In their first conference, Purefoods made a historic run to the Finals against the Norman Black-led San Miguel Beermen in seven games. In the next conference, Cris Calilan replaced Fernandez as head coach after the first round of the eliminations. They met crowd favorite Añejo Rhum 65 in the Finals. Purefoods lost the series 3–1 against a veteran and rugged team of playing coach Robert Jaworski. Controversy arose during the series as Fernandez was ordered to be benched by then-Purefoods Corporation president Rene Buhain amid rumors of game-fixing. This issue led to Fernandez's transfer to San Miguel for Abet Guidaben late in the season. Lastimosa was named as the 1988 Rookie of the Year at the end of the season.