PBA's 49th Season Will Adopt Major Changes

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will test a few innovations for its 49th season.

First, the league will revert to a three-conference format, with the Governors’ Cup serving as the first conference of the season.

It will be followed by the Commissioner’s Cup, and the Philippine Cup will close out the year.

Starting the season with the import-laden conferences is intended to align Philippine basketball with international leagues, which have their imports signed from October to May.

The PBA will have a head start in the market, as the Governors’ Cup is slated to tip off in August.

This scheduling also ensures that the Philippine representatives to the East Asia Super League will have two imports who have already adjusted to their respective teams by the time the mini-tournament begins.

For the Governors’ Cup, the PBA will implement a pool format for the first time since the league’s 29th season.

In 2003, all three conferences for that season – the All-Filipino Cup, the Invitational Championship, and the Reinforced Conference – saw all teams divided into two groups.

For the year’s first conference, the teams will be divided into two pools of six, competing in a double round-robin tournament, ensuring that each team will play 10 games.

The top teams in each pool will advance to the crossover playoffs.

Imports for the Governors’ Cup will have a height limit of 6-foot-6 and below. Meanwhile, the Commissioner’s Cup will have no height restrictions for imports.