PBA Governors Cup
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- For the baseball trophy, see Governors' Cup.
The PBA Governors 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 6-4. The event was usually held during the league's third conference from 1993-2002. In 2003, the tournament was scrapped, along with the PBA Commissioner's Cup, and was replaced by an Invitational tournament, pitting four guest teams, and a Reinforced Conference, an import-laced conference.
The Governors Cup also refers to the trophy awarded to the champion team.
[edit] History
During the 1993 PBA season, the league renamed the Third Conference as the Governors Cup, probably a reference to the head of the PBA Board of Governors. The singular name "Governor" refers to the season's head of governors, a rotating position among ballclubs. The conference was the last tournament held in a PBA season.
After San Miguel won the first Governors Cup in 1993, Alaska dominated the tournament from 1994-1997. In 1998, due to the league's commitment with the Philippine Centennial Team, they allowed each team to take two imports with a combined height of 12 feet. Shell, with no players taken for the national team, won the tournament over Mobiline.
San Miguel Beer won the tournament from 1999-2000 before Sta. Lucia upset the Beermen a year later, giving the Realtors its first PBA title. In 2002, due to the league's commitment to the national team, the Governors Cup became the first conference, while moving the All-Filipino Conference as its third and last tournament. Since 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. Purefoods beat Alaska in seven games to win the title.
In 2003, the PBA scrapped the Commissioner's and Governors Cups, 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] Governors Cup Champions
- 1993: San Miguel Beermen def. Swift Mighty Meaties
- 1994: Alaska Milkmen def. Swift Mighty Meaties
- 1995: Alaska Milkmen def. San Miguel Beermen, 4-3
- 1996: Alaska Milkmen def. Ginebra San Miguel, 4-1
- 1997: Alaska Milkmen def. Purefoods Carne Norte Cowboys, 4-1
- 1998: Formula Shell Super Unleaded def. Mobiline Phone Pals, 4-3
- 1999: San Miguel Beermen def. Alaska Milkmen, 4-2
- 2000: San Miguel Beermen def. Purefoods TJ Hotdogs, 4-1
- 2001: Sta. Lucia Realtors def. San Miguel Beermen, 4-2
- 2002: Purefoods TJ Hotdogs def. Alaska Aces, 4-3
