PBA Governors' Cup
The PBA Governors' Cup trophy won by Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in 2016.
SportBasketball
Founded1993 (1993)
Inaugural season1993
Most recent
champion(s)
TNT Tropang Giga (1st title)
(2023)

The PBA Governors' Cup is a tournament of the Philippine Basketball Association. Along with the PBA Commissioner's Cup, the tournament is one of the two conferences that allows teams to hire a single foreign player, also known as an "import". The tournament was first held in 1993 as the third conference of the PBA season.

It was discontinued in 2003 when the Reinforced Conference was revived. From 2004 to 2010, the league only held two conferences in a season; 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 third conference of the PBA season after the league re-adopted the three conference format.

The Governors' Cup also refers to the trophy awarded to the champion team.

History

During the 1993 PBA season, the league renamed the Third Conference as the Governors' Cup, a reference to the members of the PBA Board of Governors. The singular name "Governor" refers to the board representative of each team. The conference usually was the last tournament held in a PBA season.

After San Miguel won the first Governors Cup in 1993, Alaska dominated the tournament from 1994-1997. In 1998, due to the league's commitment with the Philippine Centennial Team, they allowed each team to take two imports with a combined height of 12 feet. Shell, with no players taken for the national team, won the tournament over Mobiline.

San Miguel Beer won the tournament from 1999-2000 before Sta. Lucia upset the Beermen a year later, giving the Realtors its first PBA title. In 2002, due to the league's commitment to the national team, the Governors Cup became the first conference, while moving the All-Filipino Conference as its third and last tournament. Since most of the teams' star players were with the national squad, the PBA once again allowed teams to take two imports with a 12-foot maximum total height limit. Purefoods beat Alaska in seven games to win the title.

The tournament was retired in 2003 after the re-introduction of the Reinforced Conference as the third conference of the season but was eventually reactivated in 2011 after the league restored the three-conference season format.

Tournament format

From 1993 to 1995, 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 1996, 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 after the eliminations.

A different tournament format was used in 1998 when it carried over the elimination standings of the preceding Centennial Cup. The teams were pitted again in a single round-robin eliminations with the top four teams advancing to the semifinals. The remaining teams will compete in a single round-robin semifinals, with the top two teams advancing in the finals.

In 1999, a new quarterfinal-semifinal playoff format was introduced due to the entry of the Tanduay Rhum Masters. The top eight teams after a round-robin eliminations 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.

After the reintroduction of the tournament in 2011, the league adopted a tournament format similar on what was used in 1995. Dubbed as the "classic PBA format",[1] the tournament begins in a single round-robin eliminations. The top six teams will advance in a single round-robin semifinals. A playoff incentive will be given to a team that will win four of their five 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.

The tournament format since the 2013 edition was changed to a quarterfinal-semifinal playoff format. The top eight teams after a single round-robin group stage will advance to the quarterfinals. The top four teams will have a twice-to-beat incentive against their opponents during this round. The winners will advance to a best of five semifinal round and the winners of this round will meet in a best-of-seven championship series.

Import rules

The height limit for import players varies from every year. In 2011, the height adopted a handicapping system in which the top two teams of the combined results of the Philippine and Commissioner's Cups are allowed to have an import with a 6'2" (1.88 m) height limit. The next four teams will be allowed with a 6'4" (1.93 m) import and the last two teams will be allowed with a 6'6" (1.98 m) import. In 2012, the handicapping was scrapped and the league set the height limit of imports to 6'5" (1.95 m).

While the tournament is underway, a team can play with an All-Filipino lineup only once. Imports can be replaced in the whole duration of the tournament (including finals).

Teams were allowed to hire an additional import with Asian heritage (called as the Asian import) with a height limit of 6'3", from 2015 to 2016. The Asian heritage import provision was shelved in 2017 in lieu of the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup.[2]

Trophy design

The PBA Governors' Cup trophy won by the Purefoods TJ Hotdogs in 2002. This design was used from 1994 to 2002 and on 2011.

