1986 Ginebra San Miguel season

After eight years since joining the league in 1979, the La Tondeña ballclub won their first PBA championship by winning the Open Conference crown over Manila Beer, four games to one. On the memorable night of December 11, 1986, Ginebra San Miguel clinched the trophy with a 130-120 victory in Game five. The Living Legend Robert Jaworski became the first playing coach to steered a team to a PBA title.

• Dondon Ampalayo was named the season's Rookie of the Year.
• Playing-coach Robert Jaworski made it to the Mythical team's first five selection.

A bitter rivalry since the Crispa-Toyota days was born during the All-Filipino championship between Tanduay Rhum and crowd-favorite Ginebra San Miguel. Former Toyota teammates Ramon Fernandez and Robert Jaworski played on opposite sides in the finals for the first time. Adding color to their rivalry was Tanduay coach Arturo Valenzona, who steered Ginebra (then Gilbey's Gin) to three trips in the finals from 1982-1984 and the same coach the Big J replaced on the Ginebra bench starting in 1985.

In the Open (3rd) Conference, Billy Ray Bates, known as "The Black Superman", who led the famed Crispa Redmanizers to a Grandslam in 1983, teamed up with last year's Ginebra reinforcement and best import Michael Hackett in an explosive combination that have captured the excitement of PBA fans from the moment it made headlines. [1]

League pioneer Francis Arnaiz retired from active playing after seeing action only in the first round of eliminations in the Third Conference.

August 21: Ginebra clinch one of the two finals berth in the All-Filipino Conference with a 91-83 win over Shell Helix. This marks the fourth time the La Toñdena ballclub are playing in the championship series and the first since Robert Jaworski became player-coach of the team in 1985. Ginebra San Miguel were going up against Tanduay Rhum Makers in the finals, who were seeking their second straight title. [2]

September 25: In a highly anticipated first game of Ginebra in the Third Conference with the comebacking Billy Ray Bates and Michael Hackett going up against Alaska's comebacking imports as well, Norman Black and Donnie Ray Koonce, Ginebra won, 122-115. Bates scored 46 points and Hackett scored 38 points.

October 7: Ginebra turns back Manila Beer in an exciting contest, 113-109, after trailing for the most part of the game. Both teams were unbeaten with three wins each before their match.

December 9: In Game four of the Open Conference finals, playing coach Robert Jaworski, along with imports Billy Ray Bates and Michael Hackett, played a total of 58 minutes in a 145-135 double-overtime victory over Manila Beer and put the Ginebras on a threshold of winning their first title with a 3-1 series lead.