1998 Mobiline Phone Pals season

The 1998 Mobiline Phone Pals season was the ninth season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

1998 Mobiline Phone Pals season
Head coach	Tommy Manotoc Eric Altamirano
General Manager	Debbie Tan
Owner(s)	Pilipino Telephone Corporation
All-Filipino Cup results
Record	4–7 (36.4%)
Place	7th
Playoff finish	Eliminated
Commissioner's Cup results
Record	5–7 (41.7%)
Place	6th
Playoff finish	Quarterfinals (lost to San Miguel in one game)
Governors' Cup results
Record	16–13 (55.2%)
Place	2nd
Playoff finish	Runner-up (lost to Formula Shell 3-4)
Mobiline Phone Pals seasons

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College
2	11	Braulio Lim	Philippines	UE
3		Tyrone Bautista	Philippines	La Salle

Occurrences

Mobiline coach Tommy Manotoc has hired three-time MVP William Adornado as one of his assistant coaches at the start of the season.

Beginning the Commissioner's Cup on May 22, former Purefoods coach Eric Altamirano signed a four-year contract to coach the Mobiline Phone Pals. Altamirano's contract with Purefoods expired last March 31.

Notable dates

February 8: Andy Seigle nailed a baseline jumper in the final 25 seconds and made a crucial steal afterwards as Mobiline redeemed itself from their first game blowout loss to Gordon's Gin by nipping defending champion Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies, 67-64.

March 8: Al Solis shot seven triples, one short of his own personal record to finish with a game-high 27 points as Mobiline keeps its hopes alive for a semifinals berth in the All-Filipino Cup with an 89-77 win over San Miguel Beermen and give the Phone Pals its fourth win in 10 games. Prior to the game, the Phone Pals have lost their last four assignments.

May 29: After losing their first two games in the Commissioners Cup with Alex Fraser as their import, Fraser was replaced by their original choice Terquin Mott, who debut with 50 points in giving the Phone Pals their first win in a 94-90 victory over Shell.

Centennial Cup title

Mobiline finally captured a PBA title in a "bonus" tournament called Centennial Cup, the Phone Pals defeated Formula Shell, 67-66, in the one-game finale.

Main article: 1998 PBA Centennial Cup

Runner-up finish

The perfect combination of imports Silas Mills and Artemus McClary led Mobiline to the Governor's Cup finals in a rematch with Formula Shell. The Phone Pals played without national team members Jeffrey Cariaso and Andy Seigle for the whole conference, they lost in the championship series that went into a full limit of seven games.

Awards

• Silas Mills was named Governors Cup Best Import.
• Patrick Fran was voted the season's Most Improved Player.

Roster

1998 Mobiline Phone Pals roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. # POB Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G 3 Espinosa, Antonio 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) De La Salle G 8 Solis, Al 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Visayas G/F 9 Francisco, Jose 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Far Eastern F 10 Teng, Alvin 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Arellano G/F 12 Capacio, Glenn 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Far Eastern F 14 Reyes, Eric 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Ateneo G 17 Fran, Patrick 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) UST F 22 Cariaso, Jeffrey 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sonoma State G/F 24 Castelo, Merwin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) San Beda F 33 Martin, Joselito 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) NCBA C 52 Seigle, Andy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) New Orleans F/C 81 Cui, Gabby 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Ateneo

Head coach Eric Altamirano Assistant coach(es) Frankie Lim Ryan Gregorio Legend (C) Team captain Injured

Transactions

Trades

Off-season	To Sta. Lucia Realtors Richard del Rosario	To Mobiline Phone Pals Gabby Cui
July 1998	To Sta. Lucia Realtors Lowell Briones	To Mobiline Phone Pals Jose Francisco

Addition

Player	Signed	Former team
Merwin Castelo	Off-season	Alaska Milkmen

Subtractions

Player	Signed	New team
Franz Pumaren	Off-season	Retired
Ato Agustin	Off-season	Pampanga Dragons (MBA)
Braulio Lim	May 1998	Alaska Milkmen

Recruited imports

Tournament	Name	Number	Position	University/College	Duration
Commissioner's Cup	Alex Fraser	20	Center-Forward	University of Miami	May 23-26
	Terquin Mott	32	Center-Forward	Coppin State	May 29 to July 17
Governors' Cup	Silas Mills	1	Forward	Utah State	August 30 to December 9
	Artemus McClary	25	Guard-Forward	Jacksonville	August 30 to December 9