1998 Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs season

The 1998 Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies season was the 11th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The team was named Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies in the All-Filipino Cup.

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College
1	7	Henry Fernandez	Philippines	University of Visayas
2	15	Ulysses Tanique	Philippines	SSC-Recoletos

Purefoods lost their first four games in the All-Filipino Cup before picking up their first win against Shell. The Carne Norte Beefies makes it to the semifinals with an 81–75 victory over Sta.Lucia on March 13.^[1] The Beefies could only finish with five wins and six losses in the eliminations and won just three of their 10 semifinal assignments and for a team that has played in 9 of the last 10 All-Filipino finals, the Purefoods franchise dropped to their lowest standing in the All-Filipino tournament at fifth place.

Former Purefoods import Kenny Redfield, whose last two seasons he played with were Shell and Sta.Lucia, is back for the Hotdogs in the Commissioner's Cup. Redfield was older and slower this time and was replaced after three games by Khari Jaxon, who lasted one game and scored only six points in a forgettable debut in Purefoods' 65–79 loss to Mobiline on June 5. Jaxon suffered a leg injury and the Hotdogs had to play their next game without an import. Jaxon's replacement was Roy Hairston, who led the Tender Juicy Hotdogs to victories in their last two games in the eliminations as they end up with five wins and six losses again after 11 games in the eliminations. Despite the twice-to-beat advantage against Formula Shell, the Hotdogs were beaten twice and were booted out from the final four semifinals.

Former imports Bob McCann and Rodney Monroe were the Hotdogs' reinforcement starting with the sideshow Centennial Cup, Monroe was replaced by Lance Miller after four games. Purefoods finishes with a 12-9 won-loss slate in the four-team, double round carryover semifinals, they lost a playoff game to Mobiline for one of the two finals berth. The Hotdogs won their third place series against San Miguel Beermen for their first-ever third-place finish in franchise history.

February 27: After the Beefies held the San Miguel Beermen to a record-low 49 points in a 70–49 victory three nights before, the Beefies won their third straight game from a 0–4 start, defeating unbeaten Alaska Milkmen, 83–68, and snapped Alaska's five-game winning streak and handed their first loss in the season.^[2]

March 8: Purefoods scored a 93–80 victory over Gordon's Gin as they spoil the birthday of Boars playing-coach Sonny Jaworski and climbed up to a tie with Pop Cola in the standings at four wins and five loss.^[3]

On March 21, Purefoods formally announced the resignation of head coach Eric Altamirano, who had a contract dispute with the management which did not want to give him a sizeable increase and a guaranteed contract until the end of the 1999 season, Altamirano moved over to Mobiline Phone Pals beginning the Commissioner's Cup, signing a four-year guaranteed contract that has doubled his money earning as that of his stint with Purefoods. Replacing Altamirano at the Purefoods' bench is their former assistant and Shell mentor Chito Narvasa.^[4]

1998 Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. # POB Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G/F 1 Ravena, Bong 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) UE G/F 3 Lago, Elmer 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) De La Salle G 4 Tanigue, Ulysses 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) San Sebastian F 5 Reyes, Edmund 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) UST F 7 Evangelista, Rey 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) UST G 8 Sasuman, Genesis 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Letran G 10 Pumaren, Dindo 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) De La Salle C 11 Feihl, Edward Joseph 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) Adamson F 16 Patrimonio, Alvin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Mapúa F 22 Fernandez, Henry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Visayas F/C 27 Solomon, Stevenson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) San Sebastian C 44 Codinera, Jerry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) UE

Head coach Chito Narvasa Assistant coach(es) Louie Alas Bong Go Legend (C) Team captain Injured