The trophy design used since the 1994 season features the Governors' Cup with the league logo at the front. The cup is placed in a base where all of the logos of the participating teams of the tournament are engraved. A unique feature of this trophy is that the champion team's logo is placed at the front middle of the trophy with the runner-up at its left and the third place at the right. The rest of the team logos are arranged according to their rankings at the conclusion of the tournament. 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

  Won three or more consecutive tournaments
Season Champion Runner-up Series Details
1993 San Miguel Beermen Swift Mighty Meaties 4–1 tournament details
1994 Alaska Milkmen Swift Mighty Meaties 4–2 tournament details
1995 Alaska Milkmen San Miguel Beermen 4–3 tournament details
1996 Alaska Milkmen Ginebra San Miguel 4–1 tournament details
1997 Alaska Milkmen Purefoods Corned Beef Cowboys 4–1 tournament details
1998 Formula Shell Super Unleaded Mobiline Phone Pals 4–3 tournament details
1999 San Miguel Beermen Alaska Milkmen 4–2 tournament details
2000 San Miguel Beermen Purefoods TJ Hotdogs 4–1 tournament details
2001 Sta. Lucia Realtors San Miguel Beermen 4–2 tournament details
2002 Purefoods TJ Hotdogs Alaska Aces 4–3 tournament details
2003–2010: no tournament held
2010–11 Petron Blaze Boosters Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters 4–3 tournament details
2011–12 Rain or Shine Elasto Painters B-Meg Llamados 4–3 tournament details
2012–13 San Mig Coffee Mixers Petron Blaze Boosters 4–3 tournament details
2013–14 San Mig Super Coffee Mixers Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 3–2 tournament details
2014–15 San Miguel Beermen Alaska Aces 4–0 tournament details
2015–16 Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Meralco Bolts 4–2 tournament details
2016–17 Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Meralco Bolts 4–3 tournament details
2017–18 Magnolia Hotshots Alaska Aces 4–2 tournament details
2019 Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Meralco Bolts 4–1 tournament details
2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Meralco Bolts 4–2 tournament details
2022–23 TNT Tropang Giga Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 4–2 tournament details
2023–24 no tournament held due to 2023 FIBA World Cup and 2022 Asian Games

Per franchise

TotalTeamLast championship
5San Miguel/Petron Blaze2015
4Alaska*1997
Purefoods/San Mig Coffee/Magnolia2018
Barangay Ginebra2021
1Shell*1998
Sta. Lucia*2001
Rain or Shine2012
TNT2023
* 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
Season Best Player Team
1994Vergel MenesesSwift
1995Allan CaidicSan Miguel
1996Marlou AquinoGinebra
1997Alvin Patrimonio*Purefoods
1998Jerry CodiñeraPurefoods
1999Danny SeigleSan Miguel
2000Danny IldefonsoSan Miguel
2001Danny Ildefonso (2)San Miguel
2002Rey EvangelistaPurefoods
2011Arwind Santos^Petron Blaze
2012Mark CaguioaBarangay Ginebra
2013Arwind Santos^ (2)Petron Blaze
2014Ranidel de OcampoTalk 'N Text
2015June Mar Fajardo^San Miguel
2016Jayson Castro^TNT
2017Greg SlaughterBarangay Ginebra
2018Paul Lee^Magnolia
2019Christian Standhardinger^NorthPort
2021Scottie Thompson^Barangay Ginebra
2023Christian Standhardinger^ (2)Barangay Ginebra

Bobby Parks Best Import award

YearBest ImportTeam
1993United States Kenny TravisSan Miguel
1994United States Ronnie ColemanPepsi
1995United States Stevin SmithSunkist
1996United States Sean ChambersAlaska
1997United States Larry RobinsonSan Miguel
1998United States Silas MillsMobiline
1999United States Lamont StrothersSan Miguel
2000United States Derrick BrownPurefoods
2001United States Damian OwensSta. Lucia
2002United States Derrick Brown (2)Purefoods
2011United States Arizona ReidRain or Shine
2012United States Jamelle CornleyRain or Shine
2013United States Marqus BlakelySan Mig Coffee
2014United States Arizona Reid (2)Rain or Shine
2015United States Romeo TravisAlaska
2016United States Allen DurhamMeralco
2017United States Allen Durham (2)Meralco
2018United States Mike HarrisAlaska
2019United States Allen Durham (3)Meralco
2021United States Justin BrownleeBarangay Ginebra
2023United States Rondae Hollis-JeffersonTNT

References

  1. PBA reverts to old-school format for 2012 Governors’ Cup Archived May 21, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, InterAKTV, May 19, 2012
  2. Ramos, Gerry (July 7, 2017). "PBA schedule conflict with Fiba Asia Cup prompts league to shelve hiring of Asian imports". Spin.ph.
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