.36 percent.
On the basis of all this, it would seem as if all that Fernandez needed to win was some kind of a reconfirmation by the media panel of judges of what the figures proclaimed.
He never got it.
Out of the 14 sportswriters and a representative each from radio and TV who cast their ballots for MVP, Fernandez only got 4 votes, while Co ran off with 9. There was one abstention.
With his surprising win in the sportswriters’ ballot, Co finished with 95.36 percentage points against Fernandez’s 83.12%.
It was a stunning, unbelievable reversal, a breakaway from a probable outcome of the race when gleaned in the light of statistics. “Incredible,” said one league statistician, expressing shock over the way the vote of the media panel went.
Incredible it really seems to be, and it’s just too bad that because the media poll was by secret ballot, those who asked the pointed question – what happened? – will never get to know how Fernandez lost in the polling booth in what he appeared to have worked so hard to win on the hardcourt.
Aside from Co, the other winners of silver cups and cash prizes for outstanding performances in the last All-Filipino were:
Arnulfo Tuadles of Toyota – rookie of the year
Abe King – most improved player of the year
Tito Varela – most sportsmanlike player
Crispa Coach Baby Dalupan – coach of the year
Winners of slots in the league’s mythical selection were Fernandez, Co, Jaworski, Hubalde and Tuadles.
Tuadles won out over Ronnie Albor of Honda, Bing del Rosario of Gilbey’s Gin, Ely Capacio of Tanduay, and Fritz Gaston of U/Tex, while King was chosen over a cast of nominees that included Rudy Lalota of Royal, Willie Tanduyan of Gilbey’s, Tito Varela of Crispa and Oscar Rocha of Honda.
Varela got the nod over Tony Torrente of Royal, Larry Mumar of Filmanbank, Jesse Sullano of Honda and Mike Bilbao of Tanduay for the most sportsmanlike player plum.
Dalupan had as his contenders the coaches of the eight other ballclubs in the league.
In winning the 1979 MVP award, Co, who led the league in scoring and was credited as the first man in the PBA to score 5,000 points, approximated a feat he scored in 1976 when he was named pro basketball player of the year in the All-Filipino sports awards sponsored by Seven-Up.
But unlike ’76 when he made top pro honors without a breath of dissent from anyone, it was different this time around. For as Co will no doubt find out in the days to come, aside from winning the Wimbledon-style silver cup and a Php 50,000.00 paycheck, he also – through no fault of his own – lit the fires of another controversy in an already controversy-ridden PBA season.