What is PBA101 all about?

This new section will tackle anything and everything about the PBA, be it about league history, format, playing rules, penalties, and any other topic concerning the oldest professional basketball league outside the United States.

For this initial piece, we answer queries on exactly what format is being used in the ongoing 2009-10 KFC Philippine Cup.

      A. ELIMINATION ROUND

      The TEN (10) teams play two rounds and one (1) game each against the Smart-Gilas team. Each team will therefore play nineteen (19) games. However, games with the Smart-Gilas team are no-bearing and results don’t count in the team standings.

      The top two (2) teams at the end of the elimination round advance to the Semifinals outright. The 3rd, 4th and 5th placed teams advance to the Quarterfinals.  The 6th to 9th placed teams advance to the Wildcard round while the last placed team will be eliminated. 

      B. WILDCARD ROUND

      Teams 6, 7, 8 and 9 figure in a series of knockout matches with the surviving team advancing to the Quarterfinals.

            WC1: Team 6    vs. Team 9

            WC2: Team 7    vs. Team 8

            WC3: Winner of WC1  vs. Winner of WC2

      C. QUARTERFINALS - FOUR (4) TEAMS:  Best-of-Five

      Making up the quarterfinals cast are Teams 3, 4 and 5 plus the top team in the Wildcard round. The quarterfinal pairings are as follows: 

            QF1: Team 3    vs. Wildcard Top Team

            QF2: Team 4    vs. Team 5 

      Winners then advance to the semifinals.

      D. SEMIFINALS - FOUR (4) TEAMS:  Best-of-Seven

      Making up the semifinals cast are the top two (2) teams at the end of the elimination round and the two (2) winners in the quarterfinals.  The semifinal pairings are as follows:

            SF 1: Team 1  vs.  QF2 Winner

            SF2: Team 2  vs.  QF1 Winner 

            Winners advance to the Finals.

      E. FINALS - Best-of-Seven

                     1. The winners of the two (2) Best-of-Seven Semifinal Series play a Best-of-Seven Series to determine the champion and first runner-up teams.
                     2. The losers of the Semifinal Series play a knock-out game for the 3rd and 4th positions.

If you want any other topic discussed or would like clarifications on any league matter here on PBA101, just email us at pba101@pba.ph.