1991 Ginebra San Miguel season

The 1991 Ginebra San Miguel season was the 13th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Off-season transactions

Summary

Formerly the Añejo Rum 65ers, the La Tondeña ballclub will return to its old brand name Ginebra San Miguel beginning the season. The Ginebras started off with a 103-99 win over Alaska Milk on February 19. After three games, import Ron Davis was replaced by William Alexander, who played one game and scored a dismal 17 points in their 103-105 loss to Shell on March 5. ^[1] Jervis Cole, their third reinforcement plane in as Ginebra snapped out of a three-game losing skein. ^[2] Cole led the Gins to two straight victories but lost their next three outings and were in danger of being eliminated at three wins and six losses. In a must-win situation, Ginebra beat Purefoods, 137-133 on April 2, and Alaska, 123-117 on April 7, to advance into the semifinal round with a 5-6 won-loss slate. After losing their first semifinal assignment to Shell, 120-121 on April 11, the never-say-die Ginebras racked up seven straight victories to march into a finals rematch with arch-rivals Shell Turbo Chargers. Ginebra San Miguel made history by coming back from a 1-3 series deficit to take the last three games and win the championship, highlighted by Rudy Distrito's winning shot in the last five seconds of the thrilling Game 7 with the score tied at 102-all.

Ginebra San Miguel dropped to 4 wins and 7 losses in the All-Filipino Conference and failed to advance in the semifinal round. At the start of the Third Conference, assistant coach Rino Salazar accepted the offer to coach Shell and in his place, Ginebra hired Shell's former coach Arlene Rodriguez, whom Salazar replaced on the Turbo Chargers' bench. Ginebra signed up Wes Matthews, a member of the 1987-88 NBA World Champions Los Angeles Lakers, as their import. Matthews led Ginebra to a 7-4 won-loss card at the end of the elimination round. The Gins won their first five semifinal games for a return trip to the finals, this time playing against the Alaska Milkmen. Ginebra lost in four games to Alaska in the best-of-five title series, with rumors abound possible changes in their lineup next season following the reduced playing time of some of their key players in Game 4 finals loss.

Notable dates

April 21: Down by 19 points in the fourth quarter of their semifinal game against Diet Sarsi, the Ginebras battled back behind Dondon Ampalayo and import Jervis Cole, with only 32 seconds left and still trailing 117-124, a final 9-1 blast gave the Gins a dramatic 126-125 come-from-behind victory.

May 2: Ginebra led 16-0 over importless-Purefoods early in the first quarter and never look back in a 126-108 victory to set the stage for an explosive finals grudge rematch opposite last year's championship rival Shell Rimula-X Turbo Chargers. ^[3]

June 29: Ginebra beats Alaska, 75-68, in a low-scoring contest in the out-of-town game in Baguio City for their second win in five games in the All-Filipino Conference. The Milkmen's 68-point total broke the previous all-time low of 69 points made by Presto back in 1981.

July 7: The Ginebras rode on the heroics of playing-coach Sonny Jaworski's fired-up game and pinpoint passing in the fourth quarter with Dondon Ampalayo hitting a basket from close range as Ginebra pulled a 104-103 win over league-leading Diet Sarsi. The Gins, which trailed by as many as 11 points, improved to 3 wins and 4 losses. The Sizzlers' defeat dropped their win-loss standings to 6-2. ^[4]

October 6: With both teams carrying an identical 2-win, 2-loss slate, Ginebra prevailed over Pepsi Hotshots, 117-112, in a match where Ginebra playing-coach Sonny Jaworski was ejected from two technical fouls and Pepsi import Perry McDonald being given a technical just as the game was about to end. Jaworski fouled a driving Abet Guidaben, who fell down and then confronted the Ginebra playing coach, McDonald intervened by grabbing the Big J's nape. ^[5]

October 31: Ginebra San Miguel repeated over Pepsi, 114-111, at the start of the semifinal round in the Third Conference, stopping the six-game winning streak of the Hotshots and tied them in the standings on top with 8 wins and 4 losses.

November 12: At the start of the second round in the semifinals, Ginebra defeated Pepsi for the third time in the conference, 123-120, with ball possession for the Hotshots and the score tied at 120 with only few seconds remaining, Ginebra import Wes Matthews stole the ball from a dribbling Willie Generalao and then let go of a 35-footer with one second left, giving the Gins their seventh straight win since their last two games in the eliminations and their 12th victory in 16 games, assuring them of one of the two finals berth.

Roster

_{Assistant coach: Rino Salazar, replace by Arlene Rodriguez Team Manager: Bernabe Navarro}

References