Philippine Basketball Association

The Philippine Basketball Association ( PBA) is a professional basketball league in the Philippines. It was founded in 1975 by a former league nine teams from the capital Manila. Thus, it is the oldest professional basketball league in Asia. Each year, two titles will be played from October to February and March to July. A regional allocation of teams to Philippine locations does not exist. The teams are tied to the eponymous owner. The games of the season will be played in a few halls in Metro Manila. The League takes over parts of the rules of FIBA ​​and the NBA.

History

The Philippine Basketball Association was comprised of several teams in the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association ( MICAA ). This non-existent predecessor league was led by the now inactive Basketball Association of the Philippines. Nine teams from the MICAA participated in the first season, which began on April 9, 1975. The first 10 years were athletic league dominated by the intense rivalry of the Crispa Redmanizers and the Toyota Tamaraws. This competition between the two clubs is still regarded as one of the greatest rivalries league history. Top players of these two teams like Robert Jaworski, Ramon Fernandez, Francis Arnaiz, Atoy Co, Bogs adornado and Philip Cezar coined after the withdrawal of these teams (1983 and 1984 ) the face of the league.

Following the departure of these two teams, the PBA moved from the Araneta Coliseum to ULTRA in Pasig City, near the capital Manila. At this venue, the league was still popular. Mid and late eighties was the rivalry Robert Jaworski's Ginebra San Miguel and its relation to the listed of Jaworski's archrival Ramon Fernandez Tanduay Rhum Masters is a special highlight in the play mode of the PBA.

1990 could send a professional team to the Asian Games, the League for the first time. It won the silver medal. Later could participate in the Asian Games three teams. Since 1993, the league games were played in Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City. In the years 1999/2000, the PBA went into a crisis. Some players have been deported because of dubious origin and false documents. From the downturn in the popularity of the PBA mainly benefited the Metropolitan Basketball Association ( MBA), a regional professional league was founded in 1998. Despite the subsequent closure of the MBA, the situation of the PBA increasingly deteriorated. This did not change until 2004, when the Barangay Ginebras three times in a row won the championships and exchanged a few star players of the college leagues University Athletic Association of the Philippines ( UAAP ) and NCAA in the league.

Game operation

By 2003, the season was divided into three so-called Conferences or tournaments. They followed each other in time. In each tournament, a title is played. The finals were each held in the best-of -seven mode. Since the 1993 season the title All Filipino Cup, Commissioner's Cup and Governor's Cup was named. The winning all three tournaments in a season was called Grand Slam. This was the Crispa Redmanizers 1976 and 1983, the San Miguel Beermen in 1989 and most recently the Alaska Milkmen in 1996. Through the Reform League in 2004, the number of tournaments has been reduced to two and the honorary title of Grand Slam lost its importance.

The first tournament of a season is now the Philippine Cup, which will be played from October to February of the following year. In this competition only local players are allowed in the cadres. This Cup will take place at the season of the popular Philippine College Football UAAP afterwards. The reform was also the draft date, is about ensuring the rights of indigenous Neuprofis, moved from January to August. The second tournament is the Fiesta Conference. It is being held from March to July. In this tournament a foreign " import " players per team is allowed. These are mainly former players of the Philippines also popular American College Football NCAA, whose season finale is in March. Due to the extreme popularity of the league reform of the college leagues were taken into account. In addition, should the teams and the players of the league's participation in international tournaments in the period from June to September are enabled.

Current Teams

All teams are businesses and have no ties to geographical locations. They do not play in their respective home stadiums but in rented halls of the League. The name of a team often consists of three parts: first the company name (company), then the product name ( can be omitted or mixed with the next part) and last the nickname, which is usually connected with the trade of the company. One example is the San Miguel Beermen, which are owned by the San Miguel Brewery. The Beermen nickname alludes to the San Miguel Beer as a product. The company is rarely changed, only the sale of the team or when a parent company is the management of the team in the hands of a subsidiary. The product and nickname is changed relatively frequently for marketing reasons.

• Alaska Aces (1986 - from the original San Miguel Beermen )
• Barako Bull Energy Boosters (2000)
• Barangay Ginebra Kings (1979 )
• Coca -Cola Tigers (2002 - from Pop Cola Panthers )
• Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants (1988 - Tanduay Rhum Masters from the original )
• Rain or Shine Elasto Painters ( 2006-07 - from Shell Turbo Chargers )
• San Miguel Beermen (1975-1985; 1986 - from Northern Consolidated Cement )
• Sta. Lucia Realtors (1993 - from Great Taste Coffee / N- Rich Coffee Cream / Presto Fun Drink / Ice Cream / Tivoli Ice Cream / Milk )
• Talk ' N Text Tropang Texters (1990 )

Venues

The league matches will be played in the biggest Filipino Hall, the Araneta Coliseum for the most part. This arena offers basketball 20,800 spectators. In addition are several alternate sites, including the Cuneta Astrodome ( 10,000 spectators ) in Pasay, and the Ynares Sports Arena ( 3,000 spectators ) in Pasig City, which also lie in Metro Manila. Games outside the metropolitan area occur only rarely, during the playoffs never. The most commonly recorded hall outside the capital is the Ynares Center ( 12,000 spectators ) in Antipolo City. Since the league is perceived outside of their own country, so far found five league games take place abroad, one each in Jakarta, Singapore, Hong Kong, Guam and Dubai.

Former and visiting teams

The most prominent former teams are the Crispa Redmanizers and the Toyota Super Corollas. The most perceived guest team was probably the American Nicholas Stoodley team that won 1980 Invitational Conference.