What Really Happened to Florencio and Toyota? (Sports Weekly, 1979)

Sports Weekly Magazine

March 30 – April 6, 1979

 

 

            With the release last Tuesday of the official lineups of the nine teams competing in this year’s PBA All-Filipino which showed Danny Florencio’s name out of the Toyota slate, what has long been an open secret has finally been confirmed. It’s all over between Danny and the ballclub he helped last year to its first of its two championships in PBA ’78.

 

            But as to the “why” of the Florencio-Toyota breakup, the reason will perhaps never be known although officially, what has been made to appear is that Danny won’t be seeing action anew with the Tamaraws because Toyota didn’t opt to renew his playing contract which expires Sunday, April 1, the date of the PBA ’79 All-Filipino series opening.

 

            When asked why he didn’t opt anew for Florencio’s services, Toyota coach Dante Silverio chose to keep mum. It was the same thing with Toyota team officials who could have shed light on the “real” reason Florencio has been dropped from the Tamaraw lineup but who, like Silverio, had also chosen to remain silent.

 

            Obviously, only one person – Florencio himself – could take the wraps off what had long been a PBA mystery. But Danny, for reasons known only to himself, had also chosen to stay tight-lipped.

 

            Seen once by a Sports Weekly magazine reporter while having lunch at a Quezon City eatery, Danny quickly slipped out of the restaurant when he caught sight of the SWM staffer. This led the writer to conclude that “perhaps, Danny doesn’t want to be interviewed or even to talk with any member of the press.”

 

            But why?

 

            To this question, several possible reasons have been advanced.

 

            The first is that “nahihiya si Danny.”

 

            If this is so, if Danny is really embarrassed, why?

 

            Another reason is that Danny doesn’t want to say something to any sportswriter that could further aggravate his situation. But then, if this is true, what is the “situation?

            When he was placed on the inactive list following Toyota’s last game in the first round of the double round qualifying series of the 1978 PBA second conference, the reason given by Toyota coach Silverio was that Danny had developed a “recurrent pulled muscle.”

 

 

 

            Florencio never got to see action in that game which Toyota lost by three points to the Great Taste Discoverers and not too long after, Silverio left for the south to coach an all-star team in a mid-season exhibition series of the league.

 

            When Silverio returned to Manila following the series and the second round started, the general expectation was that, by then, Florencio must have recovered from his “recurrent pulled muscle” trouble and would be seeing action again with the Tamaraws.

 

            But no such thing happened as the Tams opened their second round campaign with a reversal of their first round loss to GTD. In Toyota’s next game in the round against U/Tex, Florencio remained nowhere on the Toyota bench.

 

            He remained out all throughout the second conference which saw Toyota miss a finals berth and even in the third conference which the Tamaraws won.

 

            All throughout his period of inactivity, Florencio remained on the Toyota payroll because his contract remained effect up to April 1, 1979. But for all intents and purposes, he may as well have been out of the team.

 

            For since he last saw action with Toyota in the Toyota-U/Tex game where he only made three points after earlier averaging 22.5 points per game, he has not been to any Toyota practice. Neither has the Toyota team management shown any enthusiasm about seeing to it that he recovers fast from whatever is ailing him.

 

            Sunday, as a new PBA season opens with Florencio out of Toyota’s lineup or any of the lineups of the eight other teams in the PBA, it seems likely that the old question about the Florencio puzzle will be asked.

 

            Mainly, why didn’t Toyota renew Florencio’s playing contract?

 

            If it’s true that Toyota no longer wants him, how come none of the teams in the league never made any move to seek his services?

 

            Is it true that Florencio is through in the PBA? If so, why?

So Guess Who’s Highest Paid Toyota Tamaraw? (Sports Weekly, 1978)

Sports Weekly Magazine

September 29-October 6, 1978

 

 

 

            With his position of prominence in the Toyota ballclub, it would seem as if the Tamaraws’ take-charge guy and the winner of the “most valuable player” award in the last PBA All-Filipino series, Robert (Sonny) Jaworski, would be drawing – at the very least – a five-figure monthly paycheck.

