Philippine Basketball Association

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) 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 professional basketball league existing in the world after the NBA, established before the "open era" of basketball in 1990 where FIBA allowed longstanding domestic leagues, which mostly had predated the PBA, to become professional. The league's regulations are a hybrid of rules from the NBA and FIBA.
The league played its first game at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on April 9, 1975. Its main offices are located along Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue (C-5 road), Eastwood City, Bagumbayan, Quezon City.
History.
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), 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 are taking away their players to join 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, 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 the Toyota Tamaraws, still considered as 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 the mid to late 80s, 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 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 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, 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 1999-2000, 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 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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 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 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.
On February 15, 2015, in the middle of the 2014–15 PBA season, commissioner Chito Salud announced that he will step down as the league's commissioner and was succeeded by Chito Narvasa starting 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 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.
Competition format.
Selection of teams.
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 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, a company can enter the PBA via an expansion team.
Previously, a company is allowed only one team, with each team having one vote in 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 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 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 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 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 the Board of Governors, to play in certain conferences. The most frequent guest team is the Philippine men's national basketball team.
Season format.
Unlike other leagues, there is no "season champion" of the PBA. Instead, the season is divided into conferences or tournaments (not to be confused with the definition of a "conference" in a sporting context as a grouping of teams based on geography or historical affiliation) played in sequence, wherein the teams compete for a conference cup. The winners of the conference cups do not face each other at the end of the season to determine the season champion; instead all conference champions are league champions, with the Philippine Cup being the most prestigious conference of the season.
A season is usually composed of three conferences. Since the 2010–11 season, the conferences were named Philippine, Commissioner's and Governors' Cups, usually ending in a best-of-seven series where the winner took the conference cup. If the same team won all of the conferences, the team was said to be the "Grand Slam" champion. A draft is held after the season-ending Governors' Cup. An opening ceremony is held before the start of the first game of the season. The conference format is similar to Apertura and Clausura in Latin American football.
Each conference usually carries the same tournament format through the years. All conferences begin with a group stage, or an elimination round, akin to the regular season in North American sports leagues, where all teams face each team at least once, and the worst-performing teams are eliminated. With the number of teams increasing to 12, the league has made this a single round-robin format; previously, it was a double round-robin, and in some conferences, teams faced certain groups of teams more than once. After the group stage is the playoffs, an elimination tournament that culminates in the best-of-seven Finals. 
During the Finals of the last conference, the PBA awards its best players in an awarding ceremony. A Rookie Draft is then held after the season for teams to select new players or "rookies". Most draft applicants have played either in the PBA Developmental League, the PBA's own minor league, or from the collegiate ranks, either in the Philippines and in the United States. The Philippines has an extensive college basketball culture, and this is where the PBA gets most of its players. An offseason usually a couple of months long ends with an opening ceremony to tip off the new season.
With the previous seasons since 2012 being suspended in order to allow players who are members of the Philippine national team to play in FIBA tournaments, they have been lengthened. Originally set from October to July starting in 2004, the last two seasons ended more than a year after it started. There have been calls from within the league to revert to the two-conference format in use from 2004 to 2010 to shorten the season and have it in sync with the FIBA calendar again.
Game rules.
The Games and Amusements Board (GAB) has its rules for the size of the basketball court and equipment, which the PBA adapts. The PBA then uses its own set of rules of basketball, independently of FIBA and the NBA. Most non-professional leagues in the Philippines (those not supervised by the GAB) primarily use FIBA rules, so called "amateur rules" in the Philippines, although some still have exceptions.
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 the Philippines in FIBA tournaments, the PBA has adopted FIBA rules piecemeal, including allowing zone defenses, so that the Philippine national team won't be disadvantaged in FIBA competitions.
Eligibility.
Player eligibility.
Natural-born Filipino citizens are generally eligible to become part of a PBA team through the PBA draft. Foreigners as well as naturalized Filipino citizens with no Filipino parents can not join the league through the PBA draft; both who could only play as imports, and only on certain conferences.
