1981 U-Tex Wranglers season

The 1981 U/Tex Wranglers season was the seventh season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

1981 U/Tex Wranglers season
Head coach	Glenn McDonald
Open Conference results
Record	19–10 (65.5%)
Place	3rd
Playoff finish	Semifinals
Reinforced Filipino results
Record	15–9 (62.5%)
Place	2nd
Playoff finish	Runner-up
U/Tex Wranglers seasons

Colors

Open Conference
      (dark)
      (light)
Reinforced All-Filipino Conference
      (dark)
      (light)

Transactions

ADDITIONS
Armando Arce Rookie signed, played for St.George Whisky in the MICAA
Alberto Ortiz Rookie signed, played for Crispa in the MICAA
Jesusito Martin Acquired from Gilbey's Gin
Danilo Pribhdas Acquired from Presto

Summary

Former Boston Celtic Glenn McDonald, who won two titles with U/Tex as their import, became the new head coach of the Wranglers, replacing his former coach Tommy Manotoc, who transferred to San Miguel Beer.

The Wranglers had a pair of 6-5 Francois Wise and 6-9 Darrell Allums as their imports for the Open Conference. U/Tex finish in a tie with San Miguel Beermen on top of the standings after 18 games in the eliminations. Both teams were left out by traditional powerhouses Toyota and Crispa during the semifinal round. U/Tex placed third by winning their series over the Beermen in five games.

U/Tex lost their first two games in the Reinforced Filipino Conference with John Kazmer as their import, but since the arrival of Leroy Jackson, the Wranglers went on a six-game winning streak and placed third behind Toyota and Crispa at the end of the elimination phase. The Wranglers continued its winning run in the round of six and was the first team to land one of the two finals berth during the semifinal round.

U/Tex and Crispa played in the PBA finals for the third time in the last five years. The Wranglers lost to the Redmanizers in four games in their best-of-five title series.

Main article: 1981 PBA Reinforced Filipino Conference Finals

Win-loss record vs opponents

Teams	Win	Loss	1st (Open)	2nd (RAF)
CDCP Road Builders	3	0	2-0	1-0
Crispa Redmanizers	7	5	3-1	4-4
Finance Funders	3	0	2-0	1-0
Gilbey’s Gin / St.George	3	0	2-0	1-0
Presto Fun Drinks	4	2	2-0	2-2
San Miguel Beermen	6	4	5-4	1-0
Tefilin Polyesters	3	1	1-1	2-0
Toyota Super Diesels	1	5	0-4	1-1
YCO-Tanduay	4	2	2-0	2-2
Total	34	19	19-10	15-9

Awards

William "Bogs" Adornado received his third MVP plum, becoming the PBA's first three-time Most Valuable Player Awardee. Adornado won his first two during the league's first two seasons in 1975–1976 while playing for Crispa Redmanizers.

Roster

U/Tex Wranglers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt. F 5 Deles, Roy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) San Beda G 6 Pineda, Ricardo 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Letran G 7 Pineda, Manuel 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Letran F 8 Noblezada, Jaime 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) San Agustin F/C 9 Taguines, Jaime 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Holy Angel F/C 10 Martin, Jesusito 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) José Rizal F 12 Pages, Reynaldo 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) De La Salle G/F 13 Pribhdas, Danny 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) PCC G 14 Eng Beng, Lim 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) De La Salle F/C 17 Regullano, David 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Letran F/C 18 Arce, Armando 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) G 21 Ortiz, Albert 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Philippines G 22 Gaston, Matthew 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Ateneo G/F 33 Adornado, Bogs 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) UST C 32 Allums, Darrell (I) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) UCLA F/C 6 Wise, Francois (I) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Long Beach State G/F 34 Kazmer, John (I) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Long Beach State G/F 4 Jackson, Leroy (I) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Cameron	Head coach Glenn McDonald Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (I) Import Injured