PBA Commissioner's Cup

Last updated
PBA Commissioner's Cup
Most recent season or competition:
2023–24 PBA Commissioner's Cup
PBA Commissioner's Cup Trophy - 2013.png
The PBA Commissioner's Cup trophy won by the Alaska Aces in 2013.
Founded1993;31 years ago (1993)
First season 1993
Most recent
champion(s)		 San Miguel Beermen (5th title)
(2023–24)

The PBA Commissioner's Cup is a tournament of the Philippine Basketball Association. Along with 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.

Contents

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 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.

History

1993–1998

During the 1993 PBA season, the league moved the All-Filipino Conference as the first tournament of 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. [1] 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 a grueling seven-game series. [2] 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. [3] A year later, Alaska had Devin Davis as import to win the title over San Miguel. [4]

1999–2002

From 1999 to 2000, San Miguel won the Commissioners Cup with Terquin Mott and Stephen Howard as imports. [5] But in 2001, the Beermen were upset by the Red Bull Thunder, with Best Import Antonio Lang in six games. [6] [7]

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. [8] Red Bull won the series over Talk 'N Text in seven games, its second straight. [7] No team has won two straight Commissioner's Cups since then.

2010s

The tournament 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. [9] They became the first national team to qualify for the playoffs. [10] However, they would be defeated by the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the semifinals. [9] The Kings would then lose to the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters in the finals in six games. [11]

2020s

In 2020, the Commissioner's Cup was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [12] The following season saw only two conferences, the Philippine Cup and the Governors' Cup. [13] It made its return during the 2022–23 season. [14] In this season, the Bay Area Dragons joined the league as a guest team. [10] 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. [15] [16]

Tournament format

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 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 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 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 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, 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 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. [17] The handicapping system was reinstated in 2014, where the height limit of 6'9" (2.06 m) was imposed for the playoff teams of the previous Philippine Cup. [18] In 2017, the limit was 6'10" (2.08 m) for all teams. [19] The limit stayed at that height until the 2023–24 season, when the height limit was lowered to 6'9" (2.06 m). [20]

Trophy design

The PBA Commissioner's Cup trophy won by the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters in 2011. This design was used from 1994 to 2002 and on 2011. PBA Commissioner's Cup Trophy - 2011.png
The PBA Commissioner's Cup trophy won by the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters in 2011. This design was used from 1994 to 2002 and on 2011.

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 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.

List of champions

Per season

SeasonChampionRunner-upSeriesDetails
1993 Swift Mighty Meaty Hotdogs Purefoods Oodles 4–2 tournament details
1994 Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs Alaska Milkmen 4–1 tournament details
1995 Sunkist Orange Juicers Alaska Milkmen 4–2 tournament details
1996 Alaska Milkmen Formula Shell Zoom Masters 4–3 tournament details
1997 Gordon's Gin Boars Alaska Milkmen 4–2 tournament details
1998 Alaska Milkmen San Miguel Beermen 4–2 tournament details
1999 San Miguel Beermen Formula Shell Zoom Masters 4–2 tournament details
2000 San Miguel Beermen Sta. Lucia Realtors 4–1 tournament details
2001 Batang Red Bull Thunder San Miguel Beermen 4–2 tournament details
2002 Batang Red Bull Thunder Talk N' Text Phone Pals 4–3 tournament details
2003–2010: no tournament held
2010–11 Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters Barangay Ginebra Kings 4–2 tournament details
2011–12 B-Meg Llamados Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters 4–3 tournament details
2012–13 Alaska Aces Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 3–0 tournament details
2013–14 San Mig Super Coffee Mixers Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters 3–1 tournament details
2014–15 Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 4–3 tournament details
2015–16 Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Alaska Aces 4–2 tournament details
2016–17 San Miguel Beermen TNT KaTropa 4–2 tournament details
2017–18 Barangay Ginebra San Miguel San Miguel Beermen 4–2 tournament details
2019 San Miguel Beermen TNT KaTropa 4–2 tournament details
2020–2021: Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022–23 Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Bay Area Dragons 4–3 tournament details
2023–24 San Miguel Beermen Magnolia Hotshots 4–2 tournament details

Per franchise

TeamTotalLast championship
5 San Miguel 2023–24
3 Alaska* 2013
Gordon's Gin/Barangay Ginebra 2022–23
Purefoods/B-Meg/San Mig Coffee 2014
2 Swift/Sunkist* 1995
Red Bull* 2002
Talk 'N Text 2015
1 Rain or Shine 2016
* Defunct franchise

