The 1979 PBA season was the fifth season of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

(PBA).

Season highlights

*After a two-year absence of playing against each other in the championship between the league's most noted rivalry, Crispa and Toyota played once again in the finals during the All-Filipino Conference. Crispa prevailed in five games, winning the deciding game, 118–111 on July 7. *On September 4, the visiting

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

, which lost to Seattle SuperSonics in the 1979 NBA Finals, played against a PBA All-Star Selection at the Araneta Coliseum in an exhibition game attended by Philippines First Lady

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power during the dictator ...

, the Bullets with the line-up of hall of famers

Elvin Hayes Elvin Ernest Hayes (born November 17, 1945), nicknamed "the Big E", is an American former professional basketball player and radio analyst for his alma-mater Houston Cougars. He is a member of the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, and a ...

Wes Unseld Westley Sissel Unseld Sr. (March 14, 1946June 2, 2020) was an American professional basketball player, coach and executive. He spent his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets. Unseld ...

and among others, Greg Ballard, Dave Corzine and coach by Dick Motta, won the match, 133–123. The PBA selection were coach by Baby Dalupan and played with five imports and one locals from each of the nine ballclubs. *Royal Tru-Orange won their first PBA title in the Open Conference by defeating Toyota Tamaraws, 102–101 in Game 4 for a 3–1 series win. The Orangemen were led by imports Otto Moore and Larry Pounds and they became the fourth team to win a championship in the 1970s. *Three different teams emerge champions in the league's fifth season as the Toyota Tamaraws avoided a third runner-up finish by winning the Invitational championship against rival Crispa Walk Tall Jeans.

Opening ceremonies

The muses for the participating teams are as follows:

Champions

* All Filipino Conference:

Crispa Redmanizers The Crispa Redmanizers were a multi-titled Filipino basketball team that played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from 1975 to 1984. It was one of the nine founding teams of the PBA, winning a total of thirteen PBA championships, i ...

* Open Conference: Royal Tru-Orange * Invitational Championship:

Toyota Tamaraws is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

* Team with best win–loss percentage:

(44–18, .710) * Best Team of the Year:

(3rd)

Individual awards

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

Atoy Co Fortunato "Atoy" Gan Co Jr. (born October 15, 1951) is a Filipino former basketball player and coach who played 13 seasons in the Philippine Basketball Association, mostly with Crispa Redmanizers. Nicknamed "The Fortune Cookie" (a pun on his na ...

(Crispa) * Rookie of the Year:

Arnie Tuadles Arnulfo "Arnie" Tuadles (August 15, 1956 – November 2, 1996) was a Filipino professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Career Tuadles began his career as a stalwart in the Manila Industrial and Commercial At ...

(Toyota) * Mythical Five: **

Robert Jaworski Robert Vincent Salazar Jaworski Sr. (; born March 8, 1946) is a Filipino former professional basketball player, head coach and politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines from 1998 to 2004. He played 23 seasons in the Philippine Bas ...

(Toyota) **

(Crispa) **

Ramon Fernandez Ramon Sadaya Fernandez (; born October 3, 1953) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and current commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission. Fernandez won four PBA Most Valuable Player awards and a record 19 PBA titles. F ...

(Toyota) **

Philip Cezar Philip Dudley Cezar (born December 1, 1952) is a Filipino former basketball coach, player and politician. Known by the monikers "Mr. Stretch", "''Tapal'' King" and "The Scholar", he was part of the fabled Crispa Redmanizers ballclub of the Phil ...

(Crispa)

Board of governors

* Leopoldo Prieto (Commissioner) *

Domingo Itchon Domingo Yulo Itchon (1924–2004) was a Filipino business executive and best known as the second president of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Itchon played a key role in organizing the PBA, Asia's first professional basketball le ...

(President, Elizalde and Co., Inc.) *

Dante Silverio Edmundo "Dante" S. Silverio, Sr. (born October 17, 1937), is a Filipino people, Filipino painter, former basketball coach and former champion race car driver. Motorsports Silverio rose to prominence in 1972, when he captured a rare double feat, ...

(Vice-President,

Delta Motor Corporation Delta Motor Corporation was a South African car manufacturer, which was created through a management buy-out after General Motors (GM) divested from South Africa in 1986. It was headed by former GM executive, Bob Price, who had returned to South A ...

) * Walter Euyang (Treasurer, Universal Textile Mills) * Jose Castro, Jr. (Executive Secretary) * Pablo Carlos (

) * Valeriano "Danny" Floro (P. Floro and Sons) * Emerson Coseteng (Mariwasa Group) * Leonardo "Skip" Guinto (

San Miguel Corporation San Miguel Corporation, abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified congl ...

) * Porfirio Zablan ( CFC Corporation) * Carlos Palanca III ( La Tondeña, Inc.)

Cumulative standings

References

PBA {{Philippines-sport-stub