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57-653: Prior to the formation of the said conference, the league had two import-laced conferences known as the PBA Commissioner's Cup (with an import height-limit of 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m)), and the PBA Governor's Cup (with an import height-limit of 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m)). However, in 2003, the two conferences were scrapped and was replaced with an Invitational tournament, with an All-Filipino local squad along with foreign teams) and an import-laced Reinforced Conference . But, in 2004,

114-720: A Polish American father, Theodore Vincent Jaworski, and a Filipino mother of Ilocano descent, Iluminada Bautista Salazar. Jaworski grew up in the streets of Manila where he was first introduced to basketball, rising to prominence in the collegiate leagues, where in 1964, he played for the University of the East Red Warriors in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). Jaworski delivered outstanding performances in

171-406: A 3–1 deficit to win the championship. From 1992 to 1995, Ginebra suffered a drought owing to budgetary constraints experienced by the franchise. Jaworski worked with veterans and rookie players alike in trying to earn respectability during this period. In 1995, a PBA record was established when Jaworski took in his eldest son Robert Jaworski, Jr. in the second round of the rookie draft, making this

228-510: A 3–1 lead. Jaworski was 40 years old at that time and yet became a PBA record holder for being the local who played the longest in one game, later to be broken by Jaworski's wedding godson, Zandro "Jun" Limpot while playing for the Sta. Lucia Realtors as a rookie in 1993 by playing 60 minutes in a triple OT victory against SMB. Ironically, Jaworski also owns the PBA record for playing the shortest time in

285-556: A PBA game, at one second. In a game against the Alaska Milkmen in 1996 and behind by two points with one second in that game, the Big J fielded himself to handle the inbound. While the inbound was successful, the team failed to convert this into a basket and lost the game. In 1988, Jaworski won his first and only All Filipino championship in a controversial championship against Purefoods Hotdogs, led by Ramon Fernandez who also coached

342-426: A best-of-seven championship series. In 1995, a slightly modified post eliminations format was adopted. Instead, the top six teams will advance to the quarterfinal round for another single round robin. The top four team will then be seeded in a best-of-five series with the winners advancing to the finals. In 1998, the league adopted a quarterfinal-semifinal playoff format with the top two seeds advancing automatically to

399-728: A court general and led the Comets to the 1973 MICAA title. Reynoso, Jaworski and Armaiz made it to the 1973 and 1974 RP teams that regained the ABC crown and went to the 1974 FIBA World Championship . Jaworski became a PBA player in 1975 after the Toyota Comets became one of the league's founding franchises when the league was formed the same year. Jaworski had for his original teammates Arnaiz, Reynoso, Fernandez, Reynoso's younger brother Cristino (Tino), Rodolfo "Ompong" Segura, Oscar Rocha, Joaquin "Jake" Rojas, and Orlando "Orly" Bauzon. Jaworski

456-419: A difficult, twisting, off-balanced and falling shot over the outstretched arms of Paras to pull off a two-point win and to the delight of millions of Ginebra fans watching the game. Jaworski ended up once more as the best player of that game with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 8 feeds in an all-around effort not common for a 45-year-old man. This marked the first time in the history of the PBA that a team came back from

513-648: A former nemesis of Jaworski from their MICAA days. A power struggle was already ensuing thereby leading to the breakup of the Valenzona-Jaworski partnership at the start of the 1985 season. Jaworski took over as playing coach of Ginebra San Miguel while Valenzona went on limbo before moving to the Tanduay Rhum Makers in the 1986 season. Jaworski's first championship as a playing coach came in the 1986 Open Conference when he, alongside import players Michael Hackett and Billy Ray Bates , dominated

570-489: A former sportsman (after Tito Sotto , a former bowler), until Manny Pacquiao placed seventh in 2016 . Due to this, he was forced to leave the coaching chores to Ginebra assistant Rino Salazar. After an undisclosed dispute with the new management of San Miguel Corporation (Ginebra's parent company), Jaworski quit his duties as head coach and concentrated more on his political duties. During his stint as senator, Jaworski focused on legislating laws on environment and sports. He

627-685: A grueling seven-game series. The Gordon's Gin Boars ended their six-year drought, winning over the Milkmen in 1997, giving playing coach Robert Jaworski his last PBA title on both capacities. A year later, Alaska had Devin Davis as import to win the title over San Miguel. From 1999 to 2000, San Miguel won the Commissioners Cup with Terquin Mott and Stephen Howard as imports. But in 2001,

