1997 Mobiline Cellulars season
The 1997 Mobiline Cellulars season was the eighth season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The team change its moniker from Cellulars to Mobiline Phone Pals beginning the Governor's Cup.
| 1997 Mobiline Cellulars season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Norman Black Tommy Manotoc |
| Owner(s) | Pilipino Telephone Corporation |
| All-Filipino Cup results | |
| Record | 9–13 (40.9%) |
| Place | 5th |
| Playoff finish | Semifinals |
| Commissioner's Cup results | |
| Record | 4–6 (40%) |
| Place | 6th |
| Playoff finish | N/A |
| Governors' Cup results | |
| Record | 7–8 (46.7%) |
| Place | 5th |
| Playoff finish | Quarterfinals (lost to Purefoods in one game) |
| Mobiline Cellulars seasons | |
Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Andrew John Seigle | University of New Orleans |
| 2 | 9 | Antonio Espinosa, Jr | La Salle |
Notable date
February 23: Rookie Patrick Fran saved the day for the Cellulars in the 84–78 victory over Purefoods Corned Beef Cowboys which clawed back from a 20-point deficit to come close to within three with still 71 seconds remaining. Mobiline scored their first win of the season after losing to defending champion Alaska Milkmen on opening day a week ago.[1]
Occurrences
Former San Miguel coach Norman Black became the new head coach of Mobiline Cellulars, replacing Yeng Guiao at the start of the season.[2] Coach Black steered the team to a semifinal stint in the All-Filipino Cup after two years of being a doormat. After the Cellulars got eliminated in the Commissioner's Cup, Mobiline top honcho Choy Cojuangco and RFM chairman Joey Concepcion agreed on a player-coach trade during the first week of August. Norman Black will now coached his third team in 13 years with Pop Cola while Bottlers' team consultant Derrick Pumaren will moved to the Cellulars.
Mobiline also acquired Ato Agustin from Pop Cola in exchange for Elpidio Villamin and Peter Martin. Starting the Governor's Cup, former Grandslam coach Tommy Manotoc has taken Norman Black's place at the Mobiline bench with Derrick Pumaren as his co-mentor.[3]
Roster
| Mobiline Phone Pals roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Transactions
Additions
| Name | Deal Information | Former team |
|---|---|---|
| Lowell Briones | Pick by Purefoods in the Rookie draft and dealt to the Cellulars the following day | N/A |
| Patrick Fran | Rookie Free Agent | N/A |
| Franz Pumaren | Acquired from San Miguel | San Miguel Beermen |
| Eric Reyes | Acquired from Sunkist late last year in a trade with Eugene Quilban | Sunkist |
| Alvin Teng | Acquired from Sunkist late last year in a trade with Jack Tanuan |
Trades
| Off-season | To Purefoods
Cadel Mosqueda |
To Mobiline
Glenn Capacio |
| Off-season | To Alaska
Dwight Lago |
To Mobiline
Jeffrey Cariaso |
Subtractions
Recruited imports
References
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