San Miguel Beermen

MICAA days

Even at the very start, San Miguel Brewery had a team in the pre-war MICAA. The commercial league was similar to the UAAP and the NCAA where basketball was one of the various sports. There was MICAA competition for baseball, volleyball, football among other games. But as always, it was basketball which became prominent.

The Braves or the Greenshirts never won a MICAA title but they did figure in the championship three times. In the 1970s, San Miguel won two national seniors title in 1973 and again in 1976. The 1973 champion team were composed of Manny Paner, David Regullano, Estoy Estrada, Yoyong Martirez and a gangling 6'4" rookie slotman out of University of San Carlos by the name of Ramon Fernandez, who would later that year joined a new MICAA team Toyota Comets.

The Jong Uichico era

San Miguel Beermen
Uniforms
Light uniform	Dark uniform

New coach Jong Uichico began his first season with San Miguel in 1999. As part of the PBA's new rule to allow each team one direct-hire Filipino-foreigner, San Miguel acquired the services of Danny Seigle, younger brother of then Mobiline center Andy Seigle, to bolster the team along with former Pop Cola guard Boybits Victoria.

However, San Miguel struggled in the All-Filipino Cup and was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Formula Shell. One of their finest moments was during a match against Mobiline and star center Asi Taulava. San Miguel's 67-66 squeaker on Asaytono's two clutch free-throws handed the Phone Pals its first defeat after winning their first seven games.

In the Commissioner's Cup, San Miguel tapped former Mobiline import Terquin Mott. Mott, a known temperamental player during his first stint in the league, molded well with his local teammates as San Miguel was able to make a strong showing in the elimination round. San Miguel also parted way with Asaytono, shipping him to Pop Cola for Nic Belasco and Dwight Lago. The Beermen upset the defending champion Alaska Milkmen in the semis to enter the Finals against All-Filipino winner Formula Shell with Benjie Paras and import John Best. San Miguel won the first two games of the series before Shell tied the series at 2-2. But the Beermen won the last two games to win their 12th PBA crown and their first in five years.

In the Governors' Cup, San Miguel brought back Strothers as the Beermen cruised into the Finals of the said tournament against Alaska. The Milkmen even led the series at 2-1 but San Miguel was able to win the last three games to win their second straight championship in six games.

Seigle was named as the Rookie of the Year at season's end and also threatened to beat Paras for the MVP plum, but the "Tower of Power" won the 1999 MVP award.

San Miguel failed to win the 2000 All-Filipino Cup by finishing fourth in the tournament. The Beermen, however, defended the Commissioner's Cup trophy, with NBA veteran Stephen Howard on the lineup, defeating Sta. Lucia. In the Governors' Cup, with Strothers back, they defeated Purefoods in five games for their 15th PBA title. Danny Ildefonso won his first Most Valuable Player Award at the end of the season.

In 2001, they were favorites to win the All-Filipino Cup and San Miguel did so to enter the finals against sister team Barangay Ginebra and prized rookie Mark Caguioa. After the series was tied at 2-2, SMB survived in overtime to win Game Five and blew out the Kings in Game Six to capture their first All-Filipino title in seven years.

San Miguel was now favored to win the grand slam, but the young Batang Red Bull Thunder upset SMB in the finals of the Commissioner's Cup in six games while the Sta. Lucia Realtors, behind former SMB mentor Norman Black defeated his former club 4-2 in the season-ending Governors' Cup.

Ildefonso, meanwhile won his second consecutive MVP in 2001. Some observers though believed that it was Danny Seigle who deserved to win the award.

Ildefonso, Racela, newly acquired Dondon Hontiveros, Seigle and coach Jong Uichico concentrated their time with the RP National team in the 2002 season. Meanwhile, San Miguel was left with only Dorian Peña and Boybits Victoria on the team. San Miguel fielded in Strothers and later former NBA veteran Mario Bennett for the Governors' Cup. After the Beermen finished eighth in the elimination round, SMB upset the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals in the quarterfinals but was eliminated by Alaska in the semi-finals and finished fourth in the tournament. Strothers announced his retirement after the tournament.

