Sports Weekly Magazine
July 28 – August 04, 1978
Pyke F. Jocson
No PBA Conference, especially the All Filipino, would be complete to the eyes of the thousand followers of the premier basketball league in the country without the usual MVPs and other notable awards.
Hence, the mythical selection is played up not only by top weekly magazines but also by those who have religiously watched majority of the games at the Big Dome.
For this year’s All Filipino, SPORTS WEEKLY has come out with its own version of the mythical five, a recognition of the top five players for their distinguished performance in the conference.
Robert Jaworski, Philip Cezar, Ramon Fernandez, Danilo Florencio, Fortunato Co.
Robert Jaworski, the Toyota superstar, is our hands down choice as the conference’s number one, a most valuable player of the first magnitude. With the recognition, the Big J easily emerges as our first choice for one of the two slots in the backcourt department over other noted guards Atoy Co, Francis Arnaiz, Lim Eng Beng and Freddie Webb.
Joining Big J is the Fortune Cookie, for, despite a not too revealing act in the conference, manages to cling on to second spot with a presence that has always been considered a threat, a point he enjoys over Arnaiz, who was off in the early part of the contest, Beng, who was overly-trying, and Webb, who had some inconsistent nights.
Then the powerhouse, the pointmakers. The forwards who sizzled with their mastery of the offense.
Our original list came up with five: Danilo Florencio, Jaime Manansala, Alfredo Hubalde, Adriano Papa and Philip Cezar.
The final choice for the wings: Florencio and Cezar.
And here’s why.
Florencio proved to be Toyota’s scoring ace, a role some doubted he could play when Dante Silverio acquired him to bolster the Tamaraws’ offense. With such a star-studded lineup at Toyota’s, Florencio managed to reaffirm his supremacy as PBA’s top winger.
Cezar, whose hands may not be as comparatively hot as those of Papa’s or Hubalde’s or Manansala’s, made our selection nonetheless, because he best represented the other kind of a forward, a shooting threat and a tiger in defense. The latter quality made Cezar the forward with a difference, a star all his own.
Without this very strong point to back him up, our choice would be the gangling greenhorn, a top Esquire in so short a time, Jimmy Manansala, who could easily make it to our next five had there been any.
Hubalde, last All Filipino MVP, was off and on, while the veteran Jun Papa was strongly supported by Billy Robinson.
In the pivot, Ramon Fernandez, the Toyota beanpole, was another hands-down choice. Other names mentioned during SWM’s deliberation were Alberto Guidaben, Jaime Taguines and Rudolf Kutch.
“Without Fernandez, we doubt very much if Toyota would have gone this far. Of course, there were the other stars in his team. But his holding his own against Billy Robinson in the championship round was something which just cannot be ignored.
Robinson was not included in the deliberation.
Robert Jaworski, Philip Cezar, Ramon Feranandez, Danilo Florencio, Fortunato Co.
Indeed,a. dream first five.
They represent the conference’s best.
****
JPM Note 1: The individual awards were given out after the first conference (the All Flipino) of the season) from 1975 to 1979. It was only in 1980 when the PBA decided to hand out season-ending awards.
JPM Note 2: The selection was done by SWM writers. The actual Mythical Five for 1978 were Robert Jaworski, Lim Eng Beng, Freddie Hubalde, Philip Cezar and Ramon Fernandez.
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