1994 Swift Mighty Meaties season
The 1994 Swift Mighty Meaties season was the 5th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
| 1994 Swift Mighty Meaties season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Yeng Guiao Derrick Pumaren |
| Owner(s) | RFM Corporation |
| All Filipino Cup results | |
| Record | 13–11 (.542) |
| Place | 4th |
| Playoff finish | Semifinals |
| Commissioner's Cup results | |
| Record | 12–11 (.522) |
| Place | 3rd |
| Playoff finish | Semifinals |
| Governor's Cup results | |
| Record | 15–11 (.577) |
| Place | 2nd |
| Playoff finish | Finals |
| Swift Mighty Meaties seasons | |
Off-season transactions
| TRANSACTIONS |
|---|
| Emmanuel Victoria Drafted Rookie, 3rd overall pick |
| Cadel Mosqueda Free agent; signed with Pepsi Mega |
| Terry Saldaña Free agent; signed with Shell |
Occurrences
When Swift lost to Coney Island, 89-101, at the start of the semifinal round of the All-Filipino Cup on April 19,[1] the players and coaching staff feel bad about the loss and vowed to shaved their heads if they lose again, the Swift players responded as the Mighty Meaties won five in a row to clinch a playoff for the finals berth. On May 6, the San Miguel Beermen ended their winning streak with a 97-87 victory. In their last semifinal outing against Coney Island on May 8, the Swift players and coaching staff showed up in bald-headed and scored a 92-84 victory over the Ice Cream Stars.
The defending Commissioner's Cup champions bring back Ronnie Thompkins and he led Swift to four straight wins until he got suspended for two games in an incident involving him and Pepsi Mega's Rey Cuenco.[2]
Swift lost two of their first three games in the Commissioner's Cup semifinals with Thompkins being injured and was replaced following Swift's loss to San Miguel on August 9. Thompkins' replacement was Stan Rose, a 1993 CBA first round draft pick. Rose played only one game and scored 31 points in Swift's 105-103 win over Shell, he was sent home in favor of their former import Bernard Thompson.
Coach Yeng Guiao resigned from his coaching position with Swift after the Commissioner's Cup and moved over to the Pepsi Mega camp as both teams swapped coaches. Pepsi Mega coach Derrick Pumaren becomes the new head coach of Swift beginning the Governor's Cup.
Notable dates
July 3: Swift rolled over lackluster Pepsi Mega, 96-90, and jumped to the solo lead in the Commissioner's Cup with their fourth straight victory. Import Ronnie Thompkins registered the first triple-double of the conference with 21 points, 14 rebounds and 16 assists.[3]
July 5: With import Ronnie Thompkins serving the first of his two-game suspensions, the defending champions rose to the occasion in carving out a 108-106 win over Tondeña 65 Rhum that showed up with the sweet-shooting new import Mitchell Wiggins, who debut with 62 points but hardly got local support. The victory by Swift preserve an unblemished slate of five wins without a loss.[4]
October 14: Import Jay Edwards scored 69 points and shot 13 triples as Swift defeated Tondeña 65 Rhum, 135-124.[5]
Finals stint
Swift had enlisted the services of Jay Edwards as their import in the Governor's Cup. Edwards played six games and put in fine numbers. However, the ballclub decided to replaced him with Herb Jones. The Mighty Meaties played the Alaska Milkmen in the Governor's Cup finals and they lost in the championship series in six games.
Roster
| ROSTER | # | POS | HT | COLLEGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonel Balingit | 4 | Center | 6"9' | University of Visayas (Juniors) |
| Al Solis | 8 | Guard | 5"11' | University of Visayas |
| Boybits Victoria | 9 | Guard-Forward | 5"11' | San Beda College |
| Eric Reyes | 10 | Forward | 6”4’ | Ateneo de Manila |
| Nelson Asaytono | 11 | Forward | 6”3’ | University of Manila |
| Elpidio Villamin | 13 | Forward-Center | 6"3' | |
| Rudy Distrito | 14 | Guard | 5'11" | University of the East |
| Juancho Estrada | 15 | Guard | 6"1' | Adamson University |
| Teroy Albarillo | 16 | Guard | 5”9’ | University of Mindanao |
| Vergel Meneses | 18 | Forward | 6"2' | Jose Rizal College |
| Richard Bognot | 24 | Forward | 6"3' | |
| Zaldy Realubit | 35 | Center | 6"5' | University of San Jose Recoletos |
| Ronnie Thompkins Commissioner's Cup import | 44 | Center-Forward | 6"5' | Fort Hays State University |
| Stan Rose Commissioner's Cup import | 3 | Forward | 6"4' | Weber State University |
| Bernard Thompson Commissioner's Cup import | 34 | Center-Forward | 6"4' | Fresno State University |
| Jay Edwards Governor's Cup import | 3 | Guard | 6"3' | University of Indiana |
| Herb Jones Governor's Cup import | 34 | Forward-Center | 6"2' | University of Cincinnati |
Assistant coach: Roehl Nadurata, replaced by Gabby Velasco Team Manager: Elmer Yanga
References
- "Coney Island slams Swift". Manila Standard.
- "Thompkins, Cuenco pay dearly for fight". Manila Standard.
- "Meaties zap Megas, keep winning run". Manila Standard.
- "Crippled Swift bucks Tondeña 65". Manila Standard.
- "Pepsi edges Shell, puts one foot in semifinals". Manila Standard.