1999 PBA season

1999 PBA season
Pba1999.jpg
1999 PBA season
DurationFebruary 7, 1999 – December 12, 1999
Number of teams9
TV partner(s)VTV (IBC)
Draft
Top draft pickSonny Alvarado
Picked byTanduay Rhum Masters
Conferences
All-Filipino Cup championsFormula Shell Zoom Masters
  Runners-upTanduay Rhum Masters
Commissioner's Cup championsSan Miguel Beermen
  Runners-upFormula Shell Zoom Masters
Governors Cup championsSan Miguel Beermen
  Runners-upAlaska Milkmen
Awards
Season MVPBenjie Paras
Seasons

The 1999 PBA season was the 25th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Season highlights

  • A new era began with the entry of Fil-foreign cagers such as Asi Taulava and Eric Menk.
  • During the opening ceremonies, the PBA honored basketball greats in their respective era as the all-time first five, nominated in each decade from 1950s-1990s were Caloy Loyzaga, Narciso Bernardo, Robert Jaworski, Hector Calma and Alvin Patrimonio, surprisingly absent from the list was Ramon Fernandez, who was then the MBA Commissioner.
  • The opening ceremonies for the said season went head-to-head against the opening ceremonies of rival league, MBA, involving the TV network war. The PBA sought the alliance of GMA Network who facilitated their opening ceremonies while MBA used ABS-CBN's roster of stars for its opening ceremonies.
  • The PBA transferred from the Cuneta Astrodome to the PhilSports Arena as their main playing venue.
  • The league changes their playdates from Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays to Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Friday games were still held exclusively at the Araneta Coliseum while the Sunday games are played at the PhilSports Arena.
  • The Tanduay Rhum Masters returned to the PBA after a 12-year absence.
  • During the off-season, the league allowed each team to have a direct-hire Filipino-Foreigner recruit as their answer to the increasing popularity of rival basketball league, the Metropolitan Basketball Association.[1]
  • Formula Shell became the 10th team to win the All-Filipino crown, and won their first back-to-back championships, the underdog Shell team led by Benjie Paras, Victor Pablo and Gerry Esplana, defied the odds by beating the stronger Tanduay ballclub, composed of powerhouse rookies Sonny Alvarado, Mark Telan, Chris Cantonjos and Eric Menk.
  • The San Miguel Beermen, under new coach Jong Uichico, ended a five-year title-drought and won the final two conferences of the season to tie the legendary Crispa Redmanizers for the most championships with 13.

Opening ceremonies

The muses for the participating teams are as follows:

Team Muse
Alaska Milkmen
Barangay Ginebra Kings Ruffa Gutierrez
Formula Shell Zoom Masters Francine Prieto
Pop Cola 800s Cris Villonco
Mobiline Phone Pals
Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs
San Miguel Beermen Aileen Damiles
Sta. Lucia Realtors
Tanduay Rhum Masters Ara Mina

Champions

Individual awards

Awards given by the PBA Press Corps

  • Coach of the Year: Perry Ronquillo (Shell)
  • Mr. Quality Minutes: Rodney Santos (Alaska)
  • Executive of the Year: Jun Bernardino (PBA commissioner)
  • Comeback Player of the Year: Benjie Paras (Shell)
  • Referee of the Year: Ernie de Leon

Cumulative standings

Team GP W L PCT
San Miguel Beermen 55 35 20 .636
Alaska Milkmen 56 32 24 .571
Formula Shell Zoom Masters / Shell Velocity 56 32 24 .571
Tanduay Gold Rhum Masters 50 28 22 .560
Mobiline Phone Pals 37 18 19 .487
Sta. Lucia Realtors 42 18 24 .429
Purefoods TJ Hotdogs 51 20 31 .392
Barangay Ginebra Kings 42 15 27 .358
Pop Cola 800s 33 8 25 .242

References

  1. ^ Tighter PBA rules on imported cagers, Philippine Headline News Online

This page was last updated at 2019-11-09 22:09 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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