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114-640: The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The most popular team in the league, it is owned by Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.), a subsidiary of the San Miguel Corporation (SMC). The team is one of three PBA ball clubs currently owned by the SMC group of companies, along with Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots and

228-649: A 3–1 series lead. In Game Five, they were about to score a winning basket after a Gordon's turnover. But Vince Hizon blocked Dindo Pumaren's layup, as the Boars lived another day. Unfortunately, in Game Six, the strong performance of Alvin Patrimonio and company denied Gordon's a title losing the series 4–2. The loss marked Jaworski's (player-coach) last game with the La Tondeña franchise and did not enter himself in

342-574: 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 Governors' Cup. The worst season triggered rumors that the Gins 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. Ginebra got

456-406: A company can enter the PBA via an expansion team . An aspiring team seeking to join the PBA had to be approved by majority of the existing teams. There is a lockout provision, which enables a team to veto the entry of a franchise team whose company is a direct competitor that of one of the existing team's business. Previously, a company is allowed only one team, with each team having one vote in

570-406: 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 Reinforced 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

684-466: A future 1st round pick. During the conference, Tanquingcen used a three guard combination line-up of Santos, Helterbrand and Caguioa which enabled the team to have a running game. It was during this time that the backcourt tandem of Helterbrand and Caguioa became known as The Fast and The Furious in reference to their running game and to the movie of the same name. Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association ( PBA )

798-481: A game since. In the Commissioner's Cup, NBA veteran Chris King became a replacement in time for the semis of the tournament. Gordon's met sister-team San Miguel in an elimination semifinal match. It was a true classic game that went to double overtime. The Boars were down by five in the dying seconds of regulation then came back to tie the game and win it double overtime period. The Boars won, 106–100, in what

912-698: A hybrid of rules from the NBA and FIBA. As of the 2022–23 season , the PBA season consists of three tournaments known as " conferences ": the Philippine Cup , the Commissioner's Cup , and the Governors' Cup . The Commissioner's and Governors' Cups allow each team to sign a single foreign player known as an " import ". Meanwhile, the Philippine Cup is exclusive for Filipino players and is considered

1026-467: A knockout game, winning the first game. In the decider, the Kings came back from a 20-point deficit and David's off-balance game-winner resulted in one of the biggest upsets in league history to advance to the next round. Taulava was even seen crying in disappointment after the game when he failed to stop the smaller but quicker David. In the semis, they were eliminated by eventual champion Formula Shell that

1140-667: A major brawl, leading to the arrest and detention of several players from both clubs at Fort Bonifacio . The most heated rivalry in the PBA today is that of two teams representing the Ginebra franchise and the Purefoods franchise. The rivalry is now commonly known as the Manila Clasico . It traces its roots on the original Añejo–Purefoods rivalry of the late 1980s to early 1990s. Other short-lived or less intense rivalries include: As teams do not represent geographic locales,

1254-748: A new import laden tournament named as the Fiesta Conference . To accommodate these changes, a transitional tournament, the 2004 PBA Fiesta Conference was held from February to July, which was won by the Barangay Ginebra Kings . The league also began to hold the annual All-Star weekend in the provinces, alternating from Luzon and Visayas/Mindanao provinces every year. The league regained some popularity by this year, thanks in large part to Barangay Ginebra's three PBA championships led by Eric Menk , Jayjay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa . Solid marketing and arrival of collegiate stars from

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1368-445: A second elimination round for the top teams serving as the conference semifinals. The conference champions don't meet at the end of the season to determine an overall champion, instead, all of them are declared league champions. If a single team manages to win every conference in a single season, the team earns the rare distinction of being a Grand Slam champion. At the end of the conference, the league holds an awarding ceremony to honor

1482-748: A semi-bubble type setup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig. After two weeks, the Quezon City government approved the league's proposal to play their games with a limited number of audience at the Smart Araneta Coliseum . The league postponed indefinitely the scheduled games for January 2022 due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases brought by the Omicron variant . On February 16, 2022, Alaska Milk Corporation which owned

1596-506: A team winning all three conferences in a season is called the Grand Slam . The San Miguel Beermen are the most successful team with a total of 29 championships, including a Grand Slam in 1989. They have also won the most titles in each of the current conferences: 10 Philippine Cups, 5 Commissioner's Cups, and 5 Governors' Cups. Meanwhile, the defunct Crispa Redmanizers are the only team to have achieved two Grand Slams. As of 2022–23,

1710-525: A two conference set-up with a special transitional tournament known as 2004 PBA Fiesta Conference was held to bridge the transition between the 2003 and 2004–05 PBA seasons. As the league made significant changes so did the team which made the Kings more competitive. Caidic was moved to the position of team manager and former San Miguel assistant coach Siot Tanquingcen became head coach. The team also traded Limpot and Rob Johnson to Purefoods for Andy Seigle and Rodney Santos via Sta. Lucia , which received

1824-671: Is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the second-oldest continuously operating professional basketball league in the world after North America's NBA . The league played its first game at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on April 9, 1975, and its regulations are