 

            But it is not so, according to the official figures of the Games and Amusements Board on the salary of each member of the Toyota team based on the contracts furnished the GAB by the PBA.

 

            In fact, Jaworski is not even the highest-paid player in the Tamaraw lineup, the GAB figures show. The highest paid is Ernesto (Estoy) Estrada, the former Royal Tru Orange star forward picked up by the Tamaraws from Filmanbank following Filmanbank’s purchase of Seven-Up’s PBA franchise early this year.

 

            Estrada, who holds a 22-month contract with Toyota starting April, 1978 and due to expire January 31, 1979, receives Php 6,000 from Toyota.

 

            Estrada’s pay is PHp 1,000 more than the pay scale of the team’s original “Big Three” – Jaworski, Ramon Fernandez and Francis Arnaiz – who were listed in the GAB list as receiving Php 5,000 a month each. The current contracts of Jaworski, Fernandez and Arnaiz started April, 1977, and like Estrada’s, are also scheduled to expire January 31, 1979.

 

            After Estrada, Jaworski Fernandez and Arnaiz, the next highest paid Tamaraw player is Nicanor Bulaong, whose salary is listed at Php 3,500 a month.

 

            After the Php 3,500 a month Bulaong comes a bunch receiving Php 2,500-a-month salaries, namely, Fort Acuña, Quirino Salazar and, would you believe, Danilo Florencio?

 

            There is, however, one possible explanation for what appears to be a low scale for a player of Florencio’s stature. Since Toyota only absorbed Danny’s Seven-Up contract when Florencio was acquired by Filmanbank, this meant that Toyota was not obligated to pay Florencio higher than what he was getting in his old contract, which was absorbed by Toyota, and which won’t be expiring until April, 1979.

 

            Then, there is this fact that when Toyota got Florencio, it paid off U/Tex, Florencio’s old ballclub (before Seven-Up), the amount of Php 100,000, reportedly corresponding to Florencio’s advances from U/Tex.

 

 

 

            After the team’s top four highest paid players and the three receiving Php 2,500, the GAB figures show the rest of the players in the Tamaraws’ lineup with Php 2,000-a-month salaries. These are Pablo Javier, Abe King, Jr., Emerito Legaspi, Jesus Sta. Maria and Oscar Rocha.

 

            Rocha no longer sees action with the Tamaraws, but he is still listed in the team roster and is presumed to be still receiving his Php 2,000 a month because his contract won’t run out until January 31, 1979.

 

            Computed annually, this is how the yearly pay rate of each Tamaraw shapes up:

 

            Estoy Estrada, Php 72,000; Sonny Jaworski, Francis Arnaiz and Ramon Fernandez, Php 60,000; Nicanor Bulaong, Php 42,000; Fortunato Acuña, Danny Florencio and Rino Salazar, Php 30,000; Pablo Javier, Abe King, Emer Legaspi, Jess Sta. Maria, and Oscar Rocha, Php 24,000.

 

            The same annual computation shows Toyota’s yearly expenditure for the salaries of its players at Php 504,000. In comparison, Crispa, the first team featured in this series, has an annual outlay of Php 353,700 for the salaries of its players.

 

 

The Night Toyota Ran over Crispa (Sports Weekly, 1978)

Sports Weekly Magazine

June 23-30, 1978

On the Line, Vic Villafranca

 

 

Editor’s Note: Two hours before the Toyota-Crispa game last Tuesday, SWM columnist Vic Villafranca looked like he needed a stiff drink. He kept asking everybody: do you think Sports Weekly magazine will taste better with mustard or catsup? The reason for this was a week ago, in the last issue of SWM, Vic had vowed to eat a whole issue of SWM for breakfast if his prediction of a Toyota win by at least four points over Crispa didn’t come true.)

 

            Put away the mustard, Sim and Pyke, you may do the same thing with the catsup.

 

            That’s right, fellows, it’s off – the spectacle of this full-grown columnist chomping on the latest issue of Sports Weekly magazine for breakfast because Tuesday night at the Araneta Coliseum, before a packed house that included a big batch of keelhauled Crispanatics, a fired-up Toyota team, playing as if there’s no tomorrow, unloaded its big bombs against a badly outclassed Crispa outfit, 158 to 135, to round out its qualifying round playdates with a 12-2 won loss record.

