The Shell Turbo Chargers were a Philippine Basketball Association team from 1985 to 2005. It won four PBA championships, two from 1998 to 1999. Shell sold its franchise to PBL team Welcoat Paints in February 2006.
Aside from being known as the Turbo Chargers, Shell was also known as Shell Azodrin Bugbusters, Shell Azocord Super Bugbusters, Shell Oilers, Shell Rimula X, Formula Shell Zoom Masters, Shell Helix Oilers and Shell Velocity.
History
Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation acquired the franchise of the famed Crispa Redmanizers in 1985 for a reported sum of two million pesos. In its debut season, the team was known as Shell Azodrin Bugbusters under head coach Freddie Webb, with several Crispa players, including Philip Cezar and Bernie Fabiosa, in addition to a former Crispa Redmanizer William "Bogs" Adornado from Great Taste and Rey Lazaro from Yco-Tanduay forming its roster.[1] They also had the number one draft pick, Sonny Cabatu, the first ever top overall draft choice in league history.[2] Shell got its first All Filipino finals berth against Great Taste when they defeated Ginebra in a rubber match.
The following season in 1986, Shell carried the name Pilipinas Shell Oilers, Shell Helix and Formula Shell Spark Aiders, respectively, with Olympian Ed Ocampo taking over from Freddie Webb, who resigned as Shell coach midway in the semifinals of the first conference. Shell remained a hard-luck team with national coach Joe Lipa becoming Shell's third coach in 1987 3rd conference, as the team was now known as Shell Azocord Super Bugbusters.
The team's rise to fame came during the late-1980s when they were bannered by two U.P.Diliman standouts Ronnie Magsanoc and Benjie Paras to solidify Shell as one of the more popular teams in the pro league.[3] Former Toyota mentor Dante Silverio was also responsible for transforming Shell to a championship-caliber ballclub with back-to-back runner-up finishes.[4]
In the 1990 PBA Open Conference, Shell won its first-ever PBA championship defeating crowd-favorite Añejo Rhum 4–2. But the series was marred by Añejo's infamous walkout in the sixth and final game of the series to award the Shell the win in Game six and the series clincher. At that time, Shell was reinforced by import Bobby Parks, who holds seven Best Import Awards in his PBA career, most of them with the Shell franchise.[6]
A year later, Shell suffered one of the biggest collapses in PBA finals history during the 1991 PBA First Conference, when they blew a 3–1 series lead in the series eventually losing to Ginebra in seven games on a Rudy Distrito game-winner.[7]
Shell won the 1992 PBA First Conference crown but waited six years (20 conferences) before winning another PBA crown, by capturing the 1998 Governor's Cup.[8] They defeated the Mobiline Phone Pals in seven games.
1999 also became a banner year for Paras, who won his second Most Valuable Player award in his career, despite the arrival of several talented Filipino-foreigner players during the same season.[9] However, injuries in the next three seasons forced Paras to retire after the 2003 season.
Shell suffered several slumps in the next four seasons (2000-2003) before resurfacing during the 2004-2005 season as one of the contenders for the PBA crown. Under head coach Leo Austria (who won the Rookie of the Year honors in 1985 as a player for Shell), the Turbo Chargers placed fourth in the PBA Philippine Cup and third in the season-ending 2005 PBA Fiesta Conference.
Disbandment
During the 2004-05 PBA season, Shell was rumored to be disbanding after the season because its mother company, Royal Dutch Shell in the Netherlands believed it was no longer feasible to continue maintaining its PBA team.[11]
It was believed that port company Harbour Centre was planning to purchase the rights of the Shell franchise.[12] However, both parties did not come into an agreement as Harbour Centre was offering less than what Shell wanted. On August 3, 2005, Shell announced that it was taking a leave of absence from the league.[12] Before the announcement, Shell traded away most of its players. Tony Dela Cruz and Rich Alvarez were dealt to the Alaska Aces while Ronald Tubid was sent to the Air21 Express.[12] The remaining members of the team were selected through the dispersal draft.[13]
Shell was given a six-month deadline for the team to either return to the league in the next PBA season or sell the team to a prospective buyer. In January 2006, PBL powerhouse Welcoat Paints acquired the franchise for and entered the league in the 2006-07 PBA season.[14]
Ronnie Magsanoc #5 - "The Point Laureate"/"The Navigator" led Shell to two championships, many time All-Star and Mythical team selections
Benjie Paras #14 - "The Tower of Power" is a 2-time PBA MVP, only player to win the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in the same season (1989)