1938-418: Is considered their longest playoff game to clinch the second finals berth. In the finals , Gordon's Gin eventually defeated Alaska in six games for the 1997 PBA Commissioner's Cup trophy, their first title in six years. This was their 4th over-all title and the last under Jaworski. Aquino was named Finals MVP. During this time, Jaworski thanked Gordon's fans for their support. Expectations were high for

2052-593: Is often divided into two parts; the first is the company or brand name, then the product or a moniker – usually connected to the business of the company. In some cases, the brand name and the moniker can be fused. For example, the San Miguel Beermen is a team owned by the San Miguel Brewery of the San Miguel Corporation , makers of the popular San Miguel Beer brand. The names of the teams often changes, often depending on what product or service

2166-625: The 2002 season . Unfortunately, Menk was loaned to the Philippine team and the Kings struggled throughout the Governors' and Commissioner's Cups, again failing to enter the semis. In the All-Filipino, Menk made his Barangay Ginebra debut but the team did not enter the quarterfinals. Rommel Adducul finally made his PBA debut after his years with the Metropolitan Basketball Association . The Kings selected

2280-530: The 2015–16 PBA season . Salud was then appointed as the President and CEO of the league, when the board of governors decided to restructure the league and create the President/CEO position to manage the league's marketing, expansion and business-related matters. The Commissioner (who will also be the league's Chief Operating Officer) will handle game-related matters. Salud, however, also stepped down as

2394-598: The Alaska Aces announced that the team would leave the PBA at the end of the 2021 Governors' Cup after 35 years in the league and winning 14 championships. Alaska played their last game on March 19, 2022, with a loss to the NLEX Road Warriors in the quarterfinals. A ceremony was held shortly after the game to mark the Alaska's departure from the PBA. The team was later sold to Converge ICT , to which it

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2508-624: The Apertura and Clausura format in Latin American football. There may be fewer conferences in a season, such as the 2020 and 2021 seasons having one and two conferences, respectively, due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The three conferences are the Philippine Cup , Commissioner's Cup and Governors' Cup , with the Philippine Cup being considered the most prestigious of the three. The season begins with an opening ceremony consisting of

2622-950: The Araneta Coliseum in Manila . However, even as Jacobs went about developing local talents, the players were still deemed "raw". In 1983, some recruits from the De La Salle squad that was also under the wings of Danding Cojuangco and five naturalized players began training for their ultimate goal of regaining the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) title in Hong Kong. It was a formidable team composed of Hector Calma, Franz Pumaren, Tonichi Yturri, Alfie Almario, Jun Tan, Joseph Uichico, Teddy Alfarero and naturalized players Dennis Still, Jeff Moore, Chip Engelland, Johnny Nash and John Hegwood. Upon arrival, they learned that their naturalized Filipinos were not recognized by

2736-491: The Asian Games , earning a silver medal. The PBA would later send three more all-pro squads to the event. The early 1990s saw Ginebra and Shell forming an intense rivalry that included Ginebra's walkout in 1990 finals against Shell and the team's dramatic comeback from a 3–1 deficit to beat Shell in the 1991 First Conference . Patrimonio, Allan Caidic , and a host of others became the league's main attraction. By 1993,

2850-721: The FIBA-recognized national association at the time. With the BAP controlling the MICAA, the league was de jure amateur, as players were only paid allowances. This is much like what was done in other countries to circumvent the amateur requirement and to play in FIBA -sanctioned tournaments such as the Olympics. MICAA team owners were not pleased with how BAP (then led by Gonzalo "Lito" Puyat ) were taking away their players to join

2964-718: The Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. Occasionally, provincial games are hosted in selected venues throughout the country. Playoff games are usually held at venues in Metro Manila , most often at the Araneta Coliseum. However, recent incentives to promote the league throughout the country have resulted in out-of-town playoff games. The league has also played several times outside the Philippines,

3078-920: The GlobalPort Batang Pier , decreasing their teams to three. By 2010, Manuel V. Pangilinan has owned the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals team via the Pilipino Telephone Company . Pangilinan, who had controlling ownership in Meralco , bought the Sta. Lucia Realtors team, rechristening them as the Meralco Bolts . His NLEX Corporation then bought the Air21 Express team in 2014, becoming the NLEX Road Warriors . This has made Cojuangco and Pangilinan own three teams each out of

3192-556: The Philippine national team to play in FIBA tournaments, as such the season may be lengthened. There have been calls from within the league to revert back to the two-conference format used from 2004 to 2010 to shorten the season and have it in sync with the FIBA calendar again. The PBA uses its own rules for its games, independent from FIBA or the NBA . Most non-professional leagues in

3306-662: The Pop Cola Panthers team, to Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines , a subsidiary of SMC, rechristening them as the Coca-Cola Tigers , and giving SMC four teams. The PBA approved this arrangement, with SMC getting two votes in the Board of Governors instead of four. In 2006, SMC sold back its Coca-Cola unit to the Atlanta -based Coca-Cola Company , and sold the now renamed Powerade Tigers to Sultan 900, Inc., becoming

3420-403: The San Miguel Beermen . Barangay Ginebra has won 15 PBA championships, the second most overall. La Tondeña, Inc. (renamed, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc., after SMC acquired majority control in 1987) joined the PBA in 1979 as an expansion team. After some rough times during their first few seasons, their fortunes changed when veterans Robert Jaworski and Francis Arnaiz arrived in 1984, following