 

            It was the same record posted by the chastised Crispa Redmanizers for the same stretch – Crispa’s first loss coming off an opening day setback to the U/Tex Wranglers, and its second, the drubbing that was almost cold-bloodedly administered Tuesday by Toyota.

 

            As for the Tamaraws, their two losses came at the hands of the Redmanizers in the first round and to the Tanduay Esquires Friday last week in an out-of-town match in Davao.

 

            So the two ballclubs, both of whom had wrapped up semifinal berths earlier than usual, came to the end of their respective qualifying round campaigns all square, although it seemed Toyota had all the more reasons to whoop it up with what they pulled off before a turn-away crowd estimated at 25,000 at the Big Dome.

 

 

 

            It was murder; plain, unadulterated murder.

 

            Playing as if in one evening they intended to make up for the humiliating that they suffered in Davao and, a month earlier, in Manila, the numbing aftermath of a crushing setback to the Redmanizers, Coach Dante Silverio’s boy went full steam all the way against Crispa in their second meeting with the Redmanizers this season to walk off the hardcourt with their prestige back in their pockets.

 

            Right from that time late in the first quarter when they pulled away by as much as 17 points, the back-with-a-vengeance Tamaraws never gave the Redmanizers a chance to breathe.

 

            The first period ended with Toyota’s lead down to 11 points on two quick hits by Philip Cezar and Tito Varela, but when Sonny Jaworski and Danny Florencio opened the second quarter with two completed fast break plays, the Tamaraws were again off and running.

 

            After two minutes, Toyota’s bulge had ballooned anew to 17, then 20 and all the way up to 23 when Francis Arnaiz, back in the groove as Toyota’s best clutch hitter, teamed up with Estoy Estrada and Jaworski to touch off an 11-4 Toyota blast that closed out the first half at 78-57.

 

            In the third quarter, the game assumed the character of a public slaughter of the once-dreaded Redmanizers when the Tamaraws relentlessly banged in 45 points against Crispa’s 26 to bust the match wide open going into the final period.

 

            In this torrid third, it was the “old” Toyota gang of Jaworski, Arnaiz and Ramon Fernandez who presided over the carnage. By the time the buzzer sounded, the Tamaraws were way out in Bangkok by 30 points.

 

            From this point on, it was all downhill for the Tamaraws although earlier in the fourth, the game was threatened by a melee and with 8:33 left, the Redmanizers had attempted a last gasp turnaround by bringing down Toyota’s lead to 21 points.

 

            The Redmanizers, however, never got farther than that because promptly, the Tamaraws unleashed a 12-4 barrage that sent Toyota’s lead up again to 31. Toyota’s margin of victory eventually settled at 23, which was deceptive because until the game swung into a you-shoot contest, the Tamaraws were wielding the axe at will on a hapless Crispa team.

 

 

 

            As in their previous encounters, the latest episode in the four-year old running gun battle between the two ballclubs was staged amid the pressure cooker atmosphere of an epic struggle.

 

            Standings-wise, the match was a no-bearing affair since both teams had assured themselves of semifinal round berths as early as the third playdate of the second round of the double-round qualifying run. Just the same, they went at each other’s throats as if Tuesday night was already championship night.

 

            As in so many Toyota-Crispa encounters, Tuesday’s night fever pitch confrontation was not without its share of tense moments and its roster of players sent out of the hardcourt due to injuries or by allowing their tempers to run amuck.

 

            For Crispa, the injury list was headed by Abet Guidaben, the Redmanizers’ 6’5 center, who suffered a busted jaw when he got hit by Fernandez as he was driving in for a lay-up. Toyota’s loss was Fort Acuña, who was thrown out of the ballgame when he touched off a melee after 1:25 in the final quarter.

 

            Jaworski was earlier sidelines because of a sprained ankle, but turned out not to be a serious injury because Jaworski was able to get back into the game. Fernandez had his lip split, but this didn’t stop him from finishing the game.

 

            By dealing the defending PBA All-Filipino champions the worst beating ever administered to Crispa this season, Toyota fully settled a two-month old score with the Redmanizers.