In the Commissioner's Cup, San Miguel took Shea Seals and Art Long as import. But the temperamental Long got into a dirty scuffle with Red Bull import Antonio Lang during a game despite San Miguel finishing fourth after the elimination phase. Terquin Mott replaced Long before the end of the eliminations. After eliminating Coca-Cola in the quarters, Red Bull eliminated them in the semis before finishing third.

In the All-Filipino, San Miguel was decimated by Danny Seigle's injury with the national team. Racela, Ildefonso and Hontiveros returned for San Miguel but they were eliminated by Coca-Cola in the semis to finished third for the second-straight conference.

San Miguel returned in the 2003 on a bright note. After the elimination round of the All-Filipino, they finished first in Group A to qualify for the quarterfinals phase of the tournament. But the Beermen failed to enter the semis after finishing 1-2 in the single-round robin format. Their great finish in the All-Filipino helped the Beermen qualify for the Invitational tournament, but San Miguel failed to advance to the semis.

In the first Reinforced Conference in more than a decade, San Miguel fielded in several lemon imports before settling on former Sta. Lucia import Kwan Johnson. After a 0-5 start, San Miguel went 10-3 the rest of the way to enter the Finals, but lost in seven games to the Coca-Cola Tigers.

17th title

San Miguel was once again favorites to win championships in the 2004-05 season. Art Long made his return as import for San Miguel in the 2004 Fiesta Conference, a transition tournament. Long and the Beermen powered its way to a 9-0 start before finishing the tournament in first place after the eliminations. But once again, San Miguel failed to enter the semis after a 1-2 record in the quarterfinals.

In the 2004-2005 Philippine Cup (formerly the All-Filipino Cup), the Beermen finished the classification phase with an even 9-9 record. In the quarterfinals, San Miguel swept the Sta. Lucia Realtors in a three-game series. Then, the Beermen also swept Alaska in the quarterfinals. In the semis against sister rival Barangay Ginebra, the Beermen took a 2-1 series in the best-of-five affair but the Kings won the next two games to win the series, that capped with Rodney Santos' game-winner in the deciding game. The Beermen then beat Shell to cop third-place in the tournament.

Chris Burgess was San Miguel's import for the 2005 Fiesta Conference. San Miguel finished the classification phase in second place to gain an outright semi-finals berth. Midway to the semis, Burgess was replaced by Ace Custis and became an effective replacement for San Miguel. The Beermen eliminated Red Bull in the semi-finals to enter the Finals against the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals. The Beermen defeated the Phone Pals 4-1 to give the team its 17th PBA title in team history and ended its four-year title drought; it was also the first time in their last six championships that they've won a title with Danny Seigle as a non-factor in the playoffs. He was injured for almost the entire semi-finals and played only in Game 5 of the Finals. It was Jong Uichico's sixth PBA crown as coach.

After their performance a year ago, San Miguel was heavily favored in the 2005-06 Fiesta Conference to defend their crown. They added import Rico Hill to bolster the lineup along with former Shell Turbo Charger Chris Calaguio.

But SMB's high expectations became a disappointment. The Beermen started off with a 0-4 record before winning a game against the Air21 Express in Aklan. Hill was replaced by Kwan Johnson but the Beermen lost four more games to fall to 1-8. But the Beermen won the next five games; Johnson was suffering an injury and was temporarily replaced by Kevin Freeman. The Beermen finished with a 6-10 card and eighth place in the nine-team classification phase.

Johnson returned in time for San Miguel against ten-sister team Coca-Cola in the survivor round. The Beermen had a twice to beat edge, but the Tigers won the first encounter on January 6. A day later, Ildefonso's game-winner propelled the Beermen to the next round. In the Wildcard phase against the Express, they ended up losing in three games.

Before the start of the 2006 PBA Philippine Cup, San Miguel traded its veteran forward Nic Belasco to the Alaska Aces for guard Brandon Cablay. In a separate move, the Beermen acquired Wesley Gonzales from the Air21 Express and shipped Eugene Tejada to sister team Purefoods. The Express was supposed to send Homer Se to Purefoods but failed to pass his physical test, and was returned to the Air21 squad. The Cablay trade was seen as a preparation for the possible retirement of point guard Olsen Racela.