3534-609: The Southeast Asian Games held in Manila , Jacobs was tasked to retain the country's gold medal in men's basketball. Noting the lack of competition, Jacobs decided to appoint former UE Red Warriors head coach Pilo Pumaren as coach for the Philippine team, made up of players from the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association . The team successfully retained the gold medal. In 1982, Jacobs mentored

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3648-633: The Toyota Tamaraws , still considered one of the greatest rivalries in league history. Big names such as Robert Jaworski , Ramon Fernandez , Francis Arnaiz , Atoy Co , Bogs Adornado and Philip Cezar played for those squads before the two teams disbanded in 1983 and 1984 respectively. Following their disbandment, the league moved from the Araneta Coliseum to ULTRA in Pasig . There, the league continued to be popular, as several former Toyota and Crispa players suited up for different teams. During

3762-569: The UAAP and the NCAA also worked in the PBA's favor. By 2005, the league would take on the role of Philippine national representation under Chot Reyes , when FIBA lifted the suspension of the country following the formation of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas despite a ninth-place finish in the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship . In 2009, however, the all-amateur Smart Gilas team became

3876-493: The 12 teams in the PBA by 2014. This closed system, while unlike the open European model of promotion and relegation , allows teams from other leagues to carryover some of players to the PBA, if they are given this concession, such as in 2006 when the Welcoat Dragons were allowed to carry over three players from their Philippine Basketball League team. The PBA also allows "guest teams", or teams not represented in

3990-528: The 1979 Invitational tournament. In the 1980 season , Nemie Villegas took over as head coach. Willie Generalao won the Rookie of the Year honors during the 1980 season as Gilbey's placed fourth in the All-Filipino tournament. The franchise played under the name St. George Whiskies during the 1981 Reinforced Filipino conference. In 1982 , playing again as Gilbey's Gin under new coach Arturo Valenzona ,

4104-402: 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 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 9–26 record in all three conferences. This horrible performance gave them

4218-537: The ABC Championship, the team qualified for the 1986 World Basketball Championship in Madrid, Spain and the 1986 Goodwill Games . At this time, Jacobs mapped out a new plan to ensure continuity in the national team program. New local players such as Benjie Paras , Alvin Patrimonio , Jerry Codiñera were already being eyed to replace the aging Still and Moore. Engelland, on the other hand, was already honing

4332-466: The ABC and were therefore disallowed from playing. It was resolved by allowing only two of the five to play and this only because they had field in the minimum residency required by the statutes of law for naturalizing foreigners. Using only Dennis Still and Jeff Moore, coach Ron Jacobs piloted the team to a sweep of its qualifying matches and were all set for a showdown with China when the decision come out that

4446-529: The All-Filipino Cup. [1] Añejo also clinched the 1988 PBA/IBA World Challenge Cup with Bobby Parks as their import by beating international teams and beating Alaska Air Force in the lone final game. In the season-ending Reinforced Conference wherein teams were allowed two imports each, Añejo again hired the great Billy Ray Bates and paired him with Kevin Gamble . After only four games, Bates

4560-473: The All-Filipino, earning his current nickname The Spark . The Kings finished fifth in the eliminations and faced Purefoods, who had a twice-to-beat advantage, in the quarterfinals. In a repeat of events the past two years, the Kings were able to defeat the TJ Hotdogs twice, after an off-balanced game-winner by Ronald Magtulis, to enter the semifinals. The Kings faced Shell in the semifinals, and Ginebra upset

4674-464: The Board of Governors, to play in certain conferences. The most recent guest team is the now-defunct Bay Area Dragons , who took part in the 2022–23 PBA Commissioner's Cup . Since the 2010–11 season , three conferences are usually held. Unlike in most leagues where a " conference " refers to the grouping of teams based on historical or geographical context, PBA conferences are tournaments each consisting of an elimination round and playoffs, similar to

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4788-567: The Board of Governors; with the acquisition of La Tondeña Distillers (now Ginebra San Miguel ) by the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) in 1987, this caused the SMC to have two "sister" teams: the San Miguel Beermen and the Ginebra San Miguel (now the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel ). At this point, Ginebra coach Robert Jaworski had autonomy on the decisions on his team, so the situation of SMC having sister teams

4902-536: The Coffee Mixers also made history when he became the first coach to win two Grand Slams. For the 2014–15 season , the league expanded to twelve teams, after accepting two new franchises: Kia Sorento and Blackwater Elite . The league held its opening ceremonies at the Philippine Arena and set an all-time Philippine basketball attendance record of 52,612. This record was eventually broken during

5016-536: The Game 7 of the 2022–23 Commissioner's Cup Finals , contested between the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and guest team Bay Area Dragons , which was also held in the Philippine Arena with an attendance of 54,589. On February 15, 2015, in the middle of the 2014–15 PBA season , commissioner Chito Salud announced that he would step down as the league's commissioner and was succeeded by Chito Narvasa starting

