Wikipedia

2003 Talk 'N Text Phone Pals season

The 2003 Talk 'N Text Phone Pals season was the 14th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and third season under the management of Smart Communications.

2003 Talk 'N Text Phone Pals season
Head coachPaul Woolpert
Joel Banal
Ariel Vanguardia (interim basis in last 2 conferences)
Owner(s)Smart Communications
All-Filipino Cup results
Record19–13
(59.4%)
Place1st
Playoff finishChampions
Invitational Cup results
Record3–1
(75%)
PlaceN/A
Playoff finishN/A
Reinforced Conference results
Record9–10
(47.4%)
Place3rd
Playoff finishSemis (lost to Coca Cola)
Talk 'N Text Phone Pals seasons
← 2002
2004–05  →

Draft picks edit

Main article: 2003 PBA Draft

Transactions edit

Players Added

Via Draft

  • Jimmy Alapag
  • Harvey Carey
  • William Villa

Via Free Agency

Players Lost

Via Free Agency

Via Trade

  • Gilbert Demape (To Purefoods and their 6th pick; acquired the Hotdogs' number 4 pick)

Occurrences edit

February 27: PBA Suspends Asi Taulava for two games after he was found to have traces of Marijuana during a mandated test conducted by league physician Ben Salud.[1]

April 12: Phone Pals coach Paul Woolpert was fired by the management and named assistant coach Joel Banal as his interim replacement.

May 6: Forward Norman Gonzales was also tested positive of banned substance, he was the fifth player to be suspended indefinitely by the PBA and was ordered to undergo a six-month rehabilitation.[2]

August 15: Talk 'N Text acting head coach Ariel Vanguardia, who took over from Joel Banal, when the latter decided to honor his commitment with the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the UAAP, was slapped with a five-game suspension and a P50,000 fine while the team P250,000 in a game-sham that took place on August 13 when the Phone Pals tried to extend a winning ballgame against Red Bull in overtime by deliberately shooting on the Barako's goal, Talk 'N Text representative to the PBA board Ricky Vargas said the team will appeal the five-game suspension to Commissioner Noli Eala since the Phone Pals cannot hire an interim coach for five games starting the Third Conference.[3]

Championship edit

The Talk 'N Text Phone Pals won their first championship in the All-Filipino Cup by defeating the defending champions Coca Cola Tigers. The Phone Pals lost the first two games of the series but won the next four to clinch their first title in 13 years, not counting the 1998 Centennial Cup triumph. Asi Taulava was voted finals MVP of the series.

Main article: 2003 PBA All-Filipino Cup Finals

Awards edit

  • Asi Taulava won the coveted Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, aside from winning the Best Player of the Conference in the All-Filipino Cup.
  • Jimmy Alapag won the Rookie of the Year honors.

Roster edit

Talk 'N Text Phone Pals roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. Wt.
F 00   Villa, William 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) BYU–Hawaii
G 1   Ravena, Bong 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) UE
G 3   Alapag, Jimmy 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Cal State San Bernardino
F 4   Carey, Harvey 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Sonoma State
F 6   Locsin, Noli 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) De La Salle
G 8   Fran, Patrick 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) UST
F 13   Telan, Mark 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) De La Salle
F 15   Falcasantos, Expedito 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Cebu
F 19   Gonzales, Norman 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) San Beda
F 21   Cantrell, Damian (I) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) San Francisco
G/F 28   Manalo, Jojo 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) UPHSD
F 33   Pablo, Victor 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Far Eastern
C 38   David, Angelo 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Far Eastern
G 42   Belano, Donbel 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Visayas
C 88   Taulava, Asi 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) BYU–Hawaii
G 99   De Guzman, Jonathan 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Adamson
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (I) Import
  •   Injured

Game results edit

All-Filipino Cup edit

Date Opponent Score Top scorer Venue Location
February 26 Shell 74–77 Philsports Arena Pasig
March 2 Alaska 78–96 Alapag (24 pts) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City
March 9 San Miguel 83–79 Ravena (21 pts) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City
March 14 Sta.Lucia 72–71 Alapag (16 pts) Philsports Arena Pasig
March 21 (Ordered replay) Brgy.Ginebra 117–122 2OT Alapag (40 pts) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City
March 26 Shell 104–92 Taulava (46 pts) Makati Coliseum Makati City
March 29 Red Bull 88–94 Taulava (27 pts) Cebu City
April 2 Purefoods 83–85 Philsports Arena Pasig
April 9 FedEX 93–86 OT Taulava (38 pts) Philsports Arena Pasig
April 12 Coca-Cola 78–79 San Fernando, Pampanga
April 16 Sta.Lucia 84–77 Philsports Arena Pasig
April 22 (Replay) Brgy.Ginebra 90–87 Alapag (26 pts) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City
April 25 Red Bull Philsports Arena Pasig
April 30 Alaska 89–88 Makati Coliseum Makati City
May 4 Coca-Cola 91–87 Taulava (30 pts) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City
May 9 FedEx 105–116 Philsports Arena Pasig
May 11 Brgy.Ginebra 82–99 Alapag (21 pts) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City
May 21 Purefoods Philsports Arena Pasig
May 28 San Miguel 102–106 Taulava (31 pts) Philsports Arena Pasig

  Win
  Win via OT
  loss
  loss via OT

References edit

  1. ^ "PBA bares penalties for drug users". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  2. ^ "TNT forward fails drug test". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  3. ^ "Mockery to cost TNT heavy fines". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
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