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The 1979 Royal Tru-Orange season was the 5th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Transactions

Championship

In the Second (Open) Conference, the Orangemen signed 6-7 Larry Pounds, a fifth-round draftee of the Golden State Warriors in 1975, and 6-11 Otto Moore, a veteran of NBA wars for nine seasons, as their imports. Royal emerge on top of the standings after the two-round eliminations with 13 wins and 3 losses and made it to the championship round by posting a 5-1 won-loss slate in the semifinals. On October 23, RTO defeated Crispa, 110–102, to reach the PBA finals for the first time in franchise history.

On November 6, Royal Tru-Orange won their first PBA crown by defeating the Toyota Tamaraws, 102–101, rookie Ramon Dizon was the spark that ignited veterans on the team (Photographed here) Game 4 of the title playoffs for a 3–1 series victory. The Orangemen took the first two games, 104–99 and 100–95, the Tamaraws avoided a sweep by winning the third game, 99–98.

Royal Tru-Orange joins U/Tex Wranglers as the only other ballclub not named Crispa or Toyota, to have won a PBA title in the 1970s as RTO mentor and former olympian Edgardo Ocampo won his first championship as a head coach.

Roster

1979 Royal Tru-Orange roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. # POB Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G/F 2 Baguio, Maximino 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Cebu Tech G 4 Velasco, Paulino 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Visayas F/C 5 Migalbin, Jesus 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) San Agustin F 6 dela Peña, Ricardo 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) G 7 Torrente, Antonio 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) G 8 Dizon, Ramon 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) PSBA F 12 Jacutin, Marlowe 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Visayas F 13 Gregorio, Teodulfo 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Mapúa G 14 Martirez, Yoyong 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Southwestern-U F/C 15 Lalota, Rodolfo 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Mapúa G 16 Paguntalan, Leonardo 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Western Institute F 17 Valencia, Evalson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Western Institute G Salvador, Danilo 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) San Sebastian F/C Samson, Marte 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Ateneo F 25 Pounds, Larry (I) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Washington C 34 Moore, Otto (I) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) Texas

Head coach Edgardo Ocampo Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (I) Import Injured

References

1. "When the San Miguel franchise won its first PBA title". rivalrynetwork.com.
2. "A drink down memory lane". San Miguel Brewery Inc.

• San Miguel Beermen seasons
• 1979 PBA season by team