I couldn't recall if there ever was a game between these two protagonists when it was scheduled in the first game of a twinbill. There might be an occasion or two, but for 9 years, the real primetime on television was a Crispa-Toyota game. No other program - whether it was the canned shows of GMA (Chips, Eight is Enough, Love Boat, Little House on the Prairie, Mork and Mindy, etc.) or the Piling Piling Pelikula (PPP) of IBC 13, or "Ang Makulay na Daigdig ni Nora" on KBS 9 - could hold a candle, ratings-wise, when there's a game between the two titans.
It was a riveting spectacle. At least 90% of the Filipino basketball fans cheered for either team. There was no gray area - you're either for one team or against them. When you're a Crispa fan, you want U/Tex or Carrier to beat Toyota for sheer "hatred" on them - and it works both ways.
As such, let's list down some trivia items on this great rivalry:
1. The all-time record for gate attendance is 54,086, recorded in Game 7 of the Ginebra-Meralco finals back in 2017 at the Philippine Arena. The official record at the Araneta Coliseum is 24,883, chalked up in 2014 in Game 7 of the semifinals series between Ginebra and San Mig Coffee. Note though that prior to Araneta being renovated, the bleachers section (general admission) accommodated more fans back in the 70's and 80's. Unofficially, more than 32,000 fans witnessed Game 5 of the 1981 Open Conference Finals featuring Crispa and Toyota, then regarded as the biggest crowd ever to watch a PBA game. The game ended with Toyota winning the game and the championship, 103-97, featuring the all-around brilliance of import Andrew Fields and locals Robert Jaworski, Ramon Fernandez and Francis Arnaiz.
2. The two teams played 123 times in the PBA. The official record between the two rivals was 63-60, in favor of the Redmanizers. Official means only tournament games and not including exhibition. But if we'll include the last three games of the two teams - two in Guam in 1984 (after Toyota disbanded), and in the 2003 reunion game, the slate would be 64-62 in favor of Crispa as the two split the Guam series, Toyota winning the first, 109-101, and Crispa the second, 108-92, while Toyota winning the 2003 reunion game, 65-61. Jaworski coached Toyota in the Guam series sans Fernandez a few weeks after Toyota disbanded.
3. There are only two players in basketball history who have played for both teams in the PBA. These are Jess Sta. Maria, who played for Crispa in 1975 and joined Toyota in 1977, and import Byron "Snake" Jones, who suited up for the Comets in 1975 and 1976 and with Crispa in 1980 and 1981. If you'll count the MICAA, then names like Jaworski and Danny Florencio may be added to this list as both played for Crispa in the amateurs and Toyota in the pros.
4. Crispa was a staunch believer of superstition. Curiously, they won all their titles carrying the Crispa Redmanizers brand but was never successful when they ventured into Walk Tall Jeans. They stopped using any other name after 1980 because of their non-success. Meanwhile, Toyota had better success, having won titles when they were called Comets, Tamaraws, Super Diesels and Super Corollas. They didn't win one though with Silver Coronas, their last brand in 1983.
5. To underscore the two teams' absolute dominance of the PBA, either one of them was in the Finals of every PBA conference from 1975 to 1982. That's a streak of 23 conferences. After the 1982 season both teams had 9 championships each. Ultimately, Crispa won 4 more titles after, including its second grandslam in 1983, while Toyota fell on a slump brought about by internal turmoil in their camp, and failed to win from thereon.
6. Crispa has always had the edge when it comes to All Filipino titles won. They've won 6, Toyota only 2. Experts have always felt that Crispa's edge was their bench and how Coach Baby Dalupan utilized his 12-man roster to the max. While in the endgame, Dalupan would most likely finish with his top crew of Guidaben, Cezar, Hubalde (or Adornado in the earlier years), Co and Fabiosa to match up against Toyota's own vaunted five (Fernandez, King, Tuadles, Jaworski, Arnaiz), it seemed Crispa's starters had more energy in the end.