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684-410: A round-robin regular round will advance to the quarterfinals. The top two seeds will have a twice-to-beat advantage against the last two seeded teams. Other seeded teams will compete in a best-of-three playoffs. The winners will compete in a best-of-five semifinals series. Then the winners of the semifinals will advance to a best-of-seven finals series. After the reintroduction of the tournament in 2011,

741-626: A twisting "elegant" shot for the two point win. Jaworski, after being appointed national team coach by the BAP, later selected Fernandez in the team to represent the Philippines in the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, China. Fernandez was among 12 players personally chosen by Jaworski to lead the charge for the team – others included Paras, Alvin Patrimonio , Allan Caidic , Samboy Lim , Yves Dignadice , Hector Calma , Ronnie Magsanoc , Zaldy Realubit and

798-553: Is a Filipino former professional basketball player, head coach and politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines from 1998 to 2004. He played 23 seasons in the Philippine Basketball Association . He is widely regarded as one of the best and most popular PBA players of all-time. He was named part of the PBA's 40 Greatest Players and was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 2005. Born to

855-544: Is moved the Fiesta Conference to March, while putting the Philippine Cup as its opening tournament (October) for the said season. For the 2008 Fiesta Conference, all teams were allowed to field in imports without height restrictions with the two worst teams on the previous conference having another import but with a 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) height restriction. For the 2009 Fiesta Conference,

912-551: The Bay Area Dragons joined the league as a guest team. Although they had they finished first in the standings in the elimination rounds, they would lose to Ginebra in the finals. For the 2023–24 season , the Commissioner's Cup was the opening tournament. From 1993 to 1997, the teams were divided into two groups in the group stage. The teams in the same group will play against each other once and against teams in

969-652: The PBA Governors' Cup , the tournament (also named as "conference") is one of the two competitions in a PBA season that allows teams to hire a single foreign player, also known as an "import". The tournament was first held in 1993 as the PBA season's second competition. The tournament was discontinued when the Invitational Championship was reintroduced in 2003 . From 2004 to 2010, the league decreased their tournaments per season from three to two competitions; one All-Filipino tournament, named as

1026-616: The Philippine Cup and one with imports, named as the Fiesta Conference The tournament was re-instated in 2011 as the second competition of the PBA season after the league re-adopted the three conference format. The Commissioner's Cup also refers to the trophy awarded to the champion team. During the 1993 PBA season , the league moved the All-Filipino Conference as the first tournament of

1083-591: The Talk N' Text Phone Pals to win the title. A season later, the league moved the Fiesta Conference during its initial conference, this time the height limit rule on imports were reinstated, this time at 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m). Red Bull Barako won the third edition of the Fiesta Cup, defeating the Purefoods Chunkee Giants in six games. For the 2006-07 PBA season , the league

1140-693: The 1965 and 1966 UAAP seasons resulting in back-to-back titles for the Recto-based Red Warriors. In 1966, Jaworski was part of the amateur selection sent to represent the country in the 1966 Bangkok Asian Games. The following year, he represented the country in the Asian Basketball Championship (now FIBA Asia Cup ) in Seoul, South Korea where the Jaworski-led Philippine team won the gold medal at

1197-473: The 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) height limit was reinstated again. After the re-adaption of the three conference format starting the 2010-11 season , the tournament was retired to make way for the returning conferences, the Commissioner's and Governors Cup . PBA Commissioner%27s Cup The PBA Commissioner's Cup is a tournament of the Philippine Basketball Association . Along with

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1254-567: The Beermen were upset by the Red Bull Thunder, with Best Import Antonio Lang in six games. In 2002, with most of the teams' star players are with the national squad, the PBA once again allowed teams to take two imports with a combined 13 feet and six inches maximum height limit. Red Bull won the series over Talk 'N Text in seven games, its second straight. No team has won two straight Commissioner's Cups since then. The tournament

1311-609: The Big J's players with Anejo – Dante Gonzalgo , Chito Loyzaga and Rey Cuenco . This team salvaged the silver medal against host China but not after giving the Chinese a good fight in the finals, losing 90–76. In 1991, Jaworski won his third title at the expense of Formula Shell in Game 7 of the Open Conference. In that deciding game, Jaworski inbounded from the endline to Rudy Distrito with 4 seconds remaining. Distrito made

1368-748: The Clean Air Act and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. Jaworski unsuccessfully ran for re-election in the 2004 Philippine Senate election , placing 17th overall. Taking a cue from the NBA logo which was inspired from a photo of a dribbling Jerry West , the PBA updated its logo in 1993 to feature Jaworski's silhouette in a dribbling pose. The Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Manila Times reported on February 13, 2007, of Jaworski's possible return in

