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Freddie Hubalde  

Posted by John D in , ,

Part of the Tanduay core absorbed by Purefoods during its inaugural season in 1988. Played in only one season with the team. Never got the expected playing time during his stint with the team as coach Cris Calilan opted to use younger players Al Solis, Jojo Lastimosa and Glenn Capacio. Was ditched to Shell the following season where he played his last PBA season. Known as a hot shooting swingman during his days with Crispa and Tanduay. He was MVP of the 1977 PBA season. Named as a member of the elite PBA's 25 Greatest Players of All-Time in 2000. Played college ball for the Mapua Institute of Technology, before eventually moving on to play professional basketball in the PBA.

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Tony de la Cerna  

Posted by John D in , ,

Third round pick of Purefoods in the 1989 PBA Draft. Played only one season with the team and didn't make much dent. Known as a torrid outside shooter in the amateurs but on a team that had Al Solis, Jojo Lastimosa and Glenn Capacio, there was simply not enough room to showcase his talents on the playing court.

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Team's Biggest Blunder  

Posted by John D

In 1988 All-Filipino Conference finals against Anejo Rhum, Purefoods, although only with a one conference experience in the PBA, was the favorite to bring home the crown what with the likes of super rookies Alvin Patrimonio, Jerry Codinera and Jojo Lastimosa, veterans Ramon Fernandez and other ex-Tanduay stalwarts providing enough firepower to the rookie team. Only one game turned the season around for the Hotdogs. One bad game. It was Game 1 of the championship. El Presidente couldn’t get his game going and rookies Patrimonio and Codinera were left to carry the show for the beleaguered Hotdogs. Purefoods President Rene Buhain accused Fernandez of fixing the game and ordered him benched for the rest of the series. Fernandez cried foul and took his act to court. Without their leader and playing coach, Purefoods lost the series to Anejo Rhum 1-3. They traded Fernandez to San Miguel Beer the following conference for Abet Guidaben who was then the early MVP leader. This was the second time both veterans were traded for each other. Both times, Guidaben would lose his chance of an MVP plum after leading the race. A visibly frustrated Guidaben played lacklusterly for Purefoods and they wound up last in the Third Conference. Fernandez took home the MVP award, his fourth and Guidaben, well, was a free agent at season end and signed up with Alaska Milk. Fernandez gave SMB a grand slam the following year falling just short of a fifth MVP. So for Fernandez, Purefoods asked for only a conference of Abet Guidaben. They should have asked for at least a first round pick. Benjie Paras turned pro a conference later after making that controversial trade.

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Best Purefoods Imports of All-Time  

Posted by John D

Derrick Brown. Two-time Best Import awardee. Carried Purefoods to the 2002 Championship. Nicknamed "The Flight" for his high-flying ways and explosive offensive game.

Kenny Redfield. Also a two-time Best Import awardee. Like Derrick Brown, led Purefoods to a championship. Do-it-all, very versatile playmaker. Can effectively play all five positions on the floor.

Darren Queenan. Gave Purefoods its first ever crown in 1990, while teaming up with Robert Paul Rose. Scored a career-high 82 markers in a triple OT game against Hill Bros.

David Thirdkill. Former Best Import awardee with Tanduay and had hoped to do the same in his stint with Purefoods. Was a monster in the eliminations up to the semifinals, making mincement of all his defenders. Disappeared in the Finals against SMB though. Back-to-back sub-par games in Games 6 and Game 7 throw out the team's championship hopes but still will be considered one of the best imports of all-time.

Mike Jones. Played for Purefoods in 2001, displaying incredible enthusiasm on the playing court. Led the Hotdogs to the Finals only to be derailed by Swift. Still, his energy on the court, was a sight to behold.

