PBA Commissioner's Cup
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The PBA Commissioners Cup was a former tournament of a Philippine Basketball Association season. The tournament allows team to hire a single import with a height limit of 6-6. The event was usually held during the league's second conference from 1993-2002. In 2003, the tournament was scrapped, along with the PBA Governor's Cup, and was replaced by an Invitational tournament, pitting four guest teams, and a Reinforced Conference, an import-laced conference.
The Commissioner's Cup also refers to the trophy awarded to the champion team.
[edit] History
During the 1993 PBA season, the league renamed the Second Conference as the Commissioner's Cup, probably a reference to the PBA Commissioner. The conference was the second tournament held in a PBA season.
The Swift/Sunkist franchise won the tournament in 1993 and 1995. Purefoods, with Kenny Redfield as import and Chot Reyes as head coach, defeated Alaska in 1994.
During Alaska's grandslam season of 1996, they won the Commissioners Cup title over Shell in a grueling seven-game series. The Gordon's Gin Boars ended their six year drought, winning over the Milkmen in 1997, giving playing coach Robert Jaworski his last PBA title on both capacities. A year later, Alaska had Devin Davis as import to win the title over San Miguel.
From 1999-2000, San Miguel won the Commissioners Cup with Terquin Mott and Stephen Howard as imports. But in 2001, the Beermen was upset by the Red Bull Thunder, with Best Import Antonio Lang in six games.
In 2002, with most of the team's star players are with the national squad, the PBA once again allowed team's to take two imports with a 12-feet maximum height limit. Red Bull won the series over Talk N Text in seven games.
In 2003, the PBA scrapped the Commissioner and Governors Cup, replacing it with an Invitational tournament, comprising of the national team and three foreign teams, and an import laced PBA Reinforced Conference.
A year later, the PBA scrapped the three-conference format with the current two-conference format, pitting the PBA Fiesta Conference, a conference with one import per team, and the PBA Philippine Cup, an all-local tournament.
[edit] Commissioner's Cup Champions
- 1993: Swift Mighty Meaties def. Purefoods TJ Hotdogs
- 1994: Purefoods Oodles def. Alaska Milkmen
- 1995: Sunkist Orange Juicers def. Alaska Milkmen, 4-2
- 1996: Alaska Milkmen def. Formula Shell, 4-3
- 1997: Gordon's Gin Boars def. Alaska Milkmen, 4-2
- 1998: Alaska Milkmen def. San Miguel Beermen, 4-2
- 1999: San Miguel Beermen def. Formula Shell Super Unleaded, 4-2
- 2000: San Miguel Beermen def. Sta. Lucia Realtors, 4-1
- 2001: Red Bull Thunder def. San Miguel Beermen, 4-2
- 2002: Red Bull Thunder def. Talk N' Text Phone Pals, 4-3