History: Founding
History: Founding
the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the
first professional basketball league in Asia and is the second-oldest continuously operating
professional basketball league in the world after North America's NBA.[1][note 1]
The league played its first game at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on April 9, 1975,[1] and its
regulations are a hybrid of rules from the NBA and FIBA. As of 2022–23, the PBA season consists of
three tournaments known as "conferences": the Philippine Cup (June to September),
the Commissioner's Cup (September to January), and the Governors' Cup (January to April). The
Commissioner's and Governors' Cups allow each team to sign a single foreign player known as an
"import". Meanwhile, the Philippine Cup is exclusive for Filipino players and is considered the most
prestigious of the three conferences. Although the three conferences have minor variations in format
and rules, each consists of a single round-robin elimination round followed by playoffs to determine
the champion. The winners of the conference cups do not face each other at the end of the season
to determine the season champion; instead, each conference champion team are considered PBA
champions. The achievement of a team winning all three conferences in a season is called
the Grand Slam.
The San Miguel Beermen are the most successful team with a total of 29 championships, including a
Grand Slam in 1989. They have also won the most titles in each of the current conferences: 10
Philippine Cups, 5 Commissioner's Cups, and 5 Governors' Cups. Meanwhile, the defunct Crispa
Redmanizers won the most Grand Slams with two.
As of 2022–23, the PBA earned ₱200 million in net revenue and had an average television audience
of 4 million per game.[3] The PBA also has an official developmental league, the PBA D-League.
History[edit]
Founding[edit]