The huge brawl that marred the opening game of the 1977 PBA season happened over four decades ago already. But the incident remains fresh in the mind of PBA legend Francis Arnaiz.
With Crispa winning the last four conferences of the then fledgling pro league dating back to the 1975 All-Philippine Conference, the Toyota Tamaraws were eager to get their title aspirations off to a strong start during their season-opening match against the Redmanizers.
The Redmanizers squeaked past their bitter rivals, 122-121 on April 17, 1977 in a controversial ending that saw Toyota slapped with a technical foul with only three seconds left for having only four players on the court and the score tied at 121. But the aftermath of that game hogged the sports headlines when both teams engaged in a post-match brawl that forced the Philippine Constabulary's Metropolitan Command (Metrocom) to enter the picture.
"Every time Crispa-Toyota played, something always happens. I think (Brig.) Gen. (Prospero) Olivas was head of Metrocom. He called Dante (SIlverio of Toyota) and Danny Floro (of Crispa) and said, 'You better tell your boys to cool it. No more brawls because if this happens again, we'll put you behind bars,'" recalled Arnaiz during a chat on An Eternity of Basketball on Friday.
Arnaiz admitted that during those times, they were all young and oblivious to the situation. So when the two teams met again to open the 1977 season, they had pretty much forgotten about the warning.
But the real meat of last night's story was the bloody riot that ensued after the game, undoubtedly a man-size blackeye for the ever-glorified PBA shebang.
Hardly had the game finished and players from both camps were heading for the dugout when hell broke loose right behind the southern basket of the Big Dome.
Everybody was rushing toward the riot: policemen, security guards in blue, spectators and PBA officials themselves.
"I remember going back to the quarters and just outside, there was like the bus from Metrocom, and somebody came to me and said, 'You're coming with us. We're going to Fort Bonifacio,'" shared Arnaiz.
"We were in military stockades and our cells faced each other. One side Crispa, the other side Toyota. And the whole night, we all couldn't sleep, but we teased and joked at each other," he added, smiling as he recalled that event. "We're all laughing our heads off. By the next morning, we were all let go around six or seven in the morning and we learned our lesson."
The Metrocom placed under indefinite detention yesterday 21 Crispa and Toyota players who figured in a post-game riot at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday that left scores injured.
Arrested and now detained at Fort Bonifacio are:
Francis Arnaiz, Robert Jaworski, Ramon Fernandez, Virgilio Cortez, Jesus Sta. Maria, Oscar Rocha, Aurelio Clarino, Rodolfo Segura, all from Toyota.
Philip Cezar, Alberto Guidaben, Rey Franco, Gregorio Dionisio, Cristino Calilan, Rey Pages, David Cezar, Armando Torres, Rodolfo Soriano, Fortunato Co, Jr., Tito Varela, Bernard Fabiosa, Alfredo Hubalde, all from Crispa.
Still being sought at presstime were Orlando Bauzon and Fortunato Acuna, also from Toyota. Metrocom authorities said they expected the two to give themselves up shortly.
The brawl erupted at the end of a twinbill opening of the Philippine Basketball Association's first conference that year.
Though that incident was something both teams chose to leave behind, Arnaiz admitted from time to time, Toyota and Crispa players still had heated moments in the seasons that followed.
In fact, he recalled one incident when he hit Bernie Fabiosa after the Crispa playmaker spat on him in a game.
"He (Fabiosa) spat on my face. I felt that spit right in my face after trying to help him up. And right there, I lost it," Arnaiz recounted.
Arnaiz said Fabiosa dropped to the floor while trying to go for a layup against him and a Toyota import. The pesky Crispa guard claimed he was fouled. And while Arnaiz offered a hand to help him get up, he was rewarded with a spit.
"I remember hitting him with my fist and so I was thrown out," Arnaiz said. "I don't know about him but long story short, we were called to the Office of the Commissioner, which was Leo Prieto then.
"Leo knows me. He knows I'm the kind of clean player. He kind of knew the story of Bernie. He was tough, so I remember he asked me what happened and I told him (Prieto) what happened. Bernie told him what happened. And all I remember was he got a substantially bigger fine though what he did wasn't seen," explained Arnaiz.
Still, Arnaiz said he had the highest respect for the Crispa squad, which by the time it disbanded in 1984, registered the first two Grand Slams in the PBA, while winning 13 league championships overall.
"I realized the intensity of the rivalry. They were a really, really good team, Crispa. And all the time I played professionally, Crispa always had a good team. So when we played them. I knew it was really hard to beat them," he said, adding that he and Fabiosa eventually became friends in retirement. Both PBA greats now live in the United States.
Toyota and Crispa engaged in nine PBA Finals all in all, including six consecutive times during the pro league's first two seasons.