2021 PBA season
| 2021 PBA season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Duration | July 16 – August 3, 2021 (before suspension) September 1, 2021 – present (resumption) |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| TV partner(s) | Local: One Sports TV5 One Sports PBA Rush (HD) International: AksyonTV International Online: One Sports PH Facebook Page |
| PBA Season 46 | |
| Top draft pick | Joshua Munzon |
| Picked by | Terrafirma Dyip |
| Philippine Cup champions | TNT Tropang Giga |
| Philippine Cup runners-up | Magnolia Hotshots |
The 2021 PBA season is the 46th season of the Philippine Basketball Association. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season's start, originally scheduled on April 11, 2021,[1] has been delayed until July 16, 2021.[2] The league's Board of Governors announced that the season will have two conferences: the Philippine Cup and the Governors' Cup.[3]
The first activity of the season was the PBA Season 46 draft held on March 14, 2021.[4]
Executive board
- Commissioner: Willie Marcial
- Chairman: Ricky Vargas (Representing TNT Tropang Giga)
- Vice-Chairman: Demosthenes Rosales (Representing Terrafirma Dyip)
- Treasurer: Richard Bachmann (Representing Alaska Aces)
Teams
Player quotas
Filipino-foreigners
The PBA allows for each team to have up to five players classified as "Filipino-foreigners" in their roster. Filipino-foreigners are natural-born Filipinos who are born outside the Philippines. Natural-born Filipinos born inside the Philippines are not classified as such, and a team can as many of them as roster size permits.[n 1][5]
Imports
Naturalized Filipinos and foreigners can play as imports. They can only play in import-laced conferences, and usually a team is mandated to have at least one for the duration of the tournament.
A list of imports will be provided on that conferences' article.
Arenas
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Metro Manila, the season started to be played at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig, in a closed-circuit format, with no spectators allowed for the meantime.[6] On August 6, Metro Manila (of which Pasig is included) was placed under enhanced community quarantine, the highest level of quarantine; the league originally planned to continue at Lipa, Batangas.[7] The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) allowed the PBA to resume in places which is under either modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) or regular general community quarantine (GCQ); with the placement of Batangas under GCQ with heightened restrictions, this removed it from the places the league can play at.[8] The PBA settled in their choice to play in Pampanga for the meantime, as they don't see the quarantine classification in Metro Manila from going to regular GCQ.[9] The PBA then got permission to play in the Don Honorio Ventura State University gym in Bacolor.[10]
| Pasig | Bacolor | |
|---|---|---|
| Ynares Sports Arena | Don Honorio Ventura State University gym | |
|
Transactions
Retirement
- On January 24, Cyrus Baguio announced his retirement. Baguio played for 6 franchises in his 17 seasons in the association.[11]
- On February 1, Harvey Carey announced his retirement. Carey played for TNT Tropang Giga for 17 seasons.[12]
- On March 21, JC Intal announced his retirement. Intal played for 4 franchises in his 13 seasons in the association.[13]
- On May 15, Jay-R Reyes announced his retirement. Reyes played for 8 franchises in his 14 seasons in the association.[14]
- On May 25, Marc Pingris announced his retirement. Pingris played for 3 franchises in his 15 seasons in the association.[15]
Coaching changes
| Team | 2020 season | 2021 season | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | |||
| TNT Tropang Giga | Bong Ravena | Chot Reyes | [16] |
| Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | Caloy Garcia | Chris Gavina | [17] |
| In-season | |||
| Blackwater Bossing | Nash Racela | Ariel Vanguardia | [18] |
Notable events
Pre-season
- The PBA Board of Governors approved a two-conference format this season. One All-Filipino tournament (Philippine Cup) to be held for four months and one import-laced tournament (Governors' Cup) to be held for six months.[3]
- On March 12, Ricky Vargas of TNT KaTropa was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term as the Chairman of the PBA Board of Governors. Bobby Rosales of Terrafirma Dyip was re-elected as Vice Chairman, while Richard "Dickie" Bachmann of the Alaska Aces was elected as treasurer. Bachmann was also appointed as the chairman of the PBA 3×3 tournament. Vargas became the longest-serving head of the PBA Board of Governors since the presidency of Ginebra San Miguel's Carlos "Honeyboy" Palanca III (1983 to 1986) and the chairmanship of Formula Shell's Reynaldo Marquez (1987 to 1990).[19]
