The PBA 1982 Season saw a new show, a direction and a new attraction in pretty Nikki Coseteng replacing her father, the league’s founding president, sitting on the Mariwasa bench as team owner/manager. So what if two teams had to fold up at the start of the season and Crispa, for the second time, was shut out of the title race since stashing away with the first Grand Slam in 1976. Toyota, actually, made a Grand Slam of sorts when, on championship evening, Ramon Fernandez was named Most Valuable Player, his first in what would turned out a string of four, tied later by Alvin Patrimonio and surpassed, still much later, by June Mar Fajardo. Marte Saldaña, played like a grizzled veteran and was rewarded with the Rookie of the Year honor. And thus, on a bright note, the curtains fell on the PBA ’82, a year when the pro-league also mourned as the genial Pepito Castro, the league’s indefatigable executive secretary passed on to the great beyond.

Source: Manila Times June 22, 2020 16:17 UTC