Purefoods Hotdogs. They could have established a dynasty from the late 1980s all the way to mid-1990s.
Try to imagine the squad built around Mon Fernandez, who ended up winning his fourth Most Valuable Player award, and Alvin Patrimonio, a future four-time MVP winner.
Having these two players alone would certainly give your squad proven winners and vital cogs for potential title runs.
The team also had Jojo Lastimosa and Jerry Codiñera, who wound up in the PBA’s 25 Greatest Players list, and Glenn Capacio, a would-be eight-time PBA All-Defensive Team Member, and a steady point guard in sophomore Al Solis.
From the veterans’ side, they still have Freddie Hubalde, a former league MVP, who became a league Hall of Famer, plus tried and tested experienced players like JB Yango, Willie Generelao and Onchie dela Cruz. All of them were members of three-time champion team Tanduay that was acquired by the Purefoods’ franchise by the end of the 1987 season.
“It would have been a dynasty,” Fernandez told The Link. “That’s why I moved heaven and earth to acquire Alvin.”
That promising dynasty was not to be, as by the third conference, the Hotdogs traded Fernandez for Abet Guidaben and by the season ended, shipped the two-time MVP along with the other veterans.
They did land some talented rookies in Nelson Asaytono and Dindo Pumaren, yet the Hotdogs always fell short in the early stages of their campaign as the absence of a veteran presence was sorely lacking.
Even their first championship had to be guided by luck when Bong Alvarez got injured in Game 3 of the title series between Alaska and Purefoods as the Hotdogs were able to seize the opportunity to rally from 0-2 down in the best-of-five series before winning a cliffhanger against the Milkmen.
There were so many what ifs that happened. Had there been no controversy surrounding Fernandez, had management let the running of basketball affairs to the team’s brain thrust, and had the team kept the core intact, the Hotdogs would have been winners right from the get-go.
Of course, it took so long before Purefoods, led by Patrimonio, the team’s captain, took its course to greatness.
Patrimonio and Codiñera won five championships playing together before parting ways in 1999 and by that time, both were on the twilight of their careers.
Fernandez and Lastimosa each became part of a grand slam team.
Known as El Presidente, Fernandez won seven championships for the San Miguel Beermen, including four straight from 1988 to 1989. He retired from the PBA as its all-time leading scorer, rebounder and most number of championships with 19.
Lastimosa, on the other hand, won a triple crown for Alaska in 1996. He had a string of four championships from 1995 to 1996 and would win three straight titles from the 1997 Third Conference to the 1998 Commissioner’s Cup. He went on to become a member of the PBA’s 25 Greatest list.