- July 9: The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) have approved the proposal from the league to open its 46th season on July 16. The announcement came from the monthly Games and Amusements Board press conference.[20]
Philippine Cup
- July 18: Barangay Ginebra San Miguel started wearing their "Bagong Tapang" jerseys. The jerseys replace their light uniforms. The said jerseys were launched in April and were made available to fans beginning on May 1.[21]
- July 21: Four games involving the TNT Tropang Giga and the Terrafirma Dyip were postponed due to TNT players' inconclusive COVID-19 test results. [22]
- August 3: The league suspends their games beginning August 4 after the government declared that Metro Manila will be under Enhanced Community Quarantine from August 6 to 20. The league have appealed to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) if they can continue their tournament in Batangas, which is under a more relaxed quarantine restrictions.[23]
- August 23: The league announced that they have got the approval of Pampanga governor Dennis Pineda to resume their games at the Don Honorio Ventura State University in Bacolor starting September 1. [24]
Opening ceremonies
The opening ceremony for this season was held at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig on July 16, 2021. Due to COVID-19 related restrictions, the traditional parade of teams with muses was not done and a “simple” opening ceremonies were held instead.[25]
The first game of the Philippine Cup between the Alaska Aces and the Blackwater Bossing was played after the opening ceremonies.
2021 PBA Philippine Cup
Elimination round
| Pos | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TNT Tropang Giga | 10 | 1 | .909 | — | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 2 | Meralco Bolts | 9 | 2 | .818 | 1 | |
| 3 | Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots | 8 | 3 | .727 | 2 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 4 | San Miguel Beermen | 7 | 4 | .636 | 3 | |
| 5 | NorthPort Batang Pier | 6 | 5 | .545[a] | 4 | |
| 6 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 6 | 5 | .545[a] | 4 | |
| 7 | NLEX Road Warriors | 5 | 6 | .455 | 5 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 8 | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 4 | 7 | .364[b] | 6 | |
| 9 | Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters | 4 | 7 | .364[b] | 6 | |
| 10 | Terrafirma Dyip | 4 | 7 | .364[b] | 6 | |
| 11 | Alaska Aces | 3 | 8 | .273 | 7 | |
| 12 | Blackwater Bossing | 0 | 11 | .000 | 10 |
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) if two teams are tied, head-to-head record; if three or more teams are tied, head-to-head goal average (quotient), if tied for 8th, one-game playoff; 3) overall quotient 4) coin toss[26]
Notes:
Playoffs
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) | ||||||||||||
| (#1 twice-to-beat) | ||||||||||||||
| 1 | TNT | 84 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Barangay Ginebra | 71 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | TNT | 4 | ||||||||||||
| (best-of-3) | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | San Miguel | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | San Miguel | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | NorthPort | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | TNT | 4 | ||||||||||||
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Magnolia | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Meralco | 80 | 97 | |||||||||||
| 7 | NLEX | 81 | 86 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Meralco | 2 | ||||||||||||
| (best-of-3) | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Magnolia | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Magnolia | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Rain or Shine | 0 | ||||||||||||
Quarterfinals
| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNT Tropang Giga* | 1–0 | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 84–71 | — |
| Meralco Bolts* | 1–1 | NLEX Road Warriors | 80–81 | 97–86 |
| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnolia Hotshots | 2–0 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 81–70 | 96–86 | — |
| San Miguel Beermen | 2–0 | NorthPort Batang Pier | 88–87 | 100–95 | — |
*Team has twice-to-beat advantage. Team 1 only has to win once, while Team 2 has to win twice.
