The 1977 Toyota Tamaraws season was the third season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
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Transactions Transactions Nicanor Bulaong Rookie; from Far Eastern University Pablo Javier Rookie; from Toyota's farm team Crown Motors in the MICAA Abe King Rookie; from Toyota's farm team Crown Motors in the MICAA Emerito Legaspi Rookie; from Toyota's farm team Crown Motors in the MICAA Quirino Salazar Acquired from Tanduay
Summary The Toyota Tamaraws were the top qualifier in the Group A standings with nine wins and five losses in the All-Filipino Conference. The Tamaraws missed out a finals stint for the first time in seven conferences and settled for a third-place finish via 3–0 sweep off Tanduay.
In the Open Conference, the Tamaraws came up with the best imports seemingly - Bruce "Sky" King and John "Dr.I" Irving. Toyota wound up again with a 9-5 win-loss card after the two-round eliminations. In the semifinal round, Toyota forced a playoff game with arch rival Crispa for the second finals berth following a 104–92 victory, but fell short in the do-or-die game, 87–90. The Tamaraws clinch third place at the expense of Seven-Up.
Toyota came back with a vengeance in the Invitational championship, snapping Crispa's dynastic rule while claiming the league's first three-game title-romp. The visiting Emtex Sacronels (a guest team composed of players from the Brazil national basketball team, including Oscar Schmidt) had a clean seven-game sweep in the elimination round and sealed a titular meeting with the Tamaraws. King and Irving displayed an overwhelming show of power in Toyota's three-game sweep over the Brazilians. The championship was the first for coach Dante Silverio in the third conference.
Roster Roster # Position Height Alberto Reynoso 4 Center Abe King 6 Forward-Center Robert Jaworski 7 Guard Francis Arnaiz 8 Guard Orlando Bauzon 9 Guard Ramon Fernandez 10 Forward-Center Bruce King Import 11 Forward-Center Pablo Javier 12 Guard Jesus Sta. Maria 13 Guard-Forward Rino Salazar 14 Guard Rodolfo Segura 15 Forward Virgilio Cortez Moved to Mariwasa 16 Forward-Center Fort Acuña 17 Forward-Center Emerito Legaspi 18 Guard-Forward Nicanor Bulaong 20 Forward Aurelio Clariño Moved to U-Tex 23 Center John Irving Import 34 Center Oscar Rocha 45 Guard-Forward
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