By JONAS TERRADO
Crispa and Toyota faced off for the first time in the newly-formed PBA 45 years ago (May 10, 1975), marking the start of the greatest and most bitter rivalry ever seen in Philippine sports.
The Redmanizers came out with a 139-133 victory in a game held before 11,000 fans at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum, a result that ended the Comets’ 6-0 start in the league’s first conference.
Bogs Adornado, later named as the league’s first-ever Most Valuable Player, was one of seven Crispa players who scored in double figures with 29 points as the Danny Floro-owned ballclub climbed to a tie for second with Noritake at 5-3.
But the game also gave a preview of how fabled the rivalry was when Toyota’s Oscar Rocha punched Crispa point guard Bernie Fabiosa in the face with three seconds left. A Bulletin Today account said the incident happened right in front of PBA Commissioner Leo Prieto.
“It’s going to be pretty severe,” said Prieto, as quoted by Ding Marcelo, who covered the first Crispa-Toyota game for the Bulletin.
It was severe indeed as Rocha was suspended for one month and fined P500 for his actions, while Fabiosa was asked to pay P50 for throwing the ball at Toyota’s Tino Reynoso, who was also handed a P25 penalty for flashing a dirty finger.
The match came seven months after the two met in the finals of the 1974 MICAA All-Filipino with Crispa defeating Toyota via a sweep.
Crispa coach Baby Dalupan also fielded in Atoy Co, Philip Cezar, Johnny Revilla, Rudy Soriano, Abet Guidaben, Freddie Hubalde, Bong de la Cruz and Rey Franco.
Toyota mentor Dante Silverio, on the other hand, fielded in Francis Arnaiz, Ompong Segura, Joaquin Rojas Jr., Ramon Fernandez, Robert Jaworski, Fort Acuna, Alberto “Big Boy” Reynoso and Orly Bauzon.
More fiercely-fought battles would be seen for the rest of 1975 and beyond, with Toyota defeating Crispa for the first and second conference titles. Crispa later denied Toyota a coveted Grand Slam by taking home the All-Philippine Championship.
The two teams met 123 times from 1975 to 1983, with Crispa producing 65 victories against 58 for Toyota. The Redmanizers also won six of their 10 championship meetings against the Delta Motors franchise, including the 1976 Grand Slam.
Toyota folded in early-1984, bringing an end to fabled feud. Crispa followed suit the following year.