1979 Royal Tru-Orange season

The 1979 Royal Tru-Orange season was the 5th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

1979 Royal Tru-Orange season
Head coachEdgardo Ocampo
Owner(s)San Miguel Corporation
All Filipino Conference results
Record6–10
(.375)
PlaceN/A
Playoff finishN/A
Open Conference results
Record21–5
(.808)
Place1st
Playoff finishFinals
Invitational Conference results
Record1–4
(.200)
Place6th
Playoff finishN/A
Royal Tru-Orange seasons

Transactions
TRANSACTIONS
Ramon Dizon Rookie signed
Danilo Salvador Rookie signed
Evalson Valencia Rookie signed
Valerio Delos Santos Signed with Great Taste during the off-season
Norberto Rivera Signed with expansion team Gilbey's during the off-season

Championship

In the Second (Open) Conference, the Orangemen signed 6-7 Larry Pounds, a fifth-round draftee of the Golden State Warriors in 1975, and 6-11 Otto Moore, a veteran of NBA wars for nine seasons, as their imports. Royal emerge on top of the standings after the two-round eliminations with 13 wins and 3 losses and made it to the championship round by posting a 5-1 won-loss slate in the semifinals. On October 23, RTO defeated Crispa, 110–102, to reach the PBA finals for the first time in franchise history.

On November 6, Royal Tru-Orange won their first PBA crown by defeating the Toyota Tamaraws, 102–101, in Game 4 of the title playoffs for a 3-1 series victory. The Orangemen took the first two games, 104–99 and 100–95, the Tamaraws avoided a sweep by winning the third game, 99–98.

Royal Tru-Orange joins U/Tex Wranglers as the only other ballclub not named Crispa or Toyota, to have won a PBA title in the 1970s as RTO mentor and former olympian Edgardo Ocampo won his first championship as a head coach. [1]

Roster
Royal Tru-Orange roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.
G/F 2 Baguio, Maximino 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) CIT
G 4 Velasco, Paulino 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) University of Visayas
F/C 5 Migalbin, Jesus 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) San Agustin
F 6 dela Peña, Ricardo 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
G 7 Torrente, Antonio 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
G 8 Dizon, Ramon 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) PSBA
F 12 Jacutin, Marlowe 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) University of Visayas
F 13 Gregorio, Teodulfo 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Mapua Tech
G 14 Martirez, Yoyong 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) SWU
F/C 15 Lalota, Rodolfo 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Mapua (Jrs)
G 16 Paguntalan, Leonardo 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) WIT
F 17 Valencia, Evalson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) WIT
G Salvador, Danilo 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) San Sebastian
F/C Samson, Marte 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Ateneo de Manila
F 25 Pounds, Larry (I) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) University of Washington
C 34 Moore, Otto (I) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) University of Texas
Head coach
  • Edgardo Ocampo
Assistant coach(es)
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (I) Import
    • Injured

    References
    1. "A drink down memory lane". San Miguel Brewery Inc.
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