 

            But more than this, the Tamaraws, who are shooting for their second All-Filipino tournament championship, have emerged from the grey shadow of their two qualifying round losses and established themselves anew as the team most likely to win what is often known as the most prestigious title of the year-round PBA series.

 

            One runaway decision over Crispa doesn’t of course mean they’ve got it made, but with that awesome run and gun performance the Tamaraws have left no doubt about their being the most awesome ballclub in the All-Filipino when they are on. As undoubtedly and convincingly they were Tuesday night at the Big Dome when they all but reduced the Redmanizers to the category of a pedestrian that got hit by a runaway truck and never got to know what really hit them until it was time to take off their casts.

 

            Quote unquote –

 

            Atoy Co, upon reading SWM’s prediction of a Toyota win by at least four points: “Because of that, we’re going to beat Toyota.”

 

            Coach Dante Silverio, a week before the Tams went up against Crispa: “We’re going to beat them, Buddy.”

 

            Crispa owner and manager, Danny Floro, when asked if he was “nervous” about the outcome of the second Crispa-Toyota game in the All-Filipino: “I am always very nervous when we play Toyota.”

 

            Crispanatic, Naty Redublo, on SWM’s prediction: “So you think Toyota is gonna beat us by four points, huh? Man, you must be dreaming or out of your mind.”

PBA '78: Something Old, Something New (Sports Weekly, 1978)

Sports Weekly Magazine

April 14-21, 1978

 

 

            The biggest news in this coming PBA All Filipino is Toyota’s acquisition of PBA’s celebrated number one forward, Danny Florencio. The former Seven-Up Uncola, in an earlier article, admitted his desire to be and to play with a champion ballclub.

 

            By champion ballclub, Florencio meant Toyota or Crispa or U/Tex or Tanduay. For one sure thing though, he cannot go back to U/Tex where he had a stormy stint, nor Crispa, where he was sacked in 1972. Nor with Tanduay which he left during the happier amateur days. So, it is Toyota straight. And there couldn’t be a better choice. Dante’s squad is in dire need of a first-rate forward who can match skill with Jaworski, Arnaiz and Fernandez. A forward who is seasoned, a veteran who can deliver the points if he wants to regardless of the situation.

 

            Jaworski and Florencio could there be a better combination?

 

            Toyota’s acquisition of Florencio will test anew the stiff rivalry of the Crispa and Toyota teams, and will gauge the duo’s drawing power at the box office.

 

            The fans who were denied of a dream contest between Toyota and Crispa last All-Filipino, where Baby Dalupan’s boys faced Mariwasa for the championship, might be in for another thriller, Crispa having bolstered its slot with returnee Philip Cezar and newcomer Jimmy Javier. Bogs Adornado and Rudy Soriano however are still in the injured list.

 

 

 

            Crispa’s old reliables Atoy Co, Abet Guidaben, Bernard Fabiosa, Freddie Hubalde, Joy Dionisio, Tito Varela, Cris Calilan, Bong Dela Cruz, Rey Franco, Rey Pages, and Mando Torres will still be around.

 

            Toyota, on the other hand, aside from Jaworski, Florencio, Arnaiz and Fernandez, have sophomores Abe King, Emer Legaspi, Nick Bulaong, Ambo Javier and Fort Acuña, Rino Salazar, Jess Sta. Maria and Oscar Rocha.

 

            Not to be outdone are perennial threats U/Tex and Tanduay. U/Tex, fresh from an invitational tournament in Hongkong, has acquired two of the best amateur players in Etok Lobo and Anthony Dasalla.

 

            Aside from its prized catch, U/Tex still has Lim Eng Beng, Boy Kutch, Ricky Pineda, Jimmy Noblezada, Romy Cabading, Rudolf Hines, Ed Camus, Roy Deles, Boy Mora and the comebacking Romeo Frank.

 

            Tanduay has the same team, Freddie Webb, Rene Canent, Joy Cleofas, Abet Gutierrez, Dave Supnet, Jimmy Taguines, Mike Bilbao, Ace Moreno, Ric Catacutan, Vic Sanchez and Bert Dela Rosa.