Individual awards

Best Player of the Conference

^Denotes player who is still active in the PBA
*Inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame
Player (X)Denotes the number of times the player has been named BPC
SeasonBest PlayerTeam
1994 Alvin Patrimonio* Purefoods
1995 Vergel Meneses Sunkist
1996 Bong Hawkins Alaska
1997 Johnny Abarrientos Alaska
1998 Kenneth Duremdes Alaska
1999 Benjie Paras* Shell
2000 Danny Ildefonso San Miguel
2001 Danny Ildefonso (2) San Miguel
2002 Davonn Harp Red Bull
2011 Jimmy Alapag Talk 'N Text
2012 Mark Caguioa Barangay Ginebra
2013 LA Tenorio^ Barangay Ginebra
2014 Jayson Castro^ Talk 'N Text
2015 Jayson Castro^ (2) Talk 'N Text
2016 Calvin Abueva^ Alaska
2017 Chris Ross^ San Miguel
2018 June Mar Fajardo^ San Miguel
2019 Jayson Castro^ (3) TNT
2022–23 Scottie Thompson^ Barangay Ginebra
2023–24 CJ Perez^ San Miguel

Bobby Parks Best Import award

YearBest ImportTeam
1993 Flag of the United States.svg Ronnie Thompkins Swift
1994 Flag of the United States.svg Ken Redfield Purefoods
1995 Flag of the United States.svg Ronnie Grandison Sunkist
1996 Flag of the United States.svg Ken Redfield (2) Shell
1997 Flag of the United States.svg Jeff Ward San Miguel
1998 Flag of the United States.svg Devin Davis Alaska
1999 Flag of the United States.svg Terquin Mott San Miguel
2000 Flag of the United States.svg Ansu Sesay Sta. Lucia
2001 Flag of the United States.svg Antonio Lang Red Bull
2002 Flag of the United States.svg Jerald Honeycutt Talk 'N Text
2011 Flag of the United States.svg Nate Brumfield Barangay Ginebra
2012 Flag of the United States.svg Denzel Bowles B-Meg
2013 Flag of the United States.svg Robert Dozier Alaska
2014 Flag of the United States.svg Richard Howell Talk 'N Text
2015 Flag of the United States.svg Wayne Chism Rain or Shine
2016 Flag of the United States.svg Arinze Onuaku Meralco
2017 Flag of the United States.svg Charles Rhodes San Miguel
2018 Flag of the United States.svg Justin Brownlee Barangay Ginebra
2019 Flag of the United States.svg Terrence Jones TNT
2022–23 Flag of the United States.svg Justin Brownlee (2) Barangay Ginebra
2023–24 Flag of the United States.svg Johnathan Williams Phoenix Super LPG

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References

  1. ↑ Bautista, Jonjon (August 20, 2017). "THE PBA FANS' MANIFESTO: 10 most infamous PBA moments of the last 30 years". GMA News Online. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  2. ↑ Terrado, Reuben (May 2, 2020). "Jeff Cariaso recalls 'wake-up call' that fueled Alaska to 1996 grand slam". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  3. ↑ Zarate, Noel (July 27, 2018). "Gordon's Gin Boars: The last Ginebra team to win the PBA Commissioner's Cup". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Ginebra championship's striking similarity to Cone's 1998 title with Alaska". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  5. ↑ Henson, Joaquin M. (August 22, 2001). "No regrets on Nate Johnson -- Uichico". Philstar.com. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  6. ↑ Henson, Joaquin M. (August 28, 2001). "Lang almost cut". Philstar.com. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  7. 1 2 Terrado, Reuben (March 19, 2020). "Let's retrace how birthday boy Yeng Guiao won his seven PBA titles". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  8. ↑ Navarro, June (June 16, 2002). "Commissioner's Cup On: Shell faces Talk 'N Text in PBA opener". Philippine Daily Inquirer . pp. A23.
  9. 1 2 Bacnis, Justine (February 25, 2021). "How past Gilas team fared in PBA". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  10. 1 2 Ventura, Sid (September 13, 2022). "Welcome to the PBA: A history of guest teams in the competition". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  11. ↑ Castillo, Musong R. (May 9, 2011). "TNT wraps up 2nd title in overtime". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  12. ↑ Panerio, Jonas N. (December 29, 2020). "PBA still unsure of staging import conferences". SunStar Publishing Inc. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  13. ↑ CARANDANG, JUSTIN KENNETH (March 9, 2021). "PBA plans to hold two conferences for 46th Season". GMA News Online. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Commissioner's Cup returns with stellar cast of imports". www.pba.ph. September 11, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  15. ↑ Bacnis, Justine (May 27, 2023). "PBA Season 48 to open with Commissioner's Cup as Bay Area makes return". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  16. ↑ Ramos, Gerry (September 11, 2023). "PBA season moved back three weeks to November 5 opening". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  17. ↑ "No Height Limit For Imports In PBA Season 37 Commissioners' Cup While 6'5 Height Limit in PBA Governors' Cup | BallersPinas: Sports and Lifestyle Delivered Fresh". www.ballerspinas.com. August 29, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  18. ↑ "PBA opens 40th season in PH Arena | ABS-CBN News". news.abs-cbn.com. October 1, 2014. Archived from the original on January 25, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  19. ↑ Bracher, Jane (March 16, 2017). "Old and new imports add flavor to 2017 PBA Commissioner's Cup". RAPPLER. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  20. ↑ Joble, Rey (August 2, 2023). "Marcial: Imports' height limit stays" . Retrieved February 1, 2024.
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