1988 Philippine Amateur Basketball League season
| 1988 PABL season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | March 19 – December 22, 1988 |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Conferences | |
| International Invitational Cup champions | RFM-Swift Hotdogs |
| Runners-up | Philips Sardines |
| Freedom Cup champions | Magnolia Ice Cream |
| Runners-up | Sta. Lucia Realtors |
| Maharlika Cup champions | Philips Sardines |
| Runners-up | Magnolia Ice Cream |
| Awards | |
| Season MVP | Benjie Paras |
| Seasons | |
|
< 1987
1989 >
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The 1988 PABL season is the sixth season of the Philippine Amateur Basketball League (PABL).
The Swift-PABL selection won the 3rd Asian Interclub basketball tournament held in Jakarta, Indonesia from April 9–18, among the teams who participated were Samsung Electronics of Korea, Pandan Jaya of Malaysia, Asaba Club of Indonesia, Liaoning of China, Armed Forces of Singapore, and Orthodox of Jordan. Swift-PABL, coached by Nat Canson, defeated title-favorite Liaoning of China, 84-69, in the finale to complete a seven-game sweep.
The players of the Swift-PABL selection were honored during the opening ceremonies of the International Invitational Cup semifinal round. Among those who received their plaques of recognition were Gilbert Reyes, Ric-Ric Marata, Ato Agustin, Paul Alvarez, Nelson Asaytono, Peter Aguilar and Hernani Demigillo.
The season opens on March 19. PBA superstar Robert Jaworski and Representative Freddie Webb were the guest of honors in the opening ceremonies. The Prelims determined the top three local teams; National Open champion RFM-Swifts and Philips Sardines are tied with six wins and two losses. Sta.Lucia Realtors, Mama's Love and Magnolia Ice Cream were at second place with similar 5-3 cards. In a playoff game to determine the third outright semifinal seat, the Realtors drew bye, Mama's Love beat Magnolia, 85-73 on April 18, and on the following day on April 19, Sta.Lucia advances outright with a 93-91 win over Mama's Love.
The six remaining teams battle for the last two semifinal slots and at the end of the single round, Magnolia Ice Cream made it 5-0 while Purefoods took the last ticket at 4-1. In the penultimate day of the eliminations, Agfa Colors default its game against Converse because its head coach did not bother to read the new schedule handed to him. The Color Specialists protested the default and when the decision of the board was handed the next day, Agfa was squaring off with Purefoods and upon learning the protest was turned down, Agfa coach Eddie Reyes pulled out his first stringers to deliberately lose the game. Converse coach Jun Celis protested the action of Agfa, the All-Stars finish with a 3-2 won-loss record and had a chance to tie Purefoods had Agfa played its heart out.
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