7. For import-laced conferences, curiously, both teams are tied with 7 championships each. It's no secret that Toyota almost always had the better imports because they had Sam Unera exclusively providing for their needs and Coach Dante Silverio more often than not scouting for an import personally in the United States. Crispa relied more on Bobby Rius, who also serviced the other teams.
8. While Toyota may have had a better assembly of imports hired - Snake Jones, John Irving, Sky King, Carl Terry, Andy Fields, Donnie Ray Koonce - Crispa can boast of having two of the best imports ever in league history with Billy Ray Bates and Cyrus Mann. It's no coincidence, therefore, that both Mann and Bates were instrumental in giving the Redmanizers a grandslam title each. Other notable imports secured by Crispa were Glenn Hagan and Al Green, the latter giving them the 1981 Reinforced Conference crown.
9. Still on imports, the two teams were not immune from hiring lemon imports. They had a couple themselves who didn't fit the system well, were too old, not talented enough, or impeded the moves of his teammates. Toyota had the likes of Melton Wertz, Victor King, TJ Robinson, an aging Kevin Porter, Arnold Dugger, and Ralph Brewster. Crispa had guys like Ricky Hicks, Cornell Warner, Larry Boston, Herman Barnes, and the horrible 1982 cast of Clarence Kea, Mike Schultz, Mike Gibson, and James Wright.
10. Both teams also opted for imports who have already played in the PBA just to make sure they land on a quality reinforcement. First to do this was Crispa, when they hired Chris McMurray of 7/Up to reinforce them in the 1977 Invitationals. They also got Jones of Toyota, U/Tex and Honda for 1980 and 1981, Lew Brown of Great Taste in 1982, and Bernie Harris of Tanduay in the 1979 Invitationals. Toyota did this once, securing the services of Julius Wayne in the 1983 Reinforced after his stint with the U/Tex Wranglers the year before.
11. Urban legend has it that the colored gates of the Araneta Coliseum were painted and called "green" and "red" because of the two teams' rivalry. Crispa donned the green jerseys while Toyota used the red color representing their respective brands. While this may have only been a myth as the colors were already there even before the PBA started in 1975, the rivalry only highlighted the disparity and choice of colors.
12. There have been 4 one-on-one tournaments in PBA history, the first one was in 1975 when Manny Paner won the event against Philip Cezar. The second one was in 1979 won by Cezar, the third in 1982 owned by Ramon Fernandez, and the last one in 1983 with Abe King winning the honors. The 1979 version, called "The Keyhole King," was particularly dramatic as Crispa's Cezar upended arch rival, Fernandez of Toyota, in the Finals. Even in the battle for the best one-on-one player in the country, the protagonists came from these two teams, highlighting the rivalry further.
13. It wasn't uncommon for brawls, rumbles and fisticuffs to happen in a Crispa-Toyota game. The first one that erupted happened in 1975 that led to Toyota's Oscar Rocha being suspended for 6 months. But the worst one was in 1977, when both teams figured in a melee after the game, inside the dugout. It was so bad that the Metrocom (Manila's police department) came in and picked up the players for questioning. They were eventually jailed for a night, sharing the same cell. It was through the intervention of then Commissioner Leo Prieto who promised to then Metrocom Chief Prospero Olivas, that such a similar fracas would not happen again and that the league would take charge.
14. In terms of fan appeal, it was generally regarded that Crispa drew a mass-based following while Toyota attracted the elite. You can tell from the physical traits of the players - Jawo, Fernandez, Arnaiz and King had mestizo-like features, while Crispa had strong Asian features like Co, Cezar, Fabiosa, Guidaben and Hubalde. Curiously, even the choice of muses was consistent to their traits. Crispa had the likes of Aurora Sevilla, Vilma Santos, Lampel Luis, Valerie Floro and Sharon Cuneta, while Toyota showcased noted mestizas Tina Revilla, Marianne Dela Riva, Crispy Santamaria, Anna Menendrez, Vivian Veloso, and Ella Lopez. But in terms of fan following, no one up to the very end, can make a decisive conclusion as to which team was more popular. That was how even the rivalry was.
