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The Morning After
Vic Villafranca

The last laugh, last slot... (continued...)
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Which no doubt explained why before they took the floor against the Beermen, the Bug Busters could even find one oddsmaker willing to make them an even money bet to spring a surprise.

"It was kind a distressing", said one unabashed Shell fan, "hearing those guys (the oddsmakers) cry out Manila Beer by five as if the Beermen were playing St. Scholastica's not Shell."

For a while, early in the second quarter, it looked like the guys with the formcharts would come out singing in the rain when the Beermen twice opened up an 11-point lead on the wings of a sensational display of outside shooting by the "fortune cookie" Atoy Co, who eventually would chalk up 19 points for the first half.

But when in the third quarter Co cooled down after losing his cool on a disputed referee's call, and on the part of Shell, Lazaro and Fabiosa teemed up on the scoring chores to key a stirring comeback, Manila Beer found itself starting at any anything-can-happen homestretch battle.

And Shell ultimately won it by playing hanging-in-there ball going down the wire and by drawing from all the men it had on the floor performances that showed that finally, Shell had come into its own as a team with staying power. And its patchy past as the collapsible ballclub, a team as steady as a leaking life raft, is over.

Ernie and Shell Coach Freddie Webb just couldn't seem to stop smiling after the big win, their bright expressions lighting that portion of a court now being darkened because it was time for all to go.

In contrast, at the other end of the floor, Andy Jao and Ed Ocampo looked like they would be walking in the rain and struck with expression only undertakers could love in the days to come.

(Source: Phil. Daily Express - July 25, 1985)

The PBA Shell Team's Formation:

First Trip to the All Filipino Finals