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.
San Miguel Corporation, abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in the Philippines. Originally founded in 1890 as brewery in the Philippines, San Miguel has ventured beyond its core business, with investments in various sectors such as food and drink, finance, infrastructure, oil and energy, transportation, and real estate.
The Boston University Terriers are the ten men's and fourteen women's varsity athletic teams representing Boston University in NCAA Division I competition. Boston University's team nickname is the Terriers, and the official mascot is Rhett the Boston Terrier. The school colors are Scarlet and White. The mascot is named Rhett after Rhett Butler from Gone With the Wind, because "no one loves Scarlet more than Rhett."
The Sta. Lucia Realtors were a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from 1993 to 2010. Prior to joining the PBA, it played in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) from 1987 to 1992.
The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and are now the official "large animal" of the U.S. state of Texas. Generally, both the men's and women's teams are referred to as the Longhorns, and the mascot is a Texas Longhorn steer named Bevo. The Longhorns have consistently been ranked as the biggest brand in collegiate athletics, in both department size and breadth of appeal.
Club Baloncesto Estudiantes, S.A.D., known simply as Estu and as Movistar Estudiantes for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball team based in the city of Madrid, Spain. It is a member of the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto (ACB). Founded in 1948, it is one of the most recognized basketball teams in Spain.
The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with the Magnolia Hotshots and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. It is the most successful franchise in the history of the PBA and the only remaining original franchise in the league. The Beermen have the most titles with 28 and the most all-time victories with more than 1,200 wins. In addition, it has won the Grand Slam in 1989 and the Perpetual Jun Bernardino Trophy after winning three straight PBA Philippine Cups from 2015 to 2017. It is also the only team to have won at least one PBA title in each of the five numerical decades of the league's existence and was the first professional basketball team ever to come back from a 0–3 deficit to win a best-of-seven playoff series which they did during the 2015–16 Philippine Cup Finals.
Real Madrid Baloncesto is a Spanish professional basketball team that was founded in 1931, as a division of the Real Madrid CF multi sports club. They play domestically in the Liga ACB, and internationally in the EuroLeague.
The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) was a commercial semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines. The league was composed of several commercial teams with several collegiate and provincial stars.
Johnny Abarrientos is a Filipino retired professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association. He was also a many-time member of the Philippine National team, and was the 1996 PBA Most Valuable Player, becoming the shortest player to win the league's highest individual award. He is known by many as The Flying A when he started playing for the Alaska Milkmen in 1993. He is currently an assistant coach for the Magnolia Hotshots and the Head Coach for the FEU Tamaraws.
Joseller "Yeng" Medina Guiao is a Filipino professional basketball head coach, politician, commentator and sports commissioner. He is currently the head coach of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketball Association. He previously served as the interim head coach of the Philippine national team. Guiao won seven PBA titles since starting his head coaching job for Swift in the early 1990s. He is a former Philippine Basketball League commissioner from 1997 to 2000. He was also the Vice Governor of the Province of Pampanga from 2004 to 2013, serving three different Governors, Mark Lapid, Eddie Panlilio and Lilia Pineda. He is a former congressman, representing the 1st District of Pampanga from 2013 to 2016.
The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the Tar Heel State. The campus at Chapel Hill is referred to as the University of North Carolina for the purposes of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was chartered in 1789, and in 1795 it became the first state-supported university in the United States. Since the school fostered the oldest collegiate team in the Carolinas, the school took on the nickname Carolina, especially in athletics. The Tar Heels are also referred to as UNC or The Heels.
Frederick "Derrick" S. Pumaren, better known on his nickname Manong Derrick, is a Filipino basketball coach who is currently the coach of the De La Salle Green Archers in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). He coached several teams in the UAAP, PBA, and PBL.
Alfrancis P. Chua is a Filipino sports executive and former basketball player and coach. He is currently the team manager of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the sports director of San Miguel Corporation (SMC), overseeing the professional sports teams of the SMC group.
Gijón Baloncesto was a basketball team based in Gijón, Asturias, Spain.
The Fresno State Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent California State University, Fresno. The university is a member of NCAA Division I's Mountain West Conference (MW). It was a member of the Western Athletic Conference from 1992 until 2012, when it left for the Mountain West alongside fellow WAC member Nevada.
The Cal Poly Pomona Broncos or Cal Poly Broncos are the athletic sports teams for the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
FC Barcelona Bàsquet, commonly referred to as FC Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça, is a professional basketball club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is a part of the FC Barcelona multi sports club, and was founded on 24 August 1926, which makes it the oldest club in the Liga ACB. The club, which competes in the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague, is one of the most successful basketball clubs domestically as well as internationally. Two times European champions, Barça completed a triple crown in 2003 by winning the season's league, cup and EuroLeague. Their home arena is the Palau Blaugrana, which was opened on 23 October 1971. They share the facilities with the roller hockey, futsal, and handball teams of the club.
Paul Beleno "Bong" Alvarez is a Filipino retired professional basketball player of the Philippine Basketball Association. Dubbed as "Mr. Excitement" because of his high-leaping, slam-dunking acts.
Rudy Distrito, is a retired Filipino professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association. His moniker is The Destroyer because of his rugged and intense brand of play.
