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: The Toyota Athletic Club was a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from 1975 to 1983. The team was owned by Delta Motor Corporation (defunct) and played under various names - Komatsu Komets, Toyota Comets, Toyota Silver Tamaraws, Toyota Tamaraws, Toyota Super Diesels, Toyota Super Corollas and Toyota Silver Coronas. The franchise's nine PBA titles is the fifth most in PBA history behind charter member San Miguel Beermen (21), the Alaska Aces (14), fierce rival Crispa Redmanizers (13) and the Purefoods franchise (13). ==Profile and franchise == Toyota is a Japanese brand that was exclusively distributed by Delta Motors Corporation, owned by former Bulacan congressman and Marcos crony Ricardo Silverio, Sr. The team was first known as the Komatsu Komets in the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA), one of the more successful teams of the amateur commercial league prior to the inception of the PBA. Sometime in January 1975, five MICAA teams met together at the old Elizalde canteen to sign a pre-organizational agreement for the formation of what is now known as the Philippine Basketball Association. Dante Silverio, Ricardo Silverio’s nephew, was the official representative of Toyota who signed on the dotted line. When the league started, Toyota was known to be the Comets, retaining its nick that they used when they were still branded as Komatsu. Sometime in 1977 or 1978, Toyota came out with a new fleet called the Tamaraw, a utility vehicle marketed specifically for small to medium businesses. Hence, they became the Toyota Tamaraws. They also had an amateur team at that time playing in the MICAA, known as MAN Diesel. MAN Diesel, like their professional counterparts, were likewise successful in the MICAA and was considered as one of 3 of the powerhouse teams of the amateur league, along with Solid Mills and Imperial Textile Mills. MAN Diesel also became known as Frigidaire, the refrigerator maker, since Silverio was the owner of the said company. Also in 1978, a sister team, Filmanbank, a bank also owned by Silverio, joined the league after buying the 7-Up Uncolas' franchise. In the process, the Tamaraws were able to secure the biggest name of the Uncolas at that time, a 5'9 dynamo named Danny Florencio (who used to play for Crispa in the MICAA), since Filmanbank allowed their most prized player to be released to their sister team. Prior to that, Florencio sizzled with a league high 64 points in a game of 7-Up despite having two American import teammates in 7'0 Steve Stroud and 6'7 Chris MacMurray playing alongside him. Florencio, who was just involved in the first ever player trade conducted by the league in 1977, came from U/Tex along with Jimmy Otazu in lieu of the Uncolas' Tino Reynoso and Ulysses Rodríguez. In 1981, the company unfolded a new fleet of passenger vehicles that was called the Super Corolla. To further boost its marketing image, the team decided to carry the brand and was eventually called the Toyota Super Corollas. When the 1983 season unfolded they switched their name to Toyota Silver Coronas. After the 1983 season they traded longtime starting power forward Abe King to the San Miguel in order to cut the total payroll. However, reeling from huge losses brought about by the economic crunch triggered by the assassination of former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., the league's glamorous team came to an end when Delta Motor sold the franchise to Asia Brewery which joined the league as Beer Hausen. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Toyota Super Corollas」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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