Philippine Basketball Association
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PhilippineBasketballAssociation.jpg
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a professional basketball league in the Philippines founded in 1975. It is the first and the oldest professional basketball league in Asia, probably the world's second oldest premier pro-basketball league after the United States' National Basketball Association (NBA). The league's rules are a hybrid of those established by FIBA and the U.S. National Basketball Association.
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Teams
As of 2005, the league has the following teams (followed by their coaches in parentheses):
- Alaska Aces - (Tim Cone)
- Coca-Cola Tigers - (Eric Altamirano)
- FedEx Express
- Barangay Ginebra Kings - (Siot Tanquincen)
- Purefoods TJ Hotdogs - (Ryan Gregorio)
- Red Bull Barako - (Yeng Guiao)
- San Miguel Beermen - (Jong Uichico)
- Sta. Lucia Realtors - (Alfrancis Chua)
- Shell Turbo Chargers - (Leo Austria)
- Talk N' Text Phone Pals - (Joel Banal)
Players
The PBA boasts the Philippines' cream of the crop. Most of the present-day superstars of the league are also members of the Philippine National Team A. Having a 30-year history, Filipino basketball fans saw the likes of Allan Caidic, Hector Calma, Ramon Fernandez,Robert Jaworski and Alvin Patrimonio strut their stuff. "El Presidente" Fernandez and "The Captain" Patrimonio are of special mention, as they are the only two cagers to win four Most Valuable Player trophies.
Champions
Here is a list of recent champion teams (conference and coach in parentheses)
- 2004-05: Barangay Ginebra (Fiesta, Tanquincen), Barangay Ginebra (Philippine Cup, Tanquincen)
- 2003: Talk N' Text (All-Filipino, Banal), Alaska (Invitational, Cone), Coca-Cola (Reinforced, Reyes)
- 2002: Coca-Cola (All-Filipino, Reyes), Red Bull (Commissioners' Cup, Guiao), Purefoods (Governors' Cup, Gregorio)
- 2001: San Miguel (All-Filipino, Uichico), Red Bull (Commissioners' Cup, Guiao), Sta. Lucia (Governors' Cup, Black)
- 2000: Alaska (All-Filipino, Cone), San Miguel (Commissioners' Cup, Uichico), San Miguel (Governors' Cup, Uichico)
The San Miguel Beermen leads the league with sixteen championships on its belt, the latest of which was won in the 2001 All-Filipino.
Rivalries
As with any other sports league, the PBA had more than its fair share of rivalries, resulting in soaring gate reciepts. The most popular of them all was the Crispa-Toyota Rivalry of the 1970s. Fans from both camps religiously supported their teams and came in droves at the Araneta Coliseum or wherever the two nemeses met. So passionate the players were that they even engaged in a major brawl, where both teams were arrested and detained for one night in jail.
External links
Official Website (http://www.pba.ph)
- Alaska Aces Team Site (http://www.alaskaaces.com.ph)
- Coca-Cola Tigers Team Site (http://www.tigerspba.com)
- FedEx Express Team Site (http://www.expresspba.com)
- Ginebra Brand Page (http://www.sanmiguel.com.ph/subsite.asp?subid=31)
- Purefoods TJ Hotdogs Team Site (http://www.tjhotdogs.com)
- San Miguel Corp. Home Page (http://www.sanmiguel.com.ph)
- Shell Turbo Chargers Team Site (http://www.turbochargers-pba.com)