After a 1-2 start in the tournament, the Beermen won the next eight games before finishing with an 11-5 record. Their second place tally sent the Beermen to an outright semifinals berth, a huge improvement from their disappointing run in the Fiesta Conference. The Beermen's surge also saw Danny Seigle's numerous scoring outburst, norming 20 points in almost all of the games he played during the conference.

However, in the semifinals, they were upset by the Red Bull Barako in seven games. San Miguel won Games 2, 4 and the sixth game to level the matchup to a seventh game. However, in Game 7, the Beermen lost on a last second shot by Junthy Valenzuela, eliminating them from the tournament. In a one-game matchup for third place, San Miguel lost to Alaska 102-95 to finish fourth in the 2006 Philippine Cup.

Chot Reyes and Siot Tanquingcen

In the offseason, the San Miguel Corporation moved national team head coach Chot Reyes to the Beermen as its head coach while sending Jong Uichico to coach the Barangay Ginebra Kings. In the 2006 PBA Rookie Draft, the Beermen selected LA Tenorio (fourth overall pick) and Gabby Espinas (fifth overall pick) in one of the rare incidents in which San Miguel drafted players from the rookie draft.

After a 0-3 start in the tournament plus the injuries of Seigle and Ildefonso, the Beermen received Rommel Adducul and Lordy Tugade from Ginebra and Red Bull, respectively, in a three-team trade. This led to San Miguel winning 13 of the next 15 games to finished with a 13-5 record and an outright semifinals berth.

In the semis, the Beermen defeated Red Bull in seven games that was highlighted by the physical encounters of both squad in the series which also involved Red Bull's head man Yeng Guiao. In the Finals, after leading the series 2-0 the Beermen were beaten by the Barangay Ginebra Kings in six games.

In the recent 2007 Fiesta Conference, Chot Reyes took a leave to form and coach the national basketball team for the FIBA Asia Championships. For a few games, Biboy Ravanes was hired as the team's interim coach but soon San Miguel faltered to a slow start.

Soon, former Ginebra head coach and assistant coach Siot Tanquingcen was moved to the Beermen to be its interim tactician. However, fortunes didn't change as they suffered to a horrible 0-6 start and later 2-8 after fielding imports Vidal Messiah and Paul McMillan.

But then, San Miguel soon won eight games with the arrival of the team's third import, former Alaska Ace Galen Young. SMB wound up with a 10-8 win-loss card to end the elimination round, only to lose to Alaska in the eliminations, and to Air21 in a knockout match for the second outright quarterfinals berth.

At this time, the Beermen shipped Rommel Adducul to Red Bull for prized center Enrico Villanueva in a controversial trade which also involved sister team Purefoods, which snagged Adducul after trading reserve Don Camaso.

SMB was relegated to the wild-card playoffs but beat Sta. Lucia in the first knockout game of the phase and then pulled off the first of what was dubbed as the "Beeracle Run" over Coca-Cola in which they came back from a four-point deficit with 12 seconds to go to advance against Ginebra in the quarters.

There, the Beermen exacted revenge on the Barangay Ginebra Kings by beating them in three full games. The Beermen entered the Fiesta Conference semifinals only to lose to Alaska in six hard fought games and placed fourth in a loss to Red Bull for the consolation third-place trophy.

Arrival of Arwind Santos

If the San Miguel Beermen was a powerhouse team last season, the team got more formidable and fierce with their new acquisition of players for the upcoming season. They acquired Arwind Santos from the Burger King in exchange for Marc Pingris, Ken Bono and a future draft pick. They drafted JRU stalwart James Sena in the annual draft. And lately, they received FEU standout Dennis Miranda from the Sta. Lucia Realtors in replace for a future draft pick.

The Beermen clinch the 1st outright semis slot but they lost to their sister team the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants in 6 games (4-2). They top the Kings for the Battle for 3rd place.

In preparation for the coming Fiesta Conference, the Beermen took a shake on their roster. They traded Mike Cortez to Air21 Express in exchange for Alex Cabagnot.Then traded Bonbon Custodio to Sta. Lucia Realtors for Joseph Yeo.

The Beermen lost to Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters in game 6 of the PBA Philippine Cup on February 4, 2011. This is the first finals stint of coach Ato Agustin.

