Pop Cola Panthers
Pop Cola Panthers arrived in the PBA in 1990 as one of two expansion teams in the league. In 1992, as Swift, they won the Third Conference by sweeping 7-Up with Yeng Guiao as head coach. As Sunkist, they won the 1995 All-Filipino and Commissioners Cup title with Derrick Pumaren as head coach.
In 2001, Republic Flour Mills (RFM) sold its subsidiary COSMOS Bottlers Corporation to food company giant San Miguel Corporation. The move also absorbed the PBA team, which gave SMC four PBA ballclubs. After the PBA board gave the go-signal to allow the team to remain in the league, it was renamed as the Coca-Cola Tigers before the start of the 2002 season.
The old Pop Cola team's lineage was removed, with Viva-Vintage television commentators mentioning the Tigers as an expansion club after winning the 2002 All-Filipino Cup. However, it can be argued that Pop Cola is a Cosmos product, and the lineage of the old Swift, and Sunkist franchise still exists on the current team. But since RFM still owns Swift and Sunkist, the lineage of the old franchise to the Tigers could also be legitimately removed.
Read more about this topic: Powerade Tigers, History
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