 

            Newcomers to grace Tanduay’s team this season is top amateur player Jimmy Manansala, Abe Monzon and Ver Santos.

 

            Honda, with new coach Alberto Reynoso, formerly the country’s number one center, is the team to watch this season. It has remained intact except for some old names recruited from the other teams like Orly Bauzon, Tino Reynoso and Caloy Rodriguez.

 

            Retained in the team are Epoy Alcantara, Mark Arriola, Manny Chan, Luke Dacula, Mariano Figuracion, Jun Papa, Jesse Sullano, Mario Marasigan, Ompong Segura, Gil Cortez, and Renan Pablo.

 

            It has lost its big difference, Billy Robinson, who is back in the United States.

 

 

 

            Presto came up with a tentative list of Manny Paner, Ernesto Morales, Johnny Revilla, Danilo Pribhdas, Lory Tolentino, Dante Ritualo, Bien Alenton, Danny Basilan and Boy Clariño.

 

            Royal Tru Orange has the most number of rookies in the team. The squad is beefed up by former amateurs Leo Paguntalan, Marlowe Jacutin, Paul Velasco, Tony Torrente, Richard dela Peña and Rudy Lalota.

 

            Its maintays are Yoyong Martirez, Molet Pineda, Norbie Rivera, Max Baguio and Marte Samson.

 

            Botchok Delos Santos is another addition to the team.

 

            Seven-Up’s lineup reads Jaime Mariano, Roberto Salonga, Jacinto Chua, Alfredo Enriquez, Romulo Palijo, Ernesto de Leon, Lawrence Mumar, Orlando delos Santos, Jaime Otazu, Renato Sidamon, and, hold your breath, Estoy Estrada!

 

            Yesiree, the former hotshot of Tru Orange and considered one of the best pointmakers in the PBA, has joined Seven-Up to fill in the gap vacated by Danny Florencio.

 

            That’s the PBA’s rigodon de onor.

 

            “The All Filipino title is a prestigious one. We always try hard in this conference,” said Coach Baby Dalupan.

 

            “I think we will be better off this year. My boys are physically fit and I am confident we will make it this time,” Coach Dante Silverio said with all optimism.

 

            Words indeed from mentors of PBA’s leading ballclubs which are expected to clash anew and resume rivalry as to who’s who in the PBA.

 

            But then, don’t count U/Tex out. And Tanduay, too. They could play the bride’s role this year, who knows?

 

            On Sunday, after the opening ceremonies, Toyota will face Tanduay while U/Tex test their wares against defending champion, Crispa.

Men in a Spot: The Fallen Idols (Sports World, 1973)

Sports World Magazine

July 21, 1973

 

 

            DANNY FLORENCIO. The University of Santo Tomas star, he first played for YCO before moving to Crispa. He has been in every “first” national team (i.e., Olympics or ABC first, the Pesta Sukan, second, etc.) since 1966 when he made the Asiad in Bangkok. In 1967, he was a member of the ABC squad under Caloy Loyzaga and played the hero’s role as the Philippines regained the championship. In 1968, the Mexico City Olympics. In 1969, the ABC in Bangkok, Thailand; in 1970, both the ABC 10^th Year Special in Manila and the Sixth Asian Games in Bangkok; in 1971, the Sixth ABC in Tokyo; and in 1972, the Munich Olympic Games.

 

 

 

            VIRGILIO ABARRIENTOS.  UE spitfire who made up for lack of height with blinding speed and accurate jumpshots. One of the abler reserves of Crispa-Floro, Abarrientos came to his own in the playoff for round honors against Mariwasa in the MICAA Open of 1972 when he led a badly-depleted Crispa five (with Adriano Papa, Jr., Reynaldo Alcantara, Rodolfo Soriano, among those suspended for getting involved in an after-the-game fracas) to force the. Recorders to a best of three playoff (which Mariwasa won).

