The Entry of Mobiline Phone Pals

Pepsi Hotshots, this was the first name of the Talk n Text Tropang Texters. Luis F. Lorenzo Sr. of Pepsi Philippines first owned the team that also had several name changes. 7-Up Bottlers and Pepsi Mega Bottlers were the other names of the team. It was granted an expansion franchise prior to the 1990 PBA season.

Then in 1996, Pilipino Telephone Corporation acquired the franchise and the team's name was again changed to Mobiline Cellulars and eventually to Mobiline Phone Pals. 

In 1997, the franchise got the first overall pick from the Pop Cola bottlers and they chose Andrew John Seigle. They also drafted the likes of Patrick Fran and Tony Boy Espinosa. They inked former rookie of the year Jeffrey Cariaso via a trade from Alaska. Getting a championship seemed to be an elusive dream for the team as they kept on failing short. Then it was during the 1998 Philippine Centennial Cup that the team finally won a championship despite the absence of two top players, AJ Siegle and Jeffrey Cariason which were both loaned to the Philippine team. However, the Centennial Cup was just a special tournament and their title was not considered as an official championship.

After the team failed to advance to the finals for next succeeding conferences, the team acquired the Fil-Tongan Asi Taulava. The had a solid start but still failed to advance past the quarterfinals. Then came the issue of Taulava's eligibility that eventually saw the big guy being deported. The team had major changes in their line-up including the acquisition of veterans like Jerry Codinera and Vic Pablo. The team also had several changes in the coaching staff hoping that their standings would be better. Still, the fate of the team remained the same.