Crispa–Toyota rivalry

The rivalry was preceded by that between Crispa and the MERALCO Reddy Kilowatts in the Manila Industrial Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA). After the MERALCO team disbanded in 1972, most of its former players went on to form the core of a new team, the Komatsu Komets (later renamed, Toyota Comets) in 1973.[1]

The first championship matchup between the two teams took place during the 1974 MICAA All-Filipino tournament. The Redmanizers scored a 2-0 sweep, winning the title-clinching game on October 15, 1974, the Redmanizers closed the game in the last 42 seconds to win, 103-99, before a crowd of 14,000 at the Araneta Coliseum.[2]

When the PBA was formed in 1975, the two teams dominated the league during its early years. Their particular clashes had real drama and hardcourt fire and the crowd joins in the hysteria in bringing the dome down all for Crispa and Toyota. Both teams always play their best when pitted against each other and to the countless PBA fans, the Crispa-Toyota rivalry will always be the pro league's supreme ruler.

They faced each other in the finals for six consecutive conferences in the PBA's first two seasons in 1975-1976. Toyota gained the headstart, winning their first two championships in the league's maiden season. After Crispa denied Toyota of a grandslam in 1975, by winning the third conference All-Philippine championship in a pulsating 3-2 series victory, the Redmanizers defeated the Comets in all three conferences the following year in 1976, thus becoming the league's first grandslam winner.

After the 1976 season, the two rivals would not face each other again during the finals until the 1979 season, Crispa would beat Toyota for the fifth straight time in the finals series during the 1979 All-Filipino. The Tamaraws finally snap a string of finals losses to the Redmanizers by winning the third conference Invitational championship.

The final championship face-off between the two teams was during the 1981 Open Conference. The Toyota Super Diesels defeated the Crispa Redmanizers, 103-97, in the fifth and final game of the best-of-five title series on July 25, 1981. The count in the finals meeting was six wins for Crispa and four for Toyota.

Their final official PBA game took place on October 9, 1983 with Crispa winning, 111-96.

In terms of cumulative PBA games played between each other (1975-1983), Crispa won 65 games as against 58 to Toyota.

The companies behind both teams were affected by the economic downturn of the Philippines, following the assassination of Benigno Aquino, Jr. in 1983. This resulted in the disbandment of the Toyota team in February 1984 and Crispa the following year.

• May 10, 1975 saw the first Crispa-Toyota game in the PBA with 11,000 fans watching at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum. The Redmanizers won, 139-133, but not without untoward incident as Toyota's Oscar Rocha punched Crispa's Bernie Fabiosa with about three seconds left in the contest. PBA commissioner Leo Prieto handed a one-month suspension and a P500 fine to Rocha while Fabiosa was fined P50 for throwing the ball at Cristino Reynoso, who was likewise asked to pay P25 for making dirty hand gestures.
• On April 17, 1977, Crispa defeated Toyota 122-121 in the opening game of the 1977 PBA season that was marred by a post-game rumble at Araneta Coliseum dugout involving players from both teams. It was reported that players from both sides were detained in Fort Bonifacio, Makati City, Philippine military headquarters, and were released the next morning. Both teams were fined by then-Commissioner Leo Prieto 5,000 pesos each while Toyota coach Dante Silverio was fined for 1,000 pesos for unsportsmanlike conduct.
• During game three of the 1980 PBA Championship series, Toyota coach Fort Acuña benched team captain Robert Jaworski against Crispa. At this point Crispa were leading by a large margin, and a win would give them the championship, and an unprecedented 20-game sweep of the tournament. During halftime, Acuña was fired by Toyota management for his refusal to put the star player in the game. Inspired by the return of their team leader, Toyota went on to win the game, but lost the series the next game. Almost a year after the incident, Acuña died from an apparent suicide.
• Toyota defeated Crispa, 3-2, in the 1981 PBA Open Conference with Andy Fields and Victor King as Toyota's imports and James Hardy with Byron "Snake" Jones playing for Crispa. The series marked the last time both teams met in a PBA championship series.

The rivalry of both teams is still remembered to this day by older basketball fans, sharing countless stories of the historic rivalry. Since the disbandment of both teams, there were a few short-lived rivalries in the PBA that followed, but not as intense and anticipated as to this rivalry.

Players from both teams garnered instant popularity outside of the playing court. Such was evident with Robert Jaworski's senatorial victory in 1998, Ramon Fernandez's and Philip Cezar's activities within the sport, and the several movie and television show appearances of Atoy Co, Bernie Fabiosa among others.

A highly anticipated reunion game between both teams was played on May 30, 2003 at the Araneta Coliseum as part of the league's All-Star Weekend festivities.

Although most of the players were already past their prime, it did not look like they lost a step at all as each possession was tenaciously fought. The game was a hotly contested match which saw the lead change hands many times, a virtual flashback to both teams' glory days in the late seventies and early eighties.

Toyota won the reunion game 65-61 but not without some late-game magic from Jaworski. After Bogs Adornado's three-pointer with under a minute left to cut the deficit at 62-61, Toyota teammate and former rival Fernandez passed to ball to Jaworski on the outside. The then-Senator hit the three-pointer to put the game away for good, to the delight of a huge crowd at the Big Dome. Many believed that the play was reversal of the memorable game-winner of Fernandez, from a Jaworski pass, that won the game for the veterans in the first-ever All-Star Game in 1989, in which both players shook-hands to end their well-documented feud.

The winning Toyota team was coached by Dante Silverio, with Jaworski also lending some of his coaching tactics, while Crispa was coached by the legendary Baby Dalupan.

Terry Saldaña won the MVP of the game after posting a double-double for the Tamaraws. Although the losing Redmanizers called for a rematch, there has been no serious talk of a potential rematch by both teams.

On 28 May 2005, to celebrate the PBA's 30th Anniversary, the League held PBA's Greatest Game, a match featuring many star players from the League's long history. The game featured the Greats Team coached by Robert Jaworski, and a few Toyota players. On the other side, coach Baby Dalupan had his Legends Team, which featured Crispa players. The game was won by the Legends Team, 96-92, but the stars of that match were the greats of the younger generation.

In retrospect, the Crispa–Toyota rivalry was one of the most colorful episodes in Philippine sports, and ensured the popularity of the Philippine Basketball Association and of basketball in the country.

From 1975 to 1983:

*including the 2003 PBA reunion game in which Toyota won; and excluding the two 1984 non-PBA exhibition games in Guam where both teams split their two meetings

From 1975 to 1983:

  Crispa
  Toyota

• Crispa-Toyota rivalry
• PBA.ph Timeline
• Reunion pictures
• Reunion game Box Score