5130-697: The Gins made its first finals appearance during the Open Conference. But they were swept by Toyota of coach Ed Ocampo, Robert Jaworski , and Ramon Fernandez . Gilbey's made another finals appearance in the 1983 All-Filipino but were also swept by the Crispa Redmanizers in the first of three titles won by the Redmanizers. Before the 1984 season , Toyota announced its departure from the league after winning nine titles in nine seasons. As part of an agreement with new team Beer Hausen ,

5244-413: The Governors' Cup, but they were eliminated by Sta. Lucia in the quarterfinals. In 1998 , Jaworski ran for a senatorial seat for the elections which he won by a lot of votes. This led to a conflict between Jaworski's role in the Senate and his role as coach of Ginebra (named during the Commissioner's Cup). Assistant Rino Salazar was named as interim coach at one point. Ginebra still struggled despite

5358-401: The MICAA's " franchise system " akin to North American sports, only that instead of geographic regions, teams represent companies. Several teams have disbanded and entered the league. Disbandment of a team usually occurs if its mother company regularly sustains financial losses, or for non-sporting reasons, causing it to sell the team to another company. Aside from buying an already-existing team,

5472-406: The NCC players would again see action for the national team at the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing , China , which copped a silver medal. In 1994, the San Miguel Beer PBA team won the 1994 PBA All-Filipino Cup championship and earned the right to represent the country in the upcoming Asian Games , held at Hiroshima , Japan . The national team was composed of the San Miguel players serving as

5586-419: The PBA earned ₱200 million in net revenue and had an average television audience of 4 million per game. The PBA also has an official developmental league , the PBA D-League . The Philippine Basketball Association was founded when nine teams left the now-defunct Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA), which was tightly controlled by the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP),

5700-417: The PBA record books by scoring 103 points in Ginebra's 197–168 victory against Great Taste on November 21, 1985. This was later broken by Swift's Tony Harris in a 1992 game in Iloilo City ironically against Ginebra with 105 points. Former Crispa import Billy Ray Bates was brought in for the 1986 Open Conference. Each PBA team was allowed to get two imports for the said conference. Bates' other partner

5814-582: The PBA: In December 1984, UAAP stars Allan Caidic , Pido Jarencio , Benji Gutierrez, Jerry Codiñera , and Leo Austria joined the NCC team playing exhibition games against PBA clubs during the third conference. Northerns second team was coached by veteran coach Francisco Calilan . The first team that went to Malaysia for the Asian Interclub championship were composed of Moore, Engelland, Calma, Joseph Uichico, Franz Pumaren, Leoncio Tan, Elmer Reyes, Tonichi Yturri, Avelino "Samboy" Lim and Yves Dignadice. Caidic, Jarencio and Codiñera became regular members of

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5928-424: The Philippines and captured the 1984 Asian Basketball Club Championship in Ipoh , Malaysia , as well as the 1985 William Jones Cup championship (playing as San Miguel Beer ). Because of their win at the Asian Interclub Championship, the team represented the Asian region at the 1985 FIBA Club World Cup at Girona , Spain (playing as Northern Consolidated Cement ). The 1984 roster that first participated in

6042-459: The Philippines in FIBA tournaments, the league adopted a portion of the FIBA rules, including allowing zone defenses, so that the Philippine national team will not be disadvantaged in FIBA competitions. The PBA implemented a four-point shot, 27 feet from the basket, for its regular-season and playoff games, starting in its 49th season in 2024-25. Eligibility to participate in the PBA is generally limited to natural born Filipino citizens born in

6156-460: The Philippines primarily use FIBA rules, so called "amateur rules", although recent professional leagues, such as the MPBL and PSL , have used FIBA rules for its games. The Games and Amusements Board (GAB) has its rules for the size of the basketball court and equipment, which the PBA adapts. Game rules have previously been predominantly influenced by the NBA, such as the rules on illegal defenses . After PBA players have been allowed to represent

6270-408: The Philippines' under-19 basketball team to the Asian Basketball Confederation Juniors Championship in his first official tournament as head coach for the Philippines' teams. The team included players such as Alfie Almario , Elmer Reyes, Tonichi Ytturi, Franz Pumaren , Teddy Alfarero , Rey Cuenco , Leo Austria , Jong Uichico , Hector Calma , and Louie Brill. The team beat China in the final at

6384-472: The Philippines. There are player quotas for natural born Filipinos born outside the Philippines, while naturalized Filipinos and foreigners can only play in certain conferences. Coaching is restricted to Filipinos, although longtime foreigner residents and holders of certain visas have been granted exemptions. Northern Cement basketball team In 1980, businessman and ambassador Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco , founder and owner of Northern Cement Corporation,

6498-454: The RP squad had used illegal players and therefore - all their games in which the naturalized players were fielded in were forfeited. The Philippine contingent accepted the decision with bowed heads and finished the tournament in ninth place despite a clean slate. NCC competed as a guest team for four conferences during the 1984 and 1985 PBA seasons and they won the 1985 PBA Reinforced Conference championship. The team went on to represent

6612-403: The World Championship as a result. After the fall of the Marcos government in 1986, the program was scrapped by the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP), which was the national basketball governing body of the country at that time. The players of NCC went on to play in the Philippine Basketball Association , with most of them ending up in Cojuangco's San Miguel Beer team . Some of

