The 1986 Shell Oilers season was the 2nd season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known as Shell Helix in the All-Filipino Conference and Formula Shell in the Third Conference.
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Summary
Pilipinas Shell, on its second year in the PBA, with only one new acquisition in their roster; Melchor Ravanes from the disbanded Magnolia ballclub during the off-season, won two of their first three games in the first conference. Despite having two good imports; Dwight Anderson and Steward Granger, the Oilers were in danger of being eliminated after losing six in a row and had to beat Manila Beer in their last game to make it in the five-team semifinal round. After dropping their first two outings in the semifinals against Great Taste by one point in overtime, and Ginebra, 106-113 on May 15, coach Freddie Webb decided to resign from his position, he was replace by Edgardo Ocampo, who only last year led Manila Beer to the finals. The Oilers could only score one victory in the semifinal round and finish with a 4-win, 14-loss record.
Known as Shell Helix in the All-Filipino Conference, the Oilers finish the eliminations with four wins and two losses, a game behind semis qualifier Tanduay and Great Taste. After winning their first game against Tanduay, 102-95, at the start of the semifinal round on August 10, the Oilers lost all their remaining assignments. Shell placed third with a 3-1 series win over Great Taste.
Renamed as Formula Shell in the third conference, the Spark Aiders brought in Dexter Shouse, a fourth round draftee by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1985, and 6-6 Fred Reynolds as their imports. The colorful Shouse immediately made an impact in Shell's first game on September 23 against the returning ballclub Magnolia Cheese where he scored 42 points in a 111-95 victory. The Spark Aiders finish the first round of eliminations with four wins and two losses, tied with Manila Beer and were a game behind Ginebra San Miguel. They seized solo leadership early in the second round with two straight victories, first against Ginebra on October 19 where import Fred Reynolds held down Ginebra's high-scoring import Michael Hackett to a personal low of 16 points in Shell's 109-105 win, and Great Taste on October 21. When import Fred Reynolds was injured, the Spark Aiders lost their last four games in the eliminations and their first two matches in the quarterfinals for a six-game losing streak. Perry Young, a Portland third round draft selection in 1985, was a late replacement for the injured Reynolds and played for the team's last four games.
Notable dates
May 6: Import Dwight Anderson scored 64 points as Shell beats Manila Beer, 137-114, in their last game in the eliminations to end a six-game losing streak.
November 16: Formula Shell recorded the second largest winning margin of 54 points in a 154-100 victory over already qualified Tanduay Rhum Makers, which got another all-time record 13 triples from import Rob Williams. The win broke the six-game losing streak of the Spark Aiders. The match was delayed for almost one and a half hours after Dexter Shouse' powerful dunk late in the second quarter cause the ULTRA north goal to mis-aligned. The Spark Aiders were ousted from the semifinal race after Great Taste prevailed over Alaska Milk later in the night.