Semifinals
| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNT Tropang Giga | 4–3 | San Miguel Beermen | 89–88 | 96–98 | 115–98 | 90–116 | 110–90 | 90–103 | 97–79 |
| Meralco Bolts | 2–4 | Magnolia Hotshots | 79–88 | 78–92 | 91–86 | 69–81 | 102–98 | 85–93 | — |
Finals
| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TNT Tropang Giga | 4–1 | Magnolia Hotshots | 88–70 | 105–93 | 98–106 | 106–89 | 94–79 | — | — |
- Finals MVP: Mikey Williams (TNT Tropang Giga)
Notes
- ^ Nationality indicates the player's place of birth, and may not necessarily hold the associated foreign citizenship. All players have Filipino citizenship.
References
- ^ "PBA Season 46 opening, two-conference plan up in the air". ESPN5. April 4, 2021.
- ^ "PBA reopens shop July 16 at Ynares Arena in Pasig". PBA.ph. July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
- ^ a b Terrado, Reuben (March 9, 2021). "PBA to stage two-conference season under a semi-bubble format". spin.ph. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
- ^ Application forms for Season 46 Draft available Monday, PBA.ph, December 4, 2020
- ^ "2021 PBA Season - Philippine Cup" (PDF). ABS-CBN News. Philippine Basketball Association.
- ^ Masoy, Niel Victor C. (2021-07-10). "PBA gets go signal to start season on July 16". The Manila Times. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
- ^ "PBA eyeing to continue season in Batangas as NCR shifts to ECQ". Rappler. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
- ^ Ulanday, John Bryan. "Batangas out as PBA venue in planned resumption under heightened quarantine". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
- ^ Dalupang, Denison Rey A. (2021-08-16). "PBA moves toward to resuming play in Pampanga". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2021-08-19.
- ^ "PBA all set for restart at Don Honorio Ventura State University gym on Wednesday". ph.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2021-08-29.
- ^ Ramos, Gerry (January 24, 2021). "Cyrus Baguio finally retires after impressive 17-year PBA career". Spin.ph. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
- ^ Ramos, Gerry (February 1, 2021). "Devoted TnT Tropang Giga Harvey Carey retires after 19 PBA seasons". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
- ^ Leongson, Randolph (March 21, 2021). "JC Intal announces retirement after 13 seasons in PBA". Spin.ph. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Terrado, Reuben (May 15, 2021). "Jayr Reyes calls end to pro career after 15 years in the PBA". Spin.ph. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
- ^ Ramos, Gerry (May 25, 2021). "Marc Pingris calls it a career after playing 16 years in the PBA". Spin.ph. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
- ^ "TnT welcomes back Chot Reyes as head coach after letting Mark Dickel go". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ Dioquino, Delfin. "Chris Gavina takes over as Rain or Shine head coach". Rappler. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
- ^ Dioquino, Delfin (19 September 2021). "Ariel Vanguardia in, Nash Racela out as Blackwater coach". Rappler. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "History made as PBA chair Vargas is elected to fourth straight term". PBA.ph. March 12, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
- ^ Terrado, Reuben (July 9, 2021). "PBA gets IATF go-signal for July 16 start to 2021 season: GAB". spin.ph. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
- ^ Villanueva, Eros (April 23, 2021). "Barangay Ginebra Kings unveil new 'Bagong Tapang' jerseys for 2021 season". ESPN5. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
- ^ Terrado, Reuben (July 21, 2021). "More games postponed as part of PBA COVID-19 protocols". spin.ph. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
- ^ "More games postponed as part of PBA COVID-19 protocols". PBA.ph. August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ^ Terrado, Reuben (August 23, 2021). "It's green and go for PBA season resumption in Pampanga". spin.ph. Retrieved September 4, 2021.
- ^ Terrado, Reuben (July 11, 2021). "Everything you need to know about coming PBA season". spin.ph. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
- ^ "ALL ABOUT THE PBA QUOTIENT". December 10, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