1425-529: The Mythical Five. When Toyota disbanded at the end of the 1983 season, the team was sold to Basic Holdings, Inc., the company that owns Asia Brewery. Jaworski balked at the idea of joining Beer Hausen, the brand name of Basic Holdings after describing what he felt was a sale done without giving due respect to the personalities involved. Jaworski described the sale as a 'farce,' and that players like him should not be sold "por kilo." At that time, Beer Hausen

1482-541: The PBA as coach for either the Air21 Express or the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals for the 2007 PBA Fiesta Conference but declined to accept the offer since talks stalled before any contract offer was made. After the tournament, talks resurfaced again between Jaworski and the Air21 management. However, with the resignation of Noli Eala as league commissioner, Jaworski was one of the names mentioned as replacements for

1539-479: The Philippine national team for the 1973 ABC Championship . Jaworski was the lead guard of that team alongside Reynoso, Francis Arnaiz , Ramon Fernandez and William "Bogs" Adornado . Other players in that team included Rogelio "Tembong" Melencio , David "Dave" Regullano, Rosalio "Yoyong" Martirez , Manuel "Manny" Paner , Alberto "Abet" Guidaben , Jaime "Jimmy" Mariano and Ricardo "Joy" Cleofas . It

1596-559: The Republic – following the footsteps of Ambrosio Padilla and Freddie Webb . Fernandez tried to run for the Senate in the 1995 elections but wound up 19th overall. After being proclaimed Senator, Jaworski turned over the coaching chores to his long-time assistant Quirino "Rino" Salazar while taking a leave of absence from the basketball scene. But in 1999, a controversy erupted when Ginebra owner Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco, Jr. announced

1653-599: The Veterans team of Jaworski and Fernandez in the 1989 All Star Game against the Rookies and Sophomore team, encouraged the two to shake hands after the game where both of them led the Veterans Team to victory by two points, 132–130, over the Rookies, Sophomores and Juniors (RSJ) Team. In the final 4 seconds of that game, Jaworski inbounded the ball and gave the pass to Fernandez who streaked past Benjie Paras and made

1710-551: The championship to the Purefoods Corned Beef Cowboys . He retired owning the record for being the oldest player ever to play in the PBA at 50 years old. He also owned the world record for oldest player to play in a professional game until it was broken by Saudi Arabian Abdulmohsen Khalaf Al-Muwallad in 2015. This on top of being acknowledged as the league's most popular player and an influential figure in Philippine basketball. On May 30, 2003, 23 years after

1767-632: The crowd. Meralco was behind 65–50 against the Redmanizers. Meralco disbanded the team shortly afterwards. The two sure shoo-ins for the RP team to the 1972 Olympics missed the national team for the first time in their lives. Owing to the talent that the two players possessed, both players were reinstated in 1973 and played for Meralco for the final time during an exhibition match against the Japanese national team, which they won. The two later on teamed up in

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1824-600: The end of the Crispa-Toyota rivalry, Jaworski made an appearance at a reunion game in the Araneta Coliseum, alongside fellow players from both teams. Toyota beat Crispa in that reunion game, 65–62. Jaworski successfully ran for Senator during the May 11, 1998, national elections as a candidate for Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino . Jaworski placed ninth overall in the senatorial election, the highest-placed finish for

1881-475: The entire conference to win the championship finals at the expense of the Manila Beer team, then led by former Crispa players Abet Guidaben (who was traded from Tanduay vice Fernandez) and Atoy Co , alongside imports Michael Young and Harold Keeling . In Game 4 of that Best of Seven series, Jaworski played the entire game that needed two extra overtime periods to beat Manila Beer 145–135, thereby taking

1938-400: The entire series. Because of this controversy, Anejo Rum went on to win the series, 3–1, including the deciding Game 4 where Jaworski became best player of the game – topscoring for his team with 28 points. In 1989, Jaworski and Fernandez eventually reconciled, ending a long feud. Ironically, it was Baby Dalupan, coach of their archrival Crispa team that made it possible. Dalupan, then coaching

1995-481: The expense of the host country. In 1967, he joined the Elizalde-owned YCO Painters under coach Carlos Loyzaga . He played for YCO during the 1967 National Seniors and National Invitational (both won by YCO). He transferred to the newly formed Meralco Reddy Kilowatts in 1968 but was unable to play due to lack of release papers. He finally suited up for Meralco in 1970. His first MVP award

