Norman Black was voted the Reinforced Filipino Conference Best Import.
Summary
San Miguel hired former Tefilin import Norman Black as their reinforcement for the whole season. Black debut with 48 points in leading the Beermen to a 108-98 win over Great Taste on March 9. They scored their second win as Black poured in 60 points in a 125-107 San Miguel victory over Gilbey's Gin on March 13. The Beermen won nine of their first 10 games, losing only to Toyota in the first round and emerge with the best record with 13 wins and five losses at the end of the elimination phase. The league adopted for the first time, a best-of-three, best-of-five and best-of-seven series to determine a champion. San Miguel went on to play the U/tex Wranglers in the best-of-five semifinal series, winning three games to one, to enter the finals against the Toyota Super Corollas. The Beermen led the series by winning the first two games but Toyota came back to win the championship that went to a full limit of seven games. In the five-team Invitational Championship that includes a visiting squad from South Korea, the Beermen were on their second straight finals appearance in the season, they played the Crispa Redmanizers in the best-of-three title series. San Miguel beat Crispa, 103-102, in the deciding third game to win the Invitational Crown and their second PBA title. The Beermen acquired Lim Eng Beng from U/tex in a trade with Alex Tan before the start of the Open Conference. Norman Black teamed up with Terry Sykes in the Beermen's first two games where they lost. Sykes was replaced by Marvin Johnson and the Beermen scored their first win against Gilbey's Gin on September 2. Johnson played five games in the elimination phase until former import Aaron James was recalled back to replace him. San Miguel finish with 10 wins and eight losses and advances to the semifinal round along with Toyota and early qualifiers N-Rich Coffee and Gilbey's by posting a 2-1 won-loss slate in the quarterfinals and winning their do-or-die encounter with U/tex. In the semifinal round, the Beermen lost to Gilbey's Gin, 101-102, in their last assignment on December 7 and failed to create a four-way tie for the two finals berth.
