(dark) (light) The Toyota Tamaraws had a manpower build-up at the start of the season by acquiring top forwards Danny Florencio and Estoy Estrada.
After failing to land in the finals berth of the Second Conference, the Tamaraws captured the Invitational championship behind imports Carlos Terry and Bruce "Sky" King.
The Tamaraws easily made it to the All-Filipino Conference semifinals with 12 wins and two losses at the end of the two-round eliminations and tied with their rivals Crispa Redmanizers.
The Tamaraws scored a 3-1 finals victory against a Filmanbank squad led by American Billy Robinson and local standouts Larry Mumar and Jun Papa.
With their victories against Yugoslavia and Canada in exhibition games, the Tamaraws were again installed as favorites to defend the Invitational crown they won last season, although Danny Florencio was not able to play anymore and Estoy Estrada was not to recover from his slump.