6726-405: The addition of Bong Alvarez to the team. That year, Danding Cojuangco regained ownership of San Miguel Corporation . One of the moves the team made was adding Allan Caidic from San Miguel Beer. This caused a rift between Jaworski and the new SMC management because he was not informed of the move. In a press conference held at the Senate, Jaworski resigned as player-coach of the Gins. Jaworski

6840-420: The best players in the country were playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), the first professional basketball league in the Philippines , and in Asia . With the Fédération Internationale de Basketball Amateur ruling that only amateur basketball players would be allowed to participate in national basketball team tournaments, Cojuangco sought a way to keep the Philippine basketball competitive on

6954-450: The best players of the conference. Once the season concludes, the league holds its rookie draft . Most draft applicants have played in the collegiate ranks (either in the Philippines or the United States ), the PBA D-League , or in other domestic and international leagues. The off-season usually lasts a couple of months before the next season begins. In some cases, there may be a mid-season break to give way for players who are members of

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7068-419: The coach for the Philippines at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics , was appointed as the first commissioner and Coseteng was chosen as the first president of the league's Board of Governors. The first game of the league was held at the Araneta Coliseum on April 9, 1975, featuring Mariwasa-Noritake and Concepcion Carrier. The league's first 10 years was known for the intense rivalry of the Crispa Redmanizers and

7182-401: The country's official representative in international competitions. The PBA's role in forming a national team was thus reduced to sending up reinforcements to beef up the national squad. After the appointment of Chito Salud , son of former commissioner Rudy Salud as the commissioner of the PBA, the league returned the three-conference format starting in the 2010–11 season . This also ushered

7296-426: The country. The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas has since stated that they will help address these concerns. All franchises are owned by corporations since the league's inception in 1975, being the successor of the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association , an amateur league which also featured corporate teams. They are not based on geographic locale, so they do not play in a home arena. A team's name

7410-416: The disbandment of the famed Toyota Tamaraws . With new players like Jaworski being veterans of the game from ages 30–35, Jaworski would also be given the role as head coach of the young Ginebra team. As player-coach, Jaworski steered the franchise to four PBA titles between 1986 and 1997. After the retirement of Coach Jaworski at the age of 52, Jong Uichico , Siot Tanquingcen and Tim Cone would be coaching

7524-421: The end of the 1980s, San Miguel Beer won numerous championships that included the 1989 Grand Slam, led by coach Norman Black and former national team stars Samboy Lim and Hector Calma . In 1989, FIBA voted to allow professionals to play in their sanctioned tournaments, hence the PBA's players are now able to represent the country internationally. In 1990, the league sent its first all-professional squad to

7638-419: The final game, three 65ers scored 25 points or more – Joey Loyzaga , Dondon Ampalayo , and Sonny Jaworski  – as the 65ers did not allow the then rookie-laden Purefoods team to gain confidence. The game was close all throughout until the final 3 minutes of the game when Loyzaga and Jaworski uncorked 3-pointers that iced the win. This team is known as the best All-Filipino underdog team ever to grabbed

7752-417: The finals of the First Conference against Benjie Paras and the Shell Rimula X team. In Game Six, with Shell already leading the series 3–2, Añejo protested a foul on Rey Cuenco with a few minutes left in the second quarter. This led to the infamous walk out of Añejo. The team also complained about the unfavorable officiating as the team had more fouls than Shell. In the end, the game was forfeited and awarded

7866-433: The finals via a classic playoff game vs. San Miguel. Joey Loyzaga made a perfect pass to Romulo Mamaril and made the game winning basket. Añejo took on new team Purefoods in the finals. Añejo won the series 3–1 over the young Purefoods team led by Jerry Codiñera , Alvin Patrimonio , and Jojo Lastimosa (who had a confrontation with Jaworski). During this time, Fernandez was benched by Purefoods for alleged game-fixing. In

7980-418: The former San Sebastian College - Recoletos Stag as the No. 2 pick in the 2003 draft. His addition though did not help Ginebra's fortune to change in the 29th season. In the All-Filipino Cup, they were eliminated by eventual champion Talk 'N Text in the quarterfinals. They also failed to qualify for the Invitational tournament, after being eliminated by eventual champion Alaska in the qualifying rounds. In

8094-732: The international stage, without the country's best players. American collegiate coaches Ron Jacobs and Ben Lindsey were brought in to handle the team. Eventually, Jacobs became NCC's head coach. Seeking to fast-track the success of the program, the first team formed in 1981 (known as the RP Training Team ) was mainly made up of eight American players who became naturalized Filipinos (a practice also common to European national teams at that time) which included Dennis Still and Jeff Moore. Two Filipino-Americans, Willie Pearson, and National Basketball Association Filipino-American draftee Ricardo Brown were included, along with two local players in JB Yango and Frankie Lim, both from San Beda College . This

8208-687: The league itself rents venues for games. The PBA usually plays a doubleheader three times a week at the arenas in Metro Manila , and a game on Saturdays at the provinces , popularly known as "out-of-town" games. The majority of games are at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City and the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay . When both arenas are unavailable, the alternate venues are the Ynares Center in Antipolo, Rizal, PhilSports Arena in Pasig, and

