CELEBRATION OF GREATNESS

The Purefoods franchise had already gone through a lot of changes but only one thing remains the same: Greatness.

Glamour and excellence have been attached to Purefoods since it entered the Philippine Basketball Association in 1988.

It produced a lot of marquee names like Alvin Patrimonio, Jerry Codiñera and James Yap and went on to win 14 titles to emerge as the third winningest franchise in PBA history while changing brands from hotdogs to ice cream, noodles, corned beef and chicken.

Purefoods arrived at a time when the league was on the brink of folding up.

League membership was down to only six and the national team was often asked to join as a regular squad, not just to help the players prepare for the professional game, but also to somehow boost the attendance.

Still, it was a perfect timing.

Then owned by the Ayala family, Purefoods purchased the Tanduay franchise owned by Don Manolo Elizalde. Tanduay was on the brink of disbanding after experiencing a huge backlash in sales in the fourth quarter of 1987 following the death of a regular drinker while taking the liquor.

Purefoods was given a very good concession as it was allowed to bring four direct hires from the amateur ranks on top of the top overall pick in the coming 1988 Rookie Draft.

But that’s not all.

The Hotdogs were allowed to retain the core of the old Tanduay team, a three-time champion squad bannered by future greats Ramon Fernandez and Freddie Hubalde as well as rising stars JB Yango, Willie Generalao and Onchie Dela Cruz.

They were also able to secure the services of promising guards Al Solis and Totoy Marquez.

It, however, became an instant attraction when it elevated the country’s most popular players to the professional ranks — Patrimonio, Codiñera, Jojo Lastimosa and Glenn Capacio — who were all mainstays of the national team.

To further boost its roster, it tapped another member of the national squad in Jack Tanuan as top overall pick in the draft.

“Our fanbase came from our fans from the amateur ranks and the national team and a mixture of fans of the old Tanduay team composed of Fernandez and Hubalde,” Lastimosa told Daily Tribune in an episode of Down to the Wire podcast.

“We have to admit that the fans of Tanduay were not young. It was our fans who were the young ones, most of them high school students. If you’re going to ask my teammates at Purefoods each time they see our old fans, they would say that they cheered for us and took pictures of us when they were in high school.”

But the Hotdogs, who were coached by Fernandez in its first two conferences in the PBA, had to wait for Patrimonio as he was battling a contractual dispute with his mother team in the Philippine Amateur Basketball League. Purefoods and Swift were corporate rivals.

Fernandez said there was a time that he had to go to Patrimonio’s house in BF Resort in Las Piñas just to make sure that the 6-foot-3 forward from Mapua University will sign up with them.

“I told him that he won’t get a better deal than this one,” Fernandez said.

“During that time, players were not being paid big yet he was already being given a very generous offer by Purefoods.”

“So I advised Alvin if you could find a way to get out of your contract with your team in the PABL and join us at Purefoods midway into the season.”

Patrimonio eventually got freed and helped the Hotdogs reach the finals only to fall short of winning the 1988 All-Filipino Conference crown after bowing to the league’s most popular team — Añejo — led by its charismatic playing coach Robert Jaworski.

Prior to that, Purefoods also lost a championship battle to San Miguel Beer in the Open Conference with David Thirdkill as import.

Questions swirled around the sudden dip of Thirdkill’s performance in the do-or-die Game 7.

Aside from that, fans were also shocked when the Purefoods management benched Fernandez due to allegations of game-fixing, sparking a trade that sent him to San Miguel for Abet Guidaben.

There was also a crucial game in 1989 when Purefoods was abandoned by its import, Dexter Shouse, on the eve of playing for a championship berth. The import-less Hotdogs bravely battled a powerhouse Añejo squad bannered by the high-scoring Carlos Briggs.

Purefoods also advanced to the finals of the 1989 and 1990 All-Filipino Conferences but lost to San Miguel and Presto, respectively.

In its third season, the Hotdogs made a breakthrough when it nailed its first title after defeating Alaska in the finals of the 1990 Third Conference.

It also signaled the dawn of a new era for the franchise as young players like Lastimosa, Solis and Tanuan were either traded or released through offer sheets.

The franchise would win 13 more championships, including a grand slam in 2014 under American coach Tim Cone with a new wave of stars composed of Yap, Marc Pingris, PJ Simon and Marc Barroca.

Still, only one name stands out when it comes to greatness: Patrimonio.

In his entire 16-year career, Patrimonio had never played for any ballclub except for Purefoods. His loyalty paid off as he emerged with four Most Valuable Player titles, six championships and a golden ticket to the PBA Hall of Fame.

Now, he remains with the franchise as team manager.

Looking back, Patrimonio feels blessed that the franchise stuck with him, helping him cement his legacy and allowing him to serve as its face despite his nearly 20 years of absence from active competition.

“More than winning, Purefoods has been family-oriented,” Patrimonio said.

“You can see it all the way from the top, our super boss, Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala. He was there during the games. So we were all pumped up to win.”

“He was our leader, so when he was there, we just continued the lead. We offered the games to him. Up to now, that has been the attitude of the franchise, giving back to the bosses, to the fans, to the PBA, because we were so blessed with all the talents, the skills of the players that we had.”

True enough, Purefoods may have a lot of names, a lot of faces, but in its 35 years of existence, only one thing will be remembered: Greatness.