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All-Time Best Players  

Posted by John D

This was a long time coming. Who do you think are the best players to ever grace the Purefoods uniform. Before we start with the discussion, let us first make some rules in order not to spur any hard-heated debates between Purefoods fanatics till the wee hours of the morning. First, we will not include here all the ACIIVE Purefoods players, so in essence, a vote for James Yap and Kerby Raymundo will not be included. Second, we will consider only the exploits or performances of players WHILE playing for the Purefoods team, so Abet Guidaben, who played for one listless conference with Purefoods will not be on the list since his best playing years were not with Purefoods but with Crispa, Manila Beer and San Miguel. Thirdly, the player must have a positive impact on the Purefoods' franchise, and did not violate Philippine laws during his tenure. This will scratched off fil-sham Al Segova from the list. Lastly, the player must have played for Purefoods for a minimum of 5 years to establish enough credibility for the assessment of his contribution to the team and loyalty, which also means a vote for Jojo Lastimosa, will not count. Ditto with Ramon Fernandez who played for less than a season with the Purefoods team.

Okay, now that we've laid down the cards, let's begin.

Best players by position:
Center. I couldn't remember who protected the interior better than The Defense Minister himself Jerry Codinera. Together with Alvin Patrimonio, they were two of the most dominant tandems not only in team history but also in league history. He still holds the record of 11 blocked shots in a single game.

Power Forward. This is the easiest one to evaluate. Four-time league MVP Alvin Patrimonio is the hands-down choice as the best power forward in franchise history. No one comes even close.

Small Forward. Rey Evangelista, during his time, was one of Purefoods' staples on the defensive end. The many-time defensive team member plays no-nonsense and can be counted upon on both offense and defense. A terrific rebounder, he once had a 20 rebound game.

Off-Guard. Like Rey Evangelista, Glenn Capacio can lay claim as one of the best defenders of all-time. He's guarded the likes of Allan Caidic, Samboy Lim, Paul Alvarez and Boy Cabahug and gave them fits. Holds one of the best all-time performances of an individual player in a single game - a perfect six out of six conversion from 3-point range that remained unsurpassed until now.

Point Guard. No one handled the point for Purefoods better than "The Bullet" Dindo Pumaren. The 5-8 speedster was the epitome of a pure point guard. In fact, I can't picture an all-time Purefoods roster without his name on it.

Honorable Mention:

Noy Castillo. One of the best shooters of all-time. Carried the guns for Purefoods in the pre-James Yap days.

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Purefoods Team Monickers  

Posted by John D

In the 21-year existence of the Purefoods' franchise (from Ayala to Cojuangco era), the team used only nine monickers, each depicting various Purefoods brand. Please check below pictures depicting the old to present team monickers.

1) Coney Island Ice Cream
2) Purefoods Oodles Noodles
3) Purefoods Chicken Nuggets
4) Purefoods Hotdogs
5) Purefoods Corned Beef Cowboys
6) Purefoods Carne Norte
7) Purefoods TJ Hotdogs
8) Purefoods Chunkee Giants
9) Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants

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2008-09  

Posted by John D in ,

Season in review:
Before the start of the 2008-2009 KFC PBA Philippine Cup, the TJ Giants and their fans once again got into trouble with the Singapore Slingers audience during an exhibition game. The Giants lost to the Slingers in that heated match, but ironically, they signed Slinger Al Vergara for a single conference contract for the 2009 Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference.

In the off-season, Purefoods overhauled its roster by bringing in rookies Beau Belga, Jonathan Fernandez and Richard Alonzo. They also acquired veterans Topex Robinson and Paolo Bugia from Red Bull and Aaron Aban from Alaska. These moves, however, were all futile attempts at establishing team chemistry as the team failed to excel at the classification phase, even after acquiring Rich Alvarez in mid-conference and having Rommel Adducul back from cancer treatment.

Having to play in yet another wildcard phase, the Giants continued their stuggle in the 2008-2009 Philippine Cup. During a timeout in a knockout game against Air21, James Yap and Purefoods assistant coach Koy Banal exchanged harsh words which caused a stir in the team's huddle. Moments later, Kerby Raymundo rushed to the other side of the court to confront Air21 fans. The Express went on to win the game, ending the Purefoods campaign.