 

            REYNALDO ALCANTARA.  Also a UE standout before playing for Crispa. He was essentially a backcourt man but scored when the frontliners got muzzled. Made it with Rogelio Melencio, Fortunato Acuña, Ernesto Estrada, Reynaldo Franco, George Lizares, Ramon Lucindo, David Regullano, Renato Reyes, Valeriano Delos Santos, and Rodolfo Soriano as champion team in the first Pesta Sukan; was a member of the 1972 squad which included Joaquin Rojas, Jesse Sullano, Lawrence Mumar, Lucindo, Soriano, Rolando Marcelo, Estrada, Delos Santos, Regullano, Orlando Bauzon and Rudolf Kutch which finished second to South Korea.

 

            RUDOLF KUTCH.  Another UE product, was regarded as potential replacement for Alberto (Big Boy) Reynoso in the post. Made his first national team in 1969 as member of the team to the 5^th Asian Basketball Confederation, repeated in the ABC ’70 and also qualified for the 6^th Asiad in Bangkok; had his fourth stint as a national in the ’72 Pesta Sukan selection. His biggest international accomplishment was checking the fabled Shin Dong Pa of Korea in the 1969 ABC in the first half of play.

 

 

 

            ADRIANO PAPA, JR.  A National University star, he first played for Ysmael Steel in the MICAA, then YCO, before settling with Crispa. Became a national in 1966 as member of the Philippines team to the Fifth Asiad; made the 1967 ABC selection and his first Olympics in Mexico City a year later; returned to form for the 1970 6^th Asiad in Bangkok (after missing the 1969 ABC); made the 1971 ABC and became a two-time Olympian with the Munich meet of 1972.

 

            ERNESTO DE LEON. Pugnacious guard recruited by Virgilio (Baby) Dalupan from the University of the East squad. Steady on the backcourt, he was overshadowed in fame by his teammates but not in performance.

Crispa 6 Scandal: Black Friday for RP Basketball (Sports World, 1973)

Sports World Magazine

July 21, 1973

 

 

            It was a victory that had all the trappings of an old Hollywood script and Cinderella tale.

 

            Here was a team that didn’t even rate a serious look from the experts at the time because it seemed then that it didn’t have what it took to make it all the way to the finals, more so to run away with the title.

 

            And so it went five months ago, the gush of gee whiz prose that was cranked out following Mariwasa’s storybook triumph against the tall odds and a heavily-favored Crispa-Floro ballclub in the best two-of-three finals of the 1973 MICAA All-Filipino basketball series.

 

            Indeed, at that time, in the eyes of both the bleacher fan and the basketball expert, Mariwasa’s victory seemed nothing more than an old story of a gutsy outfit prevailing over the favorite; of a David pulling off an upset over a basketball Goliath.

 

            There was no hint – not even a faint one – that the Mariwasa team, then called the Akai Recorders, might have won not only on account of its own effort to win but probably as a result of the presence in the other team’s linup of players committed to make the breaks turn into Mariwasa’s favor.

 

            Mariwasa, of course, didn’t know it – this unholy alliance among six Crispa players to cut down their usual point output, thus, in effect, loading the deck in Mariwasa’s favor. And so, in so far as the Akais were concerned, theirs was a well-earned, untarnished victory.

 

            Truly, it seemed so and the statistics of the final match underscored the Akais’ mastery almost all the key facets of the game – control of the backboards (34 rebounds against Crispa’s 30), better foul shooting (a 71.42% to Crispa’s 55.55%), less errors (only 11 to Crispa’s 15), and more chances to score (85 field goal attempts to Crispa’s 66).

 

            Mariwasa was down by a point at the half, 38-39, but it forged ahead in the closing minutes on Narciso Bernardo’s clutch shooting to win, 84-80.

 

 

 

            In the first game of the best two-of-three series, Mariwasa was also behind by 10 points, 49-39, but it managed to pull off a close 79-77 victory by consistently pressing while the Crispa lineup was running into a spate of errors and lapsing into a shooting slump.

 

            Understandably, Crispa Coach Baby Dalupan was a sore man inside the Crispa lockers when the title series ended with his favored team a loser in two straight games. In an interview with Enrique Gonzales of the Times Journal, Dalupan blamed “bad officiating” and the way his boys “lost their cool” for the stunning setback.

 

            There was no statement issued by Crispa owner Danny Floro that night.

