1996 Sunkist Orange Bottlers season

1996 Sunkist Orange Bottlers season
Head coach	Derrick Pumaren
Owner(s)	RFM Corporation
All Filipino Cup results Record 4–10 (.286) Place 7th Playoff finish N/A Commissioner's Cup results Record 5–6 (.455) Place 6th Playoff finish N/A Governor's Cup results Record 6–7 (.462) Place 5th Playoff finish Quarterfinals Sunkist Orange Bottlers seasons 1995 1997

The 1996 Sunkist Orange Bottlers season was the 7th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Transactions

TRANSACTIONS
Gerardo Santiago ^Rookie free agent signed
Siot Tanquingcen ^Rookie free agent signed
Alvin Teng ^Acquired from Pepsi during the off-season when they traded Elpidio Villamin
Nelson Asaytono ^Traded to San Miguel Beer along with a future draft pick on April 1st for Renato Agustin and rookie Mar Morelos [1]
Rudy Distrito ^Return from a one-year suspension last season, but became unrestricted free agent when Asaytono was traded
Manny Victorino ^Signed to a short-term contract late in the season to fill the spot of the injured Bonel Balingit

Summary

After a near-grandslam finish last year, the Sunkist Orange Bottlers failed to advance in the semifinal round in all three conferences of the 1996 season. In the All-Filipino Cup, from an even 3-3 won-loss slate in the first round of eliminations,^[2] the Orange Bottlers dropped six straight games in the second round and were ousted from the semifinals. Forward Nelson Asaytono was traded to San Miguel for 1992 MVP Ato Agustin with three games left in their elimination round schedule.

The Orange Bottlers brought in former Alaska import Marques Bragg in the Commissioner's Cup. After losing their first two games, Bragg led Sunkist to their first win against Purefoods, 97-93 on June 21.^[3] Sunkist were tied with Purefoods and Formula Shell for the fourth and fifth slot in the semifinals, Shell advances into the next round via tie-breaker, leaving Purefoods and Sunkist to dispute the last seat, the Orange Bottlers lost to Purefoods, 76-89, in their playoff game on July 30.

Tony Harris came back as their import in the Governor's Cup, leading Sunkist to a 93-91 opening day win over defending champion Alaska Milk on September 29.^[4] The Orange Bottlers lost two straight games to Shell and Purefoods and the coaching staff decided to replace Harris with a new import Lester Neal. Sunkist finished with a 5-win, 6-loss card in the eliminations and were in a twice-to-beat disadvantage in the quarterfinals, the Orange Bottlers forces a rubber match against Shell, but lost in their sudden-death playoff, 102-104 on November 24.

Roster

Pos. No. Player School C 1 Manny Victorino Jose Rizal College C 4 Bonel Balingit University of Visayas G 5 Gerardo Santiago Mapua Tech G 11/6 Renato Agustin (A) Lyceum G 9 Emmanuel Victoria San Beda College F 10 Alvin Teng Arellano University G 14 Rudy Distrito UE F 18 Vergel Meneses Jose Rizal College F 6/19 Kenneth Duremdes Adamson University G 23 Ric-Ric Marata South Western University F 24 Eric Reyes Ateneo de Manila C 35 Zaldy Realubit San Jose-Recoletos C 43 Alejandro Paguinto FEU F Marcelino Morelos (A) UE G Siot Tanquingcen UST F 33 Marques Bragg (C) Providence College G 22 Tony Harris (G) University of New Orleans G 44 Lester Neal (G) F 25 Nelson Asaytono (T) University of Manila Position Name/s Head coach:  Derrick Pumaren Assistants: Gabby Velasco / Hector Calma (T) - Traded, (A) - Acquired via trade, (C) - Commissioners Cup import, (G) - Governors Cup import '

_{Team Manager: Elmer Yanga}

References

1. Asaytono now a Beerman
2. Meneses stars as Sunkist blasts San Miguel
3. Bragg stars as Sunkist squeakes past Purefoods
4. Sunkist, SMB take Governor's Cup openers