To settle the issue between James Yap and Koy Banal, the team's officials called for an emergency meeting right after the loss to Air21. The whole team stayed up late to talk things over, and the two eventually reconciled.

Before the start of the 2009 Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference, the team made a move in a three-way trade with Ginebra and Burger King, they let go of the young players remaining in their roster---Beau Belga, Richard Alonzo and Chico Lanete. In return, they got grizzled veterans Don Allado and Niño Canaleta. They also signed free agent Al Vergara of the Singapore Slingers for a one-conference contract.

With resident import Marquin Chandler still playing in Korea, the Giants brought in Brian Hamilton, who led them to an impressive 2-0 start but was eventually replaced by Jhamar Thorpe after a mediocre showing. Thorpe also turned out to be sub-par and was thus replaced by the original choice Chandler, who led the team to three straight victories upon his return, only to see it lose the next three.

Just before the All-Star break, the management continued to tinker with the team's roster. In another transaction involving the Gin Kings and the Whoppers, the Giants acquired veteran point guard Celino Cruz and gave up Aaron Aban. To make room for Cruz in its roster, the team released Al Vergara from his duties.

During the All-Star break, James Yap won the three-point shootout. Niño Canaleta, who won the Slam Dunk competition three times when he was with Air21, failed to get back the title. Kerby Raymundo and James Yap were key performers for the Powerade-Team Pilipinas in their three-game exhibition match with the PBA All-stars. Enrico Villanueva and Peter June Simon played for the North and South All-Stars respectively.

With a 7-7 win-loss card, the Giants faced the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters in a knockout wildcard duel. Even with Chandler fouling out in the fourth quarter, the Giants' local crew kept the game close, trailing by only three points, 97-100, with seven seconds left. Kerby Raymundo was fouled while shooting a desperation three-pointer that tied the game at 100-all, but he missed the potential game-winning free throw with 1.7 seconds left. In the extension period, Purefoods appeared to have sealed the victory with Roger Yap sinking two free throws to increase their lead to twelve, 114-102, with less than two minutes remaining. But Mark Cardona and Ren-Ren Ritualo made four consecutive triples for the Tropang Texters to force another overtime. The Giants, however resilient the Tropang Texters were, prevailed at the end behind the heroics of James Yap and Roger Yap. The victory earned Purefoods the last ticket to the quarterfinals against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.

With tired players, Purefoods lost to the Elasto Painters in game 1 of the quarterfinals. In game 2, they came back strong, leading by as much as 24 points late in the third. Nonetheless, Rain or Shine did not readily gave up, shutting the Giants' offense down and eventually tying the game with 22 seconds to go. Jai Lewis missed the possible go-ahead free throw, giving the Giants a chance to score the winning basket with the shot clock turned off. Marquin Chandler drove to the basket, got fouled, and drained two free throws with 1.2 seconds left. Off the timeout, Rob Wainwright missed the jumper and the Giants tied the series.

Game 3 saw the Giants leading most of the second half, behind Peter June Simon's high scoring game. Import Marquin Chandler was benched after letting his emotions get the best of him in the first half. He never saw action again in the second half, where Rain or Shine kept the game close. This paved the way for TY Tang to sink the go-ahead three-pointer with 31.2 seconds left. With the loss, the Giants were denied a slot in the semifinals and their long off-season began.

Roster:
Enrico Villanueva
Topex Robinson
Paolo Bugia
Kerby Raymundo
Roger Yap
Jondan Salvador
Peter June Simon
James Carlos Yap
Chico Lanete
Beau Belga
Jonathan Fernandez
Chad Alonzo
Aaron Aban
Rommel Adducul
Richard Yee
KG Canaleta
Celino Cruz
Rich Alvarez
Don Carlos Allado