(3rd of five parts)
Benjie Paras’ Historic ROTY/MVP Feat (1999): Benjie Paras ended the century just as he ended the ‘80s, but with a bigger bang by winning the Rookie of the Year (ROTY) and Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards in the same season. As the last PBA MVP of the 20th century, he averted a potential tie with Eric Menk for the rookie/MVP award and set two nearly unbreakable records: being the only player to win ROTY and MVP in the same season and having the longest gap between MVP awards—ten years apart.
2. Alaska’s 1996 Grand Slam. Parallel to the Chicago Bulls’ legendary 72-10 season with the triangle offense, Coach Tim Cone orchestrated one of the most dominant title runs in PBA history. Alaska’s core featured Johnny Abarrientos at point guard, Jeffrey Cariaso at shooting guard, Jojo Lastimosa at small forward, Bong Hawkins as the stretch four, and Poch Juinio as the rim protector.
3. Johnny Abarrientos’ 1996 MVP Season: Abarrientos became the shortest player ever to win the PBA’s most prestigious individual award after leading Alaska to its Grand Slam victory.
4. Asaytono-Agustin MVP Race of 1992: A heated battle for the MVP trophy, reminiscent of the legendary Fernandez-Co race in 1979.
5. Tony Harris’s 105-Point Explosion: The RFM import set the league on fire with a record-breaking 105-point performance.
6. Alvin Patrimonio’s Four MVP Awards: One of the greatest players of the decade, Patrimonio won the MVP award in 1991, 1993, 1994, and 1997.
7. The Centennial Team of 1998: Led by Meneses, Patrimonio, Aquino, Abarrientos, Caidic, and Duremdes, this team formed the core of the Centennial Team that represented the country on the international stage under the RPNMBT banner.
8. 1990 Asian Games Silver Medal: A historic silver medal finish in Beijing, where the Philippines fielded an all-pro team.
9. Allan Caidic’s 79-Point Masterpiece: On the night of his first-born child’s birth, Caidic erupted for 79 points, including a record-breaking 17 three-pointers.
10. Swift Mighty Meaties’ Near Grand Slam Run (1995): With the high-flying Vergel Meneses, Nelson Asaytono, Boybits Victoria (†), Bonel Balingit, Zaldy Realubit, Teroy Albarillo, and Juancho Estrada, Coach Derek Pumaren’s squad came close to completing a Grand Slam in one of the most dominant seasons of the decade.
Honorable Mentions:
- 1990 First Conference Finals Controversy: The infamous Ginebra-Shell series saw Jaworski’s team walk out of the title-clinching game, remembered for one of the greatest import duels between Sylvester Gray and Bobby Parks.
- Rudy Distrito’s 1991 Championship: Winner Ginebra exacted revenge against Shell a year later in a thrilling seven-game championship series, capped by Distrito’s game-winning basket.
- Samboy Lim’s Electrifying Moments: No further explanation needed—The Skywalker was simply spectacular.
- Baby Dalupan’s Historic Coaching Feat: The legendary coach won a PBA title with his third different franchise in three different decades.
- Paul ‘Bong’ Alvarez’s 71-Point Explosion: In an Alaska uniform, Alvarez put on one of the most electrifying scoring performances in PBA history.