8322-555: The league moved to the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay and later saw the Alaska Milkmen win the 1996 grand slam and nine titles in the decade. From 1999 to 2000, the PBA endured controversy. Several expatriate cagers arrived on the scene (such as Asi Taulava , Danny Seigle and Eric Menk ). Their lineage was questionable and most of them were deported for falsifying documents. The arrival of dozens of these players

8436-458: The league's president and CEO on December 31, 2015, and was replaced by incumbent PBA chairman Robert Non. The board of governors later appointed Chito Narvasa as the President and CEO. The said position was eventually dissolved before the start of the 2016 Governors' Cup. Amid controversies during his term, Narvasa stepped down on December 31, 2017. The board appointed Media Bureau chief Willie Marcial as his replacement on January 25, 2018. Upon

8550-545: The majority in Dubai where there is a large Filipino community . Likewise the PBA had plans to construct its own indoor arena as early as 2007. The most recent plan is in 2024, with the league looking to build a venue in Metro Manila. When the PBA was created, it was from the nine clubs representing different companies that seceded from the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA). The PBA adopted

8664-504: The mid to late 1980s, Jaworski and Ginebra San Miguel became the league's most popular squad for their "never say die" attitude. The team had intense rivalries with the Tanduay Rhum Masters , which was led by Jaworski's ex-Toyota teammate-turned-rival Fernandez, and later the expansion Purefoods Corporation and younger players Alvin Patrimonio , Jerry Codiñera , Jojo Lastimosa and Fernandez (who moved from Tanduay). By

8778-433: The most prestigious of the three conferences. Although the three conferences have minor variations in format and rules, each consists of a single round-robin elimination round followed by playoffs to determine the champion. The winners of the conference cups do not face each other at the end of the season to determine the season champion; instead, each conference champion team are considered PBA champions. The achievement of

8892-598: The national team in the following year while Leo Austria went on to join the first-ever PBA draft. In 1985, the members of the NCC team played for the country's national basketball team . The NCC-powered national team won the 1985 Southeast Asian Games basketball tournament and the Asian Basketball Confederation Championship on January 5, 1986, at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia , tournament which the country had not won since 1973 . In winning

9006-486: The national team without consulting them first. On January 23, 1975, Mariwasa-Noritake Porcelainmakers' team owner, Emerson Coseteng, together with Carrier Weathermakers, Toyota Comets , Seven-Up Uncolas and Presto Ice Cream announced the formation of the PBA. The Crispa Redmanizers , Royal Tru-Orange , Tanduay Distillery , and the U/Tex Weavers later joined the upcoming professional league. Leopoldo Prieto ,

9120-458: The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the league was forced to postpone their games for the 2020 season just three days after holding their opening ceremonies. It is not until October that the league was able to resume the Philippine Cup at Angeles, Pampanga in a bubble setup . This was the first time that the league held only one tournament in a season. The opening of the 2021 season

9234-636: The owners like to advertise. A name change could be drastic, to the point of switching industries entirely, such as in the case of the Pepsi Mega Bottlers which changed their names to the Mobiline Cellulars (now TNT Tropang Giga ). In 2008, a survey by the Social Weather Stations showed that Purefoods shares the honor of the league's most popular team along with Barangay Ginebra . It appeared that Ginebra

9348-424: The players led by the legendary "Fast and The Furious", MVPs Jayjay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa . Joining the league in 1979 , the team was known as Gilbey's Gin of then-owner and team founder Carlos Palanca Jr.'s La Tondeña, Inc. franchise. Its first head coach was Pilo Pumaren and was bannered by MICAA standout Willie Tanduyan and imports Larry McNeil and Dean Tolson . Gilbey's managed to place fourth in

9462-487: The presentation of the team's roster and their respective muses followed by the Leo Awards , the league's awarding ceremony, all before the start of the first game of the season. The Philippine and Commissioner's Cups begin with a single round-robin elimination round, where every team plays against each other once with the top eight teams advancing to the playoffs while the rest are eliminated. The Governors' Cup splits

9576-529: The quarterfinals by Tanduay in the 2000 All-Filipino Cup, as well as the Commissioner's Cup. With Brian Green as import for the Governors' Cup, the Kings tried to repeat the same result of the 1999 All-Filipino against Mobiline . But this time though, the Phone Pals were able to beat Ginebra in the elimination game. In 2001 , the Kings drafted Mark Caguioa , a virtual unknown in the Philippines basketball scene. Despite that, Caguioa showed brilliance during

9690-532: The rest of the Toyota players, led by Fernandez, joined Beer Hausen. Jaworski and Arnaiz turned the moribund franchise into a competitive team almost overnight when in the first conference of the 1984 season, the All-Filipino Conference, they led the team to the finals against Crispa . By 1985 , Gilbey's was renamed as Ginebra San Miguel . However, the team failed to enter the finals in each of

9804-536: The return of the previously retired conferences, the Commissioner's and Governors' cups. The beginning of the 2010s also saw the dominance of the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters , who nearly got the Grand Slam in the 2010–11 season and won the Philippine Cup in three consecutive years ( 2010–11 , 2011–12 , 2012–13 ) enabling them to permanently keep possession of the Jun Bernardino Trophy ,