Filipino players who are aspiring to join the PBA through the draft and are born outside the Philippines are classed as Filipino-foreigners regardless if both their parents are Filipino citizens at the time of their birth. They have to submit documentary proof of their Filipino citizenship from the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration prior to their rookie draft. Filipinos with foreign ancestry who are born in the Philippines are not subject to the same requirements.
Foreigners and naturalized Filipinos can play as imports, but only on import-laden conferences. If a player who is not a natural-born Filipino plays in an all-Filipino conference, it can lead his team forfeiting the wins in games where he took part. Imports are directly hired by teams, and are not drafted. In some conferences where imports are allowed, a height limit is imposed. An import who is over the height limit won't be allowed to play. Most imports are African Americans, but there had been tournaments where other nationalities have played in.
Coach eligibility.
Head coaching role for teams in the PBA is generally only available to Filipino citizens since foreigners who are classified as non-resident aliens are bared from serving the role as head coach. It is possible for a foreigner to be a head coach of a PBA team by acquiring permanent residency such as in the case of Tim Cone and Norman Black who married Filipinos and being a holder of a Special Resident Retiree's Visa (SRRV) such as in the case of Rajko Toroman who became eligible for an SRRV after residing in the country for at least five years. The restriction on foreigners has been in place since 1991.
Teams.
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. The names of the teams often changes, often depending on what product or service 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).
A team's name 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.
Team popularity.
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 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 Magnolia (21%), Alaska (13%), Sta. Lucia (5%), Red Bull (4%), Talk N' Text (3%), Coca-Cola (1%), and Air 21 (1%).
Notably, the top three teams that have the most supporters have also been considered as the most talent-laden teams. They also fall under the San Miguel Corporation umbrella. With these three teams acquiring players through allegedly lopsided trades and performing strong in the past several seasons, the PBA has been considered by some as an "SMC league".
Defunct and guest teams.
The most prominent defunct teams were the Crispa Redmanizers and the Toyota Super Corollas.
Among guest teams, most notable was the American Nicholas Stoodley team that won the 1980 Invitational Conference.
Administration.
The league is currently headed by a Commissioner, and the Chairman of the PBA Board of Governors. The Commissioner handles the marketing and administration aspects as well as the technical, game related concerns of the PBA and its developmental league. The Chairman of the PBA Board of Governors is elected, together with the Vice Chairman and Board Treasurer before the start of the season among each of the league's representatives to the board.
By tradition, the incumbent Vice Chairman and Treasurer will assume the Chairmanship and the Vice-Chairmanship respectively the following season.
Honors.
Awards.
The league awards outstanding Filipino players of the season in the annual Leo Awards. The awards include the Most Valuable Player and the Rookie of the Year. At the end of each conference, the league also awards the Best Player of the Conference for Filipinos and the Bobby Parks Best Import for foreigners.
The PBA Hall of Fame was instituted in 2005 during the 30th anniversary celebration of the league.
Records.
There are all-time records written in Philippine Basketball Association records, as well as distinctions like the PBA career scoring leaders, PBA 2,000 Assists Club, PBA 500 Three-Points Club, PBA 600 Most Games Club, and PBA Top 40 Rebounders.
Rivalries.
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 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:
Media coverage.
The PBA has been covered by television and other media since its opening day. Their current TV and radio partner is One Sports. Games are being aired on television via TV5, One Sports and PBA Rush with the latter aired in high definition. Radio broadcast is being aired on Radyo5 92.3 News FM. The PBA can also be watched worldwide on Kapatid International and YouTube (in selected countries)
Playing venues.
As teams do not represent geographic locales, the league itself rents venues for which it plays on. The PBA usually plays a doubleheader three times a week in Metro Manila arenas, and a game on Saturdays in the provinces, popularly known as "out-of-town" games.
A majority of games are held in the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City and the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. When both arenas are unavailable, the alternate venues are the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay and the PhilSports Arena in Pasig. 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 Smart 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, the majority in Dubai where there is a large Filipino community.