[Editor's note: With this piece, our lead correspondent Reuben Terrado starts a series about teams that used to play in the PBA - and details you can remember them by]
REMEMBER the Pepsi team that saw action in the PBA during the first half of the 1990s?
The franchise was one of the two expansion teams welcomed by the PBA in 1990 and stayed in the league for six years. The ballclub wasn’t exactly known for winning, reaching the finals only once in its short history.
The franchise ended its stint in 1996, following a transfer of ownership from the family of Moro Lorenzo. It is now known as the TnT Tropang Giga, the flagship franchise of the MVP bloc in the PBA.
We remember the squad through 15 facts about them that you may not know about.
1. Pepsi used the Hotshots moniker during its first few conferences in the PBA. The moniker was reincarnated in 2014 when San Mig Coffee became the Purefoods Star Hotshots.
2. Speaking of Purefoods, Pepsi nearly made a coup by offering Alvin Patrimonio what back then was the largest contract in the PBA in June 1991. The Hotdogs, however, matched the offer, allowing Patrimonio to stay with the ballclub after signing a five-year, P25 million contract.
3. Taking a page out of the Patrimonio playbook, Pepsi also attempted to convince Jun Limpot to sign a contract with the Bottlers. But Sta. Lucia also matched the offer and signed him to a contract worth P28 million.
4. The Hotshots had a forgettable first season under head coach Ed Ocampo, ending up with a 2-28 record. Pepsi went on a 15-game losing streak at one point of the season before beating fellow expansion team Pop Cola on July 3, 1990. They ended the year on a 13-game losing skid.
5. The franchise’s only finals appearance came in the 1992 Third Conference when the then-7-Up Uncolas were swept by Swift. With Manny Victorino and Eugene Quilban backstopping the team, the Uncolas made a surprising run to the finals following a playoff victory against a San Miguel side led by eventual MVP Ato Agustin. But 7-Up lost in the championship series to Swift, which gifted Yeng Guiao his first-ever PBA title.
6. Yeng Guiao became the last coach of the franchise when he handled the squad from 1995 to 1996. Guiao was hired by Pepsi following his exit from Swift, which incidentally got ex-Bottlers coach Derrick Pumaren as the Meaties’ mentor.
7. In the 1990 expansion draft, Pepsi selected former Northern Consolidated member Tonichi Yturri, who was part of the grand slam team of San Miguel the prior season.
8. Jun Reyes was Pepsi’s first-ever pick in the PBA Draft in 1990. He went on to become a member of the 1996 grand slam squad of Alaska.
9, In an October 4, 1990 game, Pepsi lost to Purefoods in triple overtime, 182-178. The 178 points still stand as the most points scored by a losing team in history of the league.
10. During its only finals appearance in franchise history, Dell Demps was Pepsi’s import. The Pacific product went on to play in the NBA and also became the general manager of New Orleans Pelicans franchise. He is currently an assistant coach of the Utah Jazz under Quinn Snyder.
11. While Dell Demps brought the franchise to its lone finals appearance, Ronnie Coleman is the only Best Import winner of the team, winning the award in 1994 Governors’ Cup when the Bottlers finished third that conference.
12. Although more known for his stints with Crispa, Abet Guidaben was the only Pepsi player to be part of the PBA’s 40 Greatest Players. Guidaben was acquired by the Hotshots in a trade with Alaska for Harmon Codinera in 1990. He eventually moved to Shell, his last team of his storied PBA career.
13. Pepsi was the ticket to the PBA for three Cebuanos in Carlito Mejos, Rey Yncierto, and Mark Anthony Tallo, who incidentally is the father of former NLEX guard Mac. All three played for two seasons in the league, all with the franchise. Mejos, a University of Visayas product selected in the second round by Pepsi, had the best average among the three in scoring with a 10.4-point clip.
14. According to separate reports by the Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg, Pepsi was forced to changed its name to 7-Up Uncolas entering the 1992 All-Filipino Conference due to the ‘349’ controversy. It became Pepsi Mega in the 1993 Governors’ Cup where the Bottlers finished in third place.
15. Pepsi left the PBA in May 1996 after owner Moro Lorenzo Sr. transferred the ownership of the franchise to the family’s holding company. The team was renamed Mobiline, whose brand is affiliated with Lapanday Holdings and Piltel, which eventually came under the care of the PLDT Group chaired by Manny V. Pangilinan.
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