9918-506: The rights of the Toyota players were acquired by Beer Hausen. The team, owned by Lucio Tan , was entering its first year in the PBA. Jaworski, Francis Arnaiz , Arnie Tuadles and Chito Loyzaga refused to join Beer Hausen. The internal feud between Jaworski and Fernandez, which had been simmering for several years, became public. With this development, Gilbey's accepted Jaworski and Arnaiz; Tuadles and Loyzaga joined Great Taste; while

10032-402: The season ending Reinforced Conference, they were knocked out by then-sister team and eventual champion Coca-Cola in the quarterfinals. In the 2004–2005 season, Caguioa, along with his backcourt partner Jayjay Helterbrand , formed a strong tandem, which ABC Sports dubbed "The Fast and The Furious". Their play enabled the Kings to win back-to-back championships. In 2004, the league shifted to

10146-462: The season in October instead of January. The change in starting the season allowed the league to accommodate international tournaments held from June to September and it fit better with college hoops, the NCAA and the UAAP , whose seasons run from June to October. The league also reduced the number of conferences from three to two, renaming the All-Filipino Cup as the Philippine Cup and introducing

10260-472: The shooting skills of Allan Caidic , Naning Valenciano and Pido Jarencio . Amateur star Jojo Lastimosa was expected to fill Engelland's slot on the team in the future (Engelland eventually became the shooting coach of the San Antonio Spurs ). However, the NCC program was scrapped in the aftermath of the 1986 People Power Revolution in the Philippines. The Philippines was forced to withdraw from

10374-400: The team a 30-game improvement from a year ago and was named as the Rookie of the Year . In 1997 , the team was renamed Gordon's Gin Boars . One of the most memorable shots in team history was Bal David's final second heave from half-court to defeat San Miguel Beer by two points. Gordon's Gin entered the finals of the All-Filipino against Purefoods Corned Beef . Purefoods managed to take

10488-533: The team its first-ever championship. Arnaiz suddenly left for the United States due to injury, but was still part of the line-up, before the team won its first championship, ending his 11-year career and tandem with Jaworski. He retired shortly afterwards the 1986 season. In 1988 , the team changed its name to Añejo Rum 65 . The 65ers won the 1988 PBA All-Filipino Conference , their first All-Filipino championship and second overall title. They entered

10602-451: The team's popular players along with Vince Hizon , Jayvee Gayoso, and Pido Jarencio. In the Commissioner's Cup, the team paraded NBA veteran Henry James as the team wound up in an elimination game against Formula Shell. But Kenny Redfield's buzzer-beating three enabled 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 gave

10716-426: The teams into a two groups that will play in a double round-robin with the top four from each group advancing to the playoffs. The format of the playoffs depends on the conference being held and has varied over the years. The Finals, regardless of conference, is a best-of-seven series to determine the conference champion. Previous conferences featured a group stage where teams play against their group opponents twice or

10830-502: The three conferences, showing only a strong finish in the Reinforced Conference . On October 22, 1985, in a game against Northern Cement (NCC) , Jaworski was hit by an elbow from Jeff Moore late in the second quarter. He had to be brought to nearby Medical City's emergency room to get stitches on his lips. During the third quarter, NCC was leading when Jaworski returned to the bench. Michael Hackett also saw his name in

10944-468: The title to the Oilers. The result of this event gave the team a fine of more than 500,000 PHP which was then the highest fine in league history. In 1991 , Añejo reverted to playing as Ginebra San Miguel . They met Shell again in the finals of the 1991 PBA First Conference . The Oilers goes up 3–1 in the series,needing only a win to clinch the series,but Shell blew a 3–1 lead as Ginebra managed

11058-401: 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 top pick in the draft. In 1996 , the team used the top overall pick to draft controversial center Marlou Aquino from Adamson University . Aquino

11172-628: The top pick in the next draft. In 1994 , in an effort to change their fortunes, the team was renamed Tondeña Rhum 65 . The team selected Noli Locsin with their first pick, and was hoped to make team better. But Tondeña's struggles continued, winning just 12 of the 32 games that year. In 1995 , the team reverted again to Ginebra San Miguel . They selected 7′0″ center E.J. Feihl and also drafted Jaworski's son, Robert Jr. The drafting of Feihl surprised people. 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

11286-525: The top three teams that have the most supporters have also been considered the most talent-laden teams. They also fall under the San Miguel Corporation umbrella. The most famous matchup was the Crispa-Toyota rivalry of the 1970s. Fans faithfully supported their favorite squads and appeared in the multitudes at the Araneta Coliseum , or wherever the archrivals had met. In those days, the players were very passionate. On one occasion, they engaged in

11400-526: The top-seeded Turbo Chargers in five games to meet sister team San Miguel in the finals. The Kings trailed 0–2 but won the next two games to tie the series at 2–2. In the end though, the Beermen won the series in six games. The Kings' success in the All-Filipino were not duplicated in the Commissioner's and Governors' Cup, as they were eliminated in the quarterfinals. After the season, the Kings acquired Eric Menk from Tanduay to solidify their frontline for

11514-547: The trophy given to the Philippine Cup champions. On May 19, 2013, the third game of the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals between the Alaska Aces and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel set the all-time basketball attendance record of 23,436 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum , which broke the previous record of 23,108 set 11 days earlier that featured the semifinals series doubleheader between Alaska vs. San Mig Coffee and Barangay Ginebra vs. Talk 'N Text . This record