2052-562: The free agent ranks after the latter displayed capability as a point guard when he and Aquino led the national team to the gold medal in the 1995 SEA Games. David was also the celebrated point guard of the PBL, leading the Stag team to twin championships in 1995. But 1996 was Alaska's year – and the grandslam was accomplished with Gordon's Gin at the losing end in the 3rd and final conference. In 1997 though, Jaworski finally earned his 4th jewel, mentoring

2109-731: The handles of the trophy, mirroring the colors in the PBA logo. The winner keeps permanent possession of the trophy and a new one is created every year. In 2012, the trophy's cup handles were modified and the league logo was replaced with the tournament's season logo. A prototype version of this trophy, first shown during the 1994 PBA opening ceremonies, is on display at the lobby of the PBA office in Libis, Quezon City. Robert Jaworski Robert Vincent Salazar Jaworski Sr. ( Tagalog pronunciation: [dʒaˈwɔɾski] ; born March 8, 1946), also known by his nicknames Sonny , Big J , and Jawo ( Tagalog pronunciation: [dʒaˈwo] ),

2166-409: The last two seeded teams and the other teams will compete for a best of three playoffs. The height limit for import players varies from every year. In the tournament's reintroduction in 2011, the height limit was 6'4" (1.93 m). In 2012, the league removed the height restrictions. The handicapping system was reinstated in 2014, where the height limit of 6'9" (2.06 m) was imposed for the playoff teams of

2223-416: The league adopted a tournament format similar on what was used in 1998 . The top two teams will gain automatic semifinals seed while the next four teams will compete in a best-of-three quarterfinals. From the 2013 edition of the tournament, the playoff format was revised and adopted the similar playoff format used for the Philippine Cup, in which the first two teams will gain a twice to beat advantage against

2280-635: The league changed its calendar from a calendar year to a fiscal year. As a preparation for the new format, the tournament was institutionalized in 2004 as a transitional tournament. The first Fiesta Conference was played from February–July 2004, which was won by the Barangay Ginebra Kings . In 2005, the league billed the Reinforced Conference as the Fiesta Conference, with a new rule of allowing teams to allow imports with unlimited height limit. The San Miguel Beermen defeated

2337-433: The only time when a father and son played for the same team. However, the two never got to play together as Jaworski contented himself coaching the team while Robert Jr. got his few minutes as a starter. It was in 1996 when the breakthrough came in for Ginebra, now called Ginebra Na! After years of savoring for super rookie Marlou Aquino , he finally got the 6'9 beanpole as top draft pick of 1996. He also got Bal David from

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2394-462: The other group twice. After the eliminations, the top five teams will advance to a double-round robin semifinals. A playoff incentive will be given to a team that will win five of their eight semifinal games should they fail to get the top two finals berths. The top two teams (or the No. 1 team and the winner of the playoff between team with at least 5 semifinal wins and the No. 2 team) will face each other in

2451-540: The playoffs. However, they would be defeated by the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the semifinals. The Kings would then lose to the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters in the finals in six games. In 2020, the Commissioner's Cup was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The following season saw only two conferences, the Philippine Cup and the Governors' Cup. It made its return during the 2022–23 season . In this season,

2508-444: The previous Philippine Cup. In 2017, the limit was 6'10" (2.08 m) for all teams. The limit stayed at that height until the 2023–24 season , when the height limit was lowered to 6'9" (2.06 m). The trophy design used since the 1994 season features the Commissioner's Cup with the league logo at the front. The cup is placed in a base where the name of and the year of the tournament is engraved. Red, blue and yellow ribbons were placed in

2565-528: The promotion of Allan Caidic as playing assistant coach of Jaworski in Ginebra. The Big J didn't take this well and resigned from his position as head coach after feeling insulted of not being informed about it beforehand. Salazar took over and later on handed the reins to Caidic when he had to migrate to Alaska and join his family. Jaworski's last game in the PBA was on May 25, 1997, during the 1997 All-Filipino Cup finals . In Game 6 he didn't score and they lost

2622-568: The season and made the Second Conference as the Commissioner's Cup, a reference to the PBA Commissioner. The conference was the second tournament held in a PBA season. The Swift/Sunkist franchise won the tournament in 1993 and 1995. Purefoods, with Kenny Redfield as import and Chot Reyes as head coach, defeated Alaska in 1994. During Alaska's grandslam season of 1996 , they won the Commissioners Cup title over Shell in

