1991-1996: Back to Ginebra San Miguel
In 1991, Añejo reverted back to Ginebra. They met Shell once again in the 1991 First Conference title series. Shell got the upper hand by taking a 3-1 series, needing only a win to clinch the series. But Ginebra managed a furious comeback to force a seventh game. In the final seconds of Game 7, an off-balanced shot by Rudy Distrito with a second remaining sealed Ginebra's third PBA title and completed the greatest comeback in PBA history.
Ginebra placed third in the 1992 Third Conference but at that time the team was starting to fade.
In the 1993 pre-season, the Gins were given the second overall pick in the 1993 PBA draft behind new team Sta. Lucia Realty (which replaced Presto). They drafted former FEU power forward Victor Pablo but immediately traded him to 7-Up Uncolas for veterans Manny Victorino and Alejo Alolor. The said trade was lambasted by most fans, and it cost Ginebra their performance for the year where they compiled a record of 9-26 win-loss slate in all three conferences. This horrible performance gave them the top pick in the next draft.
In 1994, in an effort to change their fortunes, the team was renamed as Tondeña Rhum 65. The team selected Noli Locsin with their first pick, and was hoped by many fans to save the team for the season. But Tondeña's struggles continued, winning just 12 of the 32 games that year.
In 1995, the team reverted again to Ginebra. They selected 7-0 center Edward Joseph Feihl and also drafted Jaworski's son, Robert Jr. The drafting of Feihl surprised many basketball analysts. They were expecting Ginebra to either draft Kenneth Duremdes or Jeffrey Cariaso at that time. Jaworski later quoted "It's not everyday that you see a 7-footer applying for the draft." Unfortunately, misfortunes still struck the team as Ginebra won only 5 of the 30 games played that year, capped by a 0-10 win-loss record during the Governor's Cup. The worst season triggered rumors that Ginebra was disbanding. But the rumor was quickly killed off after the team posted a printed advertisement in major newspapers that they were staying in the PBA. As a result, Ginebra snagged the top pick again in the next draft. This was the last time a PBA team with the worst record was awarded the top pick in the draft. In the succeeding drafts, the worst PBA team had to compete with the second worst team via lottery to determine the No. 1 ranking in the PBA draft.
In 1996, Ginebra used the top overall pick to draft controversial center Marlou Aquino from Adamson University. Aquino was a big star in the PBL for Nikon and Stag Pale Pilsen but was involved in a controversial scandal in terms of his academic status with Adamson although it was somewhat neglected when he jumped pro. Aquino showed the promise Ginebra fans expected during the All-Filipino Conference as Ginebra won fourth place that tournament. It also showed the discovery of former University of Santo Tomas point guard Bal David as one of the team's popular players along with Vince Hizon, Jayvee Gayoso and Pido Jarencio.
In the Commissioner's Cup, the team was paraded by NBA veteran Henry James as Ginebra wound up in a knockout match against familiar rival Formula Shell. Kenny Redfield's buzzer-beating three enabled Formula Shell to enter the finals. Ginebra finally entered the Finals of the Governors Cup but lost to the grand slam winning Alaska Milkmen in five games.
Aquino's impact on Ginebra gave the team a 30-game improvement from a year ago and was named as the Rookie of the Year.
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