11628-422: Was Michael Hackett, who was the 1985 Open Conference Best Import . It is believed that the pair was the greatest import tandem in PBA history. The two led the team in the finals of the tournament against Manila Beer (formerly Beer Hausen), with Abet Guidaben and imports Michael Young and Harold Keeling. Bates and Hackett powered Ginebra to a 4–1 win in the series to win the 1986 PBA Open Conference and give

11742-451: Was a big star in the PBL for Nikon Home Appliances and Stag Pale Pilsen but was involved in a controversial scandal in terms of his academic status at Adamson, although this was later neglected when he jumped pro. Aquino showed the promise the fans of the team expected during the All-Filipino Conference. It also showed the discovery of former University of Santo Tomas guard Bal David as one of

11856-560: Was a counter to the fledgling Metropolitan Basketball Association , a regional-based professional league formed in 1998. After ABS-CBN 's 2001 abandonment, the MBA faced mounting expenses and would fold within a year. Despite the MBA's disbandment and the arrival of those players to the PBA, attendance went sour for the PBA in 2002 and was even worse the following year. In 2004, the league introduced drastic scheduling changes, when it decided to begin

11970-572: Was appointed by the Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos to become the project director for basketball in the country. Cojuangco (despite not being an officer or member of the national basketball governing body at that time - the Basketball Association of the Philippines ) was tasked to set up, finance, and develop the national basketball team to represent the country internationally. During that time,

12084-521: Was considered the oldest basketball player on any roster at 52 years of age during this time before he retired. In 1999 , the team was then officially called Barangay Ginebra Kings . In the All-Filipino, the Barangay Ginebra Kings only managed to finish 8th in the eliminations, and needed to win twice against the first-seeded Mobiline Phone Pals and Asi Taulava in a " David and Goliath " elimination game. The Kings managed to force

12198-472: Was done with the intention of passing on new basketball technology to the Filipino cagers. The team (playing as Northern Cement ) easily won the 4th William Jones Cup in 1981, but failed to gain support among Filipino fans, as they viewed the program as merely having foreigners represent the country. This team was eventually scrapped, and Jacobs was then asked to develop local talents instead. In 1981, at

12312-480: Was eventually broken on February 12, 2014, when the seventh game of the 2013–14 PBA Philippine Cup Semifinals series between Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and San Mig Super Coffee Mixers set the all-time basketball attendance record of 24,883. The 2013–14 season became historic as the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers became the fourth team to win the Grand Slam . Tim Cone , the coach of

12426-463: Was marred by a scuffle in Game 2 of the series. In the 2000 off-season, Aquino was traded to Sta. Lucia Realty in exchange for Jun Limpot . The trade was considered as one of the biggest transactions done in the PBA. Another standout, Locsin, was later traded to Pop Cola during the Commissioner's Cup for Vergel Meneses , but it still didn't help the Kings throughout the season. Caidic replaced Salazar as head coach. The Kings were eliminated early in

12540-420: Was named Converge FiberXers . The league's modern history is noted for its declining attendance, despite still pulling high television viewership. Journalists, team owners, and coaches have noted the dominance of SMC/RSA and MVP teams as a potential reason, with some calling for parity in the league. The low attendance has also been compared to the high figures of collegiate and professional volleyball in

12654-822: Was planned to open in January 2021 but was also delayed to July 2021 due to the rising cases of COVID-19 caused by the virus' Delta variant . The games were initially played at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig in a semi-bubble type setup but due to another case surge in Metro Manila in August, the games were moved to the Don Honorio Ventura State University in Bacolor, Pampanga . The 2021 Governors' Cup started in December in

12768-533: Was sent home for good. The 65er would finish the season with the exciting and high-scoring duo of Joe Ward and Tommy Davis as imports. On the next season, Añejo lost in five games to grand slam winning San Miguel Beermen in the Reinforced Conference . In that conference, the 65ers paraded another super import in Carlos Briggs, who easily won the Best Import Award. In 1990 , Añejo entered

12882-614: Was the most popular team among men, while Purefoods was the most popular among women. Also, Ginebra was more popular in Metro Manila and Luzon and in classes ABC, while Purefoods was more popular in Visayas and Mindanao and in class D. The two teams were tied for most supporters in class E. In terms of percentage of supporters, the survey showed that, after Ginebra and Purefoods (which both got 31%), are San Miguel Beermen (21%), Alaska (13%), Sta. Lucia (5%), Red Bull (4%), Talk N' Text (3%), Coca-Cola (1%), and Air 21 (1%). Notably,

12996-654: Was tolerated. In 1998 , Jaworski ran and won for a Senate seat; this caused him to delegate coaching duties to his longtime deputy Rino Salazar. By this time, Danding Cojuangco has seized control of SMC, and he added Allan Caidic to Ginebra from San Miguel. Jaworski disapproved of this, and resigned. In 2001 the Ayala Corporation sold its Purefoods-Hormel unit , which included the Purefoods TJ Hotdogs team, to SMC. Later that year, RFM Corporation sold its Cosmos Bottling Corporation, including

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