On March 2, 2011, the San Miguel Beermen has finally closed a deal with the Air21 Express with the approval of Commissioner Chito Salud. On this trade, the Beermen shifted Paul Artadi, Danny Seigle, Cebuano Hot Shot Dondon Hontiveros and Dorian Pena to the Express in exchange for three draft rookie draft picks Nonoy Baclao, Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Rey Guevarra. This trade is the revised proposed trade of the Beermen which initially involved Joseph Yeo, Danny Seigle and Mick Pennisi in exchange for the said top rookie picks. This has not been approved by Commissioner Chito Salud until this revised trade came in.

After the trade, they were eliminated and finish 9th place with 2 wins and 7 losses, the worst in franchise history.

Pre-season trades

In 2013, Ronald Tubid was involved in a 5-team, 10-player trade that sent him to Petron Blaze Boosters. The Boosters acquired Barako Bull Tubid while giving away Jojo Duncil and Fil-Am rookie Alex Mallari and Petron’s 2014 first round pick.^[28] Before the start of the Governors' Cup, Petron traded Jay Washington to Globalport in exchange for Jason Deutchman and 2014 two 2nd round picks, and Dorian Pena plus 2013 2nd round pick to Barako Bull for Doug Kramer.^[29]

On September 2013, Petron and Air21 Express completed a deal that sent Joseph Yeo to the Express for Mark Isip.^{[30][31][32][33]}

Petron acquired Chris Ross from GlobalPort Batang Pier in exchange for Denok Miranda.^[34][35] The trade was approved by Comm. Salud on October 30, 2013.^[36][37]

Petron traded Mark Isip together with Magi Sison for 5th overall pick of Barako. Petron traded its 5th pick (originally from Barako) to Globalport for Yousef Taha.

Back as San Miguel Beermen (2014)

On January 13, 2014, SMC President Ramon S. Ang announced that the Petron Blaze Boosters will revert its name back to San Miguel Beermen starting the 2014 PBA Commissioner's Cup, in time for the 25th year anniversary of the team's 1989 PBA Grand Slam season.^[38][39][40] In line with the name change, they also made personnel movements. They elevated longtime assistant coach Biboy Ravanes as head coach and John Todd Purves as active consultant.^[41] On February 18, 2014, they traded Alex Cabagnot to GlobalPort for Sol Mercado,^[42][43] and acquired Rico Maierhofer from Barako Bull via a complex seven player trade.^[44] Assistant coaches Siot Tanquincen and Leo Austria were let go by the organization as part of the coaching rigodon.

On April 29, 2014, the San Miguel Beermen traded young big man Yousef Taha for GlobalPort Batang Pier's rookie big man, Justin Chua.^[45][46][47]

2014–15 season

Leo Austria (center) in a San Miguel Beermen huddle during their game against NLEX on December 9, 2015.

2015–16 season

Winning victory of the San Miguel Beermen during Game 6 of the 2015–16 PBA Philippine Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on January 29, 2016.

On August 25, 2015, the Beermen traded playmaker Jeric Fortuna to the Barako Bull Energy for June Mar Fajardo's pal Brian Heruela.^[72] They also nabbed Michael Mabulac at 32nd overall and Andretti Stevens at 41st overall in the 2015 PBA draft.^[73]

On September 24, 2015, the Beermen traded sophomore swingman Ronald Pascual to the Barako Bull Energy for guard Ryan Araña who was also traded from the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to Barako Bull for a second round pick prior to the Pascual-Araña trade.^[74]

During the elimination round, the Beermen had a seven-game winning streak up until their tenth game to maintain top spot during the whole round.^[75][76][77] On December 16, 2015, which is their eleventh and last game of the eliminations, the game was dominated by June Mar Fajardo, who had a career night of 43 points and 20 rebounds.^[78][79] But they lost to the Alaska Aces, 97–103,^[80] to end their winning streak and to conclude the elimination round with a 9–2 record.^[81][82]

2016–17 season

During the draft, they picked Arnold Van Opstal from the special drafted for the Gilas players. They also picked Rashawn McCarthy and Jovit dela Cruz during the regular draft rounds.

