Sports Weekly Magazine
November 2-9, 1979
Peter N. Acosta
It must have been an agonizing decision for Crispa owner and manager, Valeriano (Danny) Floro to make.
The man, after all, has been as much a part of Crispa’s glory-filled year of 1976 as Atoy Co, Bogs Adornado, Philip Cezar and the rest of the team’s talented local performers who made possible the Redmanizers’ unequalled grand slam year in the PBA.
But obviously left with no choice and spurred by the team and the company’s higher interest, Danny finally wielded last week the axe that cut off the celebrated Cyrus Mann from the Crispa ballclub and sent the 6’10 former star of Brazil’s Palmeiras team packing his bags for home.
In an announcement that hardly caught by surprise those privy to the turmoil that had beset the Crispa team, Floro announced that the company had decided to rescind Mann’s playing contract which would have gone on to the third conference.
He gave as the principal reason “the deterioration of Mann’s game,” which he said severely affected Crispa’s semifinal round performance and eventually cost the Redmanizers, winners of the 1979 PBA All-Filipino and a candidate for the grand slam, a berth in the best of five championship playoffs of the second conference.
Breaking his silence for the first time on how things have gone between Mann and the rest of the team since the decline in Mann’s playing condition and ability began to drag down the whole team and all but rendered Crispa a single-import team, Floro said.
“Even before our crucial game with Royal Tru Orange, our players had appealed to us not to field Mann but we still gave him a chance despite this.
The “crucial game” of which Floro spoke was Crispa’s second round game in the double round semis which the Redmanizers needed to win to at least earn a tie for a finals berth.
But the Redmanizers lost that game, 110-101, and earlier, another crucial encounter with the Toyota Tamaraws whose conquest of RTO last Saturday ultimately gave the Tams the last finals berth while at the same time leaving the Redmanizers out in the cold in the title playoffs for this tournament where they were runner-up last year.
In the game which they lost to Toyota, Mann was only able to contribute six points and three rebounds and was hardly a match for Otto Moore in the battle of rebounds.
In its last semifinal round game with Great Taste, Crispa dispensed with the services of Mann, who, significantly, is listed in the elimination round records as the leader in shot blocks with 73 for 15 games or an average of 4.9 blocks per game.
But although Floro revealed the principal reason for Mann’s ouster from the team, he chose to remain silent on what caused this once dominating figure in the PBA to decline.
From sources inside the Crispa camp, however, SWM learned that even before he had a run-in with his teammates, Mann had been missing a lot of practice games. On the day before Crispa played RTO, SWM learned that Mann refused to jog around the hardcourt when ordered. A confrontation with Coach Baby Dalupan ensued, at the height of which Mann walked out.
SWM’s sources said that repeatedly, Mann had been asked to get into shape, to train, but he repeatedly hedged and gave excuses as well as assurance that he’s fine.
His performance in the semis, however, showed otherwise.
As to what apparently led to the decline in Mann’s condition and his interest to play 100 percent all the time, SWM sources learned one probable reason for this is Mann’s having gone again into the dangerous “habit” which he had embraced in the United States and which many felt was responsible for the delay in his acceptance of Crispa’s invitation for him to play another season with the Redmanizers.
“He just can’t kick that old habit of his,” said one Crispa insider.
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