Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation acquired the franchise of the famed
Crispa Redmanizers in
1985 for a reported sum of two million pesos. In its debut season, the team was known as
Shell Azodrin Bugbusters under head coach
Freddie Webb, with several Crispa players, including
Philip Cezar and
Bernie Fabiosa, in addition to a former Crispa Redmanizer
William "Bogs" Adornado from Great Taste and Rey Lazaro from Yco-Tanduay forming its roster. They also had the number one draft pick,
Sonny Cabatu, the first ever top overall draft choice in league history. Shell got its first All Filipino finals berth against Great Taste when they defeated Ginebra in a rubber match. The following season in 1986, Shell carried the name
Pilipinas Shell Oilers,
Shell Helix and
Formula Shell Spark Aiders, respectively, with Olympian
Ed Ocampo taking over from Freddie Webb, who resigned as Shell coach midway in the semifinals of the first conference. Shell remained a hard-luck team with national coach
Joe Lipa becoming Shell's third coach in 1987 3rd conference, as the team was now known as
Shell Azocord Super Bugbusters. The team's rise to fame came during the late-1980s when they were bannered by two
U.P. Diliman standouts
Ronnie Magsanoc and
Benjie Paras to solidify Shell as one of the more popular teams in the pro league. Former Toyota mentor
Dante Silverio was also responsible for transforming Shell to a championship-caliber ballclub with back-to-back runner-up finishes. Paras is also the only PBA player to win the
Rookie of the Year and the coveted
Most Valuable Player plum in the same season when the center won it all in 1989. In the
1990 PBA Open Conference, Shell won its first-ever PBA championship defeating crowd-favorite
Añejo Rhum 4–2. But the series was marred by Añejo's infamous walkout in the sixth and final game of the series to award the Shell the win in Game six and the series clincher. At that time, Shell was reinforced by import
Bobby Parks, who holds seven
Best Import Awards in his PBA career, most of them with the Shell franchise. A year later, Shell suffered one of the biggest collapses in PBA finals history during the
1991 PBA First Conference, when they blew a 3–1 series lead in the series eventually losing to Ginebra in seven games on a
Rudy Distrito game-winner. Shell won the
1992 PBA First Conference crown but waited six years (20 conferences) before winning another PBA crown, by capturing the
1998 Governor's Cup. They defeated the
Mobiline Phone Pals in seven games. Their final championship came during the
1999 PBA All-Filipino Conference defeating heavy favorite
Tanduay Rhum in six games. Shell was bannered by Paras,
Gerry Esplana,
Victor Pablo, Chris Jackson and
Noy Castillo as one of their primary players under head coach
Perry Ronquilio. 1999 also became a banner year for Paras, who won his second Most Valuable Player award in his career, despite the arrival of several talented
Filipino-foreigner players during the same season. However, injuries in the next three seasons forced Paras to retire after the
2003 season. Shell suffered several slumps in the next four seasons (
2000-
2003) before resurfacing during the
2004-2005 season as one of the contenders for the PBA crown. Under head coach
Leo Austria (who won the Rookie of the Year honors in 1985 as a player for Shell), the Turbo Chargers placed fourth in the PBA Philippine Cup and third in the season-ending 2005 PBA Fiesta Conference. ==Disbandment==