25th PBA season
Sports season
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, Danny Siegle 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:
1999 PBA All-Filipino Cup
Elimination round
Source: PBA.ph
Notes:
- ^ a b c Head-to-head differential: Alaska +11, Tanduay +8, Shell −19
- ^ a b Head-to-head record: Pop Cola 2–0 Purefoods
- ^ a b Eighth-seed playoff: Barangay Ginebra 77–74 Sta. Lucia
Playoffs
Finals
1999 PBA Commissioner's Cup
Elimination round
Source: PBA.ph
Playoffs
Finals
1999 PBA Governors' Cup
Elimination round
Source: PBA.ph
Notes:
- ^ a b Head-to-head record: Purefoods 1–0 Tanduay
- ^ a b Head-to-head record: Sta. Lucia 1–0 Mobiline
Playoffs
Finals
Awards
Awards given by the PBA Press Corps
Cumulative standings
References
- ^ Tighter PBA rules on imported cagers, Philippine Headline News Online