 

            A few weeks later, however, Danny hinted at a Crispa shakeup in the offing and subsequently stunned the world of local basketball with an announcement that he has decided to drop six Crispa mainstays from the team. The six were Danny Florencio, Adriano Papa, Jr., Rudolf Kutch, Virgilio Abarrientos, Reynaldo Alcantara and Ernesto de Leon.

 

            “Why, that’s almost the whole Crispa lineup!” was the remark that greeted Danny Floro’s announcement.

 

            Almost it was because with the ouster of the six, only four of the ten players used by Dalupan in the title series were left. They were Fortunato Co, Rudy Soriano, Danny Pecache, and Johnny Revilla.

 

            In announcing the shakeup during an interview with Sports World last March, Floro bared his pique at the boys he dropped from the team. “Sobra na! (too much),” he said, referring particularly to Papa’s breach of quarters discipline and Florencio’s refusal to follow orders.

 

            As to the others, Floro said “wala nang disiplina (no more discipline).”

 

            SW knew at this time that there was more than met the eye in the drastic step taken by the usually genial Floro against his six boys. But since he refused to comment on “what really was the reason for the ouster” during the interview, the matter was dropped.

 

            An aide of the Crispa team owner said, however, in an aside that “one day, you’ll know the reason why.”

 

            Finally, last week, four months after SW’s interview with Floro, it broke – the “real reason” why Floro all but dismantled his team following its loss to Mariwasa in the MICAA All-Filipino finals.

 

            In a headline story that it ran, ironically enough on Friday the 13^th, the Times Journal bared how the six players ousted by Floro last summer admitted having thrown the first game of the best two-of-three pennant series for a fee of Php 3,000 each paid by a gambling syndicate.

 

            The players’ admission, the news story said, was contained in a report submitted by the Metrocom Police Investigation Service to Brig. Gen. Alfredo Montoya, Metrocom commander. According to the report – Papa, Florencio, Kutch, Abarrientos, De Leon and Alcantara – owned their participation in the syndicate’s bid to “manipulate” the result of the Mariwasa-Crispa first game in the MICAA finals twice: the first before the MICAA board then before the MPIS.

 

            The MPIS report cited Papa as saying that two days before the game on February 4, an unidentified man gave him the Php 3,000 in his residence. He was asked to contact the other players. In his statement, Papa also reportedly disclosed that “anomalies in bigtime basketball went on even during the time of Carlos Loyzaga and Lauro Mumar.”

 

            Concluding its report, the MPIS said “the gravity of the offense was such that it undermined the faith of the Filipino people in the No. 1 sport in the country.”

 

            Expectedly, the scandal, the first to hit local basketball, touched off a wave of anger and concern among basketball officials and the media. Councilor Lito Puyat, president of the Basketball Association of the Philippines, convened the 21-man BAP board to a meeting to decide on the sanctions that it would take against the erring cagers.

 

            PAAF President Ambrosio Padilla, a former Olympic basketball player, bemoaned the incident. “It is a very sad day for Philippine basketball,” he said, “but the best we can do now is to do everything possible to avoid a repetition of such a case.”

 

            MICAA President Domingo Itchon served noticed that the association intended to take a hard line against the six former MICAA players. “Any penalty is to be imposed on this case should be more severe than a life suspension (from basketball),” Itchon said.

 

 

 

            Acting swiftly to head off the threatening erosion of public confidence in its basketball circuit, the MICAA board slapped a permanent ban on the six erring players and decided to pursue further investigation of other players reported to have committed the same act of dishonesty.

 

            In another move, the MICAA also reminded all the league’s team managers, coaches and players of its rule prohibiting “an official, coach, player, referee, umpire or those connected with the game in some capacity from betting.” Violation of this rule, the MICAA said, will bar the individual concerned from further participation in any game.

 

            The MICAA decision to expand its inquiry into the first scandal ever to hit its popular basketball league apparently stemmed from a disclosure by Capt. Hector Alvarez of the MPIS that “five other Crispa boys” are also involved in the fix.

 

            Capt. Alvarez, who handled the investigation of the scandal, said: “It was established during our investigation of the six Crispa players that five other Crispa boys also received something but no action had been taken against them because our investigation was centered on Papa and his companions.”