15. Crispa had a total of 3 coaches that handled the team - Baby Dalupan from 1975 to 1982, Tommy Manotoc from 1983 up to the semifinals of the 1984 First Conference, and Narciso Bernardo up to the remainder of the 1984 season. Toyota had 4: Dante Silverio from 1975 to 1979, Fort Acuña from 1979 to 1980, Pablo Carlos (for one and a half games in 1980), and Ed Ocampo from 1981 to 1983. For team managers, Crispa had only two - Danny and Ernesto Floro, while Toyota had Dante Silverio, Pablo Carlos, Ricky Silverio, and Jack Rodriguez.
16. While not all teams were capable of holding a candle against these two mighty teams, a couple had their own licks once in a while, making them "contrapelos," or going against the grain. Crispa's notorious rival was U/Tex, especially during Tommy Manotoc's era as head coach, as it seemed the youthful, future presidential son-in-law had his way against Dalupan. Even Crispa management and fans have admitted that the Wranglers were their scourge, perhaps because of Manotoc's slow-down offensive style coupled with a stifling defense. On the other hand, Toyota seemed to have difficulty going up against Tanduay. It's noteworthy to mention that in the only conference that Toyota failed to crack the playoffs, it happened in the franchise's last conference in 1983. What team eliminated them from entering the quarterfinal round? You guessed it - it was the Tanduay Distillers / Esquires.
17. The rivalry spilled over even in consumer spending. Crispa players had an unwritten rule not to be seen driving or owning Toyota-made vehicles, while Toyota players were not exactly excited to wear Crispa-manufactured denims, shirts and apparel. It was heavily publicized before that Atoy Co purchased a Mitsubishi vehicle back in the 70's if only to underscore their "disdain" over each other. Curiously, when I spoke with Abe King two years ago, he admitted being closer to the Crispa players over some of his Toyota teammates - a testament that while it may appeared "personal" then, nothing was permanent.
18. For whatever reason, Toyota normally had the upperhand when they went up against foreign teams. They swept the Emtex Sacronels, a team made up of national players from Brazil, in the 1977 Invitationals. They demolished eventual world champion Yugoslavia and Canada, in exhibition games prior to the 1978 FIBA World Cup hosted by Manila. They ended up runner-up to an all-American team led by former Royal Tru Orange import, Larry Pounds, former St. George Whisky import, Kenny Tyler, Larry Moffett, Ollie Mattson, and Ron Richardson in the 1980 Invitationals but not after giving them a scare in Game 2 of their Best of Three Finals, losing 118-113. Crispa didn't have the same luck as they seem to find difficulty matching up against the taller and heftier opponents.
19. In the league's first 10 seasons, three awardees were shared by Toyota and Crispa. The Silverio franchise had two - 1976 ROY Virgilio "Gil" Cortez, and 1979 ROY Arnulfo "Arnie" Tuadles while Crispa snared the 1984 title with William "Willie" Pearson. What should be of interest though was that both teams were able to collar the top freshmen during certain periods. Toyota had two opportunities - in 1977 when they brought in Abe King, Emerito Legaspi, Pablo Javier and Nic Bulaong, taking over the roster spots of Rolly Marcelo, Elias Tolentino and Jake Rojas, and in 1982 when they were reinforced by Tim Coloso, Ed Cordero, Ricky Relosa and Terry Saldaña. Crispa, on the other hand, secured the services of Ramon Cruz, Bay Cristobal, Padim Israel and Yoyoy Villamin from the defunct APCOR Financiers in the MICAA. This happened in the middle of the 1981 season, resulting in the displacement of veterans, Joy Dionisio, Bong Dela Cruz, Jimmy Javier, and Tito Varela.
20. The last time the two teams played in a Finals game was on July 25, 1981, when the Super Diesels outsteadied the Redmanizers, 103-97 in the final game of their Best of 5 series for the Open Conference championship. The PBA brought in two NBA referees - Jim Capers and Lee Jones - to officiate all five Finals games. In that series, Crispa import, James Hardy, was a shadow of his old self when he would have been a perfect match for Toyota's Andy Fields, and Atoy Co struggled whole series long, affected by multiple traveling calls made by the American zebras.
