1993 Swift Mighty Meaties season

The 1993 Swift Mighty Meaties season was the 4th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Draft picks

Occurrences

Before the Commissioner's Cup started, Swift traded Edgar Tanuan, Ricardo Marata and their next year's draft pick to Sta.Lucia Realtors for Vergel Meneses and Zaldy Realubit. The Mighty Meaties also shipped Alejandro De Guzman and Vilmer Bañares to the Realtors.

On July 25, the Swift Mighty Meaties beat Shell Helix Oilers, 118-117 in overtime on Terry Saldaña's last-second basket, that game featured a rumble and players banished from the playing court during the second quarter. The ugly incident started when Shell forward Ricky Relosa hit Swift import Ronnie Thompkins in the nape during a scuffle underneath the Swift basket and a brief chase ensued. The five players ejected for their involvement in the brawl were Relosa and Mulong Orillosa of Shell, Ronnie Thompkins, Zaldy Realubit and Cadel Mosqueda of Swift.

Summary

Last year's Third Conference champions had only two new additions in their lineup, rookie pick Vilmer Bañares and Cadel Mosqueda from the defunct Presto ballclub. The Mighty Meaties won their first game of the season against Alaska on March 2, with Nelson Asaytono scoring 46 points. From an even 4-4 won-loss card, Swift won their last two games in the eliminations and swept all four of their quarterfinal assignments for a six-game winning streak going into their best-of-five semifinal series against Coney Island (formerly Purefoods). The Mighty Meaties won twice over the Ice Cream Stars in two previous meetings only to be swept in three games by Coney Island in the semifinal series, losing Game two in overtime after leading by as much as 20 points, and another coaching lapses in Game three, losing in double-overtime to Coney Island, which lost Alvin Patrimonio early in the first half on ejection following an altercation with Eric Reyes. ^[1] Swift placed third with a 3-1 series win over Sta.Lucia Realtors. ^[2]

Swift welcomes the return of their former amateur stars Vergel Meneses and Zaldy Realubit in their lineup following the blockbuster trade with Sta.Lucia and has found the right import in Ronnie Thompkins for the Commissioner's Cup. The Mighty Meaties won their first six games, they beat Shell for their fourth win, 124-116 on June 27, in a battle of unbeaten teams. ^[3] After suffering their first loss to San Miguel, 109-116 on July 11, Swift takes on Purefoods in the following week on July 18, the Oodles were on a six-game winning streak since the arrival of their import Carey Scurry. In a highly-anticipated match-up with Scurry against Ronnie Thompkins, the Mighty Meaties scored an easy 132-108 win over Purefoods Oodles for their seventh win in eight games. Swift emerged with the best won-loss record at 9-2 after the eliminations and clinch the first finals berth with the conference-best 15-4 won-loss slate. The Mighty Meaties won their second PBA title with a 4-2 series victory over Purefoods Oodles, stopping their corporate rival's bid for a second straight crown in the season and exacting revenge over the team that beat them in the All-Filipino finals two years ago.

Last year's best import Tony Harris was back in the Governor's Cup, the Hurricane scored 74 points in his first game, a 124-107 Swift win over Pepsi Mega on September 28. ^[4] The Mighty Meaties struggled early in the eliminations, dropping three of their first five games with most of the blame on import Tony Harris. Swift were able to regain their winning ways and won their last five games in the eliminations for a 7-3 won-loss slate. The semifinal round was a roller-coaster ride for the Mighty Meaties, losing and winning each time in their outings and won their last game against Purefoods, 114-112 on November 26, to earn a playoff for a finals berth. ^[5] Swift had to go through two sudden-death playoffs against Pepsi Mega and Sta.Lucia to enter the finals against the San Miguel Beermen. The Mighty Meaties, which lost all three of their previous matches with the Beermen going into the championship round, were beaten in five games, losing the last three with Tony Harris leaving the second half of Game four because of an injury and was a non-factor in Swift's 89-91 loss to San Miguel in Game five of the finals series.

Awards

• Ronnie Thompkins won Best Import honors in the Commissioner's Cup.
• Vergel Meneses was voted Commissioner's Cup finals MVP, the Aerial Voyager was also named the season's Most Improved Player.

All-Filipino Cup roster

Commissioners Cup/Governors Cup roster

_{Assistant coach: Roehl Nadurata Team Manager: Elmer Yanga}

References