2679-483: The semifinals and the next four teams will be matched up in the quarterfinals. The winners will advance to the semifinal round and to compete against the two top seeded teams in a best-of-five series. The winners of the semifinal round will then advance to the best-of-seven championship series. This format was slightly modified due to the entry of the Tanduay Rhum Masters in 1999. The top eight teams after

2736-578: The team in the previous (Open) conference before relinquishing the job to Cris Calilan early in the All Filipino conference. Jaworski and Fernandez were involved in a running feud dating back when Toyota disbanded in 1983 and this became the climax of their rift. In Game 1 of that finals, Anejo Rum 65 upended Purefoods to gain initial lead in the series. Purefoods owner Jaime Zobel De Ayala and president Renato Buhain publicly accused Fernandez of not playing up to par in Game 1 and ordered his benching for

2793-590: The team to the 1997 Commissioner's Cup championship at the expense of the Alaska Milkmen. The team won in 6 games, including a 126–94 rout in the final game. Jaworski remained as coach of the team until April 1998 when he announced his intention of running for the Philippine Senate in May that year. Jaworski wound up 8th overall in the Senate race, making him one of the few cagers to become a Senator of

2850-433: The team. This marked the cornerstone in making Ginebra arguably the most popular team in Philippine basketball history with Jaworski at the forefront. Jaworski and Arnaiz turned the moribund franchise into a competitive one almost overnight when in the first conference of the 1984 season, the All Filipino, they led the team to a runner-up finish against powerhouse Crispa. Gilbey's Gin was then led by Arturo "Turo" Valenzona ,

2907-474: Was also around this time when the nickname "Big J" was given to him by play-by-play commentarist Willie Hernandez, resembling the "Big O" tag given to Oscar Robertson who Jaworski played like. Jaworski and Reynoso, with other former Meralco players, Fort Acuña , Francis Arnaiz and Orlando Bauzon formed the core of the newly formed Komatsu Komets (later renamed the Toyota Comets). Jaworski became

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2964-558: Was chairman of the Economic Affairs, Trade and Commerce Committee and was also a member of the Games and Amusement and Sports Committee. Among more than 300 bills he had authored or co-authored, Jaworski is most proud of eventual laws that: Jaworski also introduced legislation to protect the country's national marine sanctuaries and filed a bill imposing strict penalties on oil pollution damage on Philippine waters. He co-authored

3021-620: Was during the Presidential Cup of 1970. In 1971, he and Alberto "Big Boy" Reynoso were banned for life by the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) for assaulting two basketball officials, Eriberto Cruz and Jose Obias, who were ostensibly making a series of bad calls that seemingly favored the Crispa-Floro team. Reynoso and Jaworski chased the two officials on the court and mauled them in front of

3078-461: Was intent on making Fernandez as the franchise player of the team with Jaworski relegated in the background. Eventually, then PBA president Carlos "Honeyboy" Palanca III made a decision that was the most controversial and history-making move in the PBA. Palanca, owner of La Tondeña, Inc. which owns Gilbey's Gin (later Ginebra San Miguel) in the PBA, decided to take in Jaworski and best buddy Arnaiz to

3135-743: Was part of the Toyota franchise for 10 years (1973–1983). He was the acknowledged leader of the team and a major player in Toyota's nine PBA championships. He was named Most Valuable Player in 1978. Jaworski's MVP performance may arguably be considered as his best single season, averaging 20 points, 12 assists and close to nine rebounds per game. This was done despite the presence of hulking imports with no height limit, who played both for Toyota and their competitors. The closest that would compete for domination would be Ramon Fernandez's scintillating 1984 season for Beer Hausen where "El Presidente" averaged 27 points, 15 boards and 9.9 assists per game. The difference though

3192-508: Was retired in 2003 after the re-introduction of the Invitational Championship as the second conference of the season but was eventually reactivated in 2011 after the league restored the three-conference season format. The 2011 Commissioner's Cup also saw the return of Smart Gilas , the Philippine national team, to the PBA after last playing in the 2009–10 Philippine Cup . They became the first national team to qualify for

3249-521: Was that Jaworski (along with Fernandez and Arnaiz) led the Toyota team to two championships that season (the Open and the AFC) while Fernandez failed to bag a title for Beer Hausen in 1984. He was also the first point guard to achieve 1000 offensive and 2000 defensive rebounds. He is also the PBA's All Time Leader in assists. In 1967, Jaworski and veteran internationalist Narciso Bernardo were named as members of

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