1991 Alaska Milkmen season

The 1991 Alaska Milkmen season was the 6th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Draft picks

Off-season transactions

Summary

Unable to find an import standing 6"5' for the First Conference, Alaska had to rehired Sean Chambers, who is four inches shorter than the rest of the field. With only three leftovers from last year's roster and Paul Alvarez on the injured list and will be out for the first two conferences, the Milkmen lost their first three games of the season and were at the bottom of the standings with only one win to show in seven starts before they begin to find the right chemistry and scored three straight victories, all by one point margins against Diet Sarsi, 104-103 on March 24, San Miguel, 100-99 on March 26, ^[1] and Presto, 118-117 on April 4 in a must-win situation to keep their semifinal hopes alive. The Milkmen were ousted by Ginebra San Miguel in their last game in the eliminations, 117-123 on April 7.

Alaska won their first four games in the All-Filipino Conference, nipping Diet Sarsi, 97-96 on June 18, on Frankie Lim's triple in the last 3 seconds for their third straight win, a week later on June 25, the Milkmen came back from 13 points down going into the final quarter to beat Tivoli Milk, 99-94. Alaska then lost four in a row before making it to the semifinals with two victories. ^[2] Carrying a 6-5 won-loss slate entering the semifinal round, the Milkmen swept the first round of the semifinals and tied Diet Sarsi for solo leadership at 10 wins and 5 losses, before a string of four straight losses again ousted them from the finals race. Alaska placed third with a 2-1 series victory over San Miguel Beermen.

Sean Chambers was back anew for the Third Conference and "Mr.Excitement" Paul Alvarez was ready to play and rejoined his new teammates. The Milkmen were on top in Group B after the elimination round with seven wins and four losses. Alaska split their first four games in the semifinals and looks headed for another disappointing finish in search for their first championship, but just as quickly, the Milkmen bounced back with victories over Tivoli Milk and Ginebra San Miguel. On November 21, Alaska arranged a championship showdown with Ginebra by defeating San Miguel Beermen, 94-80, on the last scheduled date of the semifinal round for their 12th win in 19 games. Alaska won their first-ever PBA title with a 3-1 series victory over Ginebra in the best-of-five series.

Awards

• Eugene Quilban was named the season's Rookie of the year.
• Import Sean Chambers became the second recipient of the Mr.100% award.

Roster

_{Assistant Coaches: Chot Reyes / Aric Del Rosario Team Manager: Joaquin Trillo}

References