On November 3, 2016, the Beermen traded veteran guard Ryan Araña & 2018 1st round pick to the Mahindra Floodbuster in exchange for young talents RR Garcia, which the Floodbuster acquired in a prior trade with Star Hotshots. The Beermen also acquired Keith Agovida in this transaction.

Depth chart

Individual awards

PBA Press Corps Individual Awards

All-Star Weekend

Members of the PBA's Greatest Players

• Ato Agustin - "The Atom Bomb" named 1991 PBA Most Improved Player & 1992 PBA MVP as a member of the team.
• Ricardo Brown - "The Quick Brown Fox" acquired by the team from Great Taste and played his final playing years with the team, the PBA's All-Time leader in average points with 23.1 ppg in his whole career.
• Allan Caidic - "The Triggerman" acquired in 1993 from the disbanding Presto Ice Cream, he played six seasons with the team and later became playing assistant coach.
• Hector Calma - "The Director" was a key point guard of the team during their glory years in the late-1980s. He is now the current Team Manager.
• Ramon Fernandez - "El Presidente"/"The Franchise" acquired from Purefoods in 1988, he won MVP honors that same year despite playing 1/3 of the season with the team. He played six more seasons with the team.
• Abet Guidaben - named 1987 PBA MVP as a member of the team
• Danny Ildefonso- "The Demolition Man" or "Lakay" is a 2-time PBA MVP(2000 and 2001), 5-time Best Player of Conference (2000 Commissioner's Cup, 2000 Governors' Cup, 2001 All-Filipino Cup, 2001 Commissioner's Cup and 2001 Governors' Cup) which is the most in PBA history, 3-time Finals MVP(1999, 2000 and 2005), 1-time All-Star MVP(2001) and 1998 Rookie of the Year. In addition, he is an 8-time PBA Champion and 8-time PBA All-Star.
• Avelino "Samboy" Lim - "The Skywalker"/"The Dragon" played his whole career with San Miguel and was known for his fearless drives to the basket that often leads to injuries. He is one of the most popular figures in franchise history.
• Lim Eng Beng ✝ - played for San Miguel from 1982 to 1983.
• Manny Paner - played for the team during the Royal Tru-Orange years and also during the Magnolia years.
• Benjie Paras - "The Tower of Power" made a short comeback in the PBA with the team in 2003.
• Marc Pingris - played for San Miguel from 2008 to 2009.
• Arwind Santos - Best known as "The Spiderman" of the PBA and also 1 time PBA MVP.

Other players

• 
  Nick Fazekas
• 
  Alex Cabagnot
• 
  Arwind Santos
• 
  Arizona Reid
• 
  Jameel Watkins
• 
  Josh Boone

PBA Hall of Famers

San Miguel Beermen PBA Hall of Famers
Player/Coach	Position	Seasons w/ San Miguel	Year of Induction
Ramon Fernandez	C-PF	1988–1994	2005
Abet Guidaben	C-PF	1987–1988	2005
Norman Black	C-PF	1982 (Import), 1985 (Import), 1985–1996 (Coach)	2007
Ron Jacobs†	--	1997–1998 (Coach)	2007
Danding Cojuangco	--	Team Owner (San Miguel Beermen, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, Magnolia Hotshots)	2007
Allan Caidic	SG	1993–1998	2009
Samboy Lim	SG/SF	1988–1997	2009
Hector Calma	PG	1986–1994	2009
Tommy Manotoc	--	1981–1982 (Coach)	2011
Lim Eng Beng†	PG/SG	1983	2013

Retired numbers

The retired numbers of San Miguel Beermen were previously hanging in the rafters of the Ynares Sports Arena, when it served as the home of ABL's San Miguel Beermen in 2013.^[98]

San Miguel Beermen retired numbers
N°	Player	Position	Tenure with San Miguel
8	Allan Caidic	G	1993–1998[a]
9	Samboy Lim	G	1987–1997
12	Yves Dignadice	F/C	1987–1997
14	Hector Calma	G	1986–1994
17	Olsen Racela	G	1997–2011[b]
19	Ramon Fernandez	C	1988–1995[c]

• ^a  – retired during the 2000 PBA season after announcing Caidic's retirement. Jersey number retired together with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel^[99]
• ^b  – retired during the 2010–11 PBA season^[100]
• ^c  – retired during the 1995 PBA season

Coaches