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| (Image Source: Rappler/PBA) |
As stated in its recent press release, kicking off the PBA's 45th season will be the lone opening match of its Philippine Cup between reigning and defending five-time champion San Miguel Beermen and Magnolia Hotshots. From the All-Filipino conference which will end on June, it is the imports' time to dazzle and shine in the Commissioner's Cup wherein a height limit of 6'10" is set for reinforcements. Finally, the season-ending Governors' Cup which features imports 6'5" high and below will overlap and end on January to accommodate Gilas' campaign in the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 beginning this month.
The top eight teams after the elimination rounds of both the Philippine Cup and Commissioner's Cup will move on to the quarterfinals respectively with the top two clubs boasting of a twice-to-beat incentive against the seventh and eighth seeded teams. Meanwhile, the third and fourth seeded teams will tangle with the sixth and fifth, respectively, in best-of-three-battles. The four remaining teams will clash in the best-of-seven semifinals duets which will determine the two squads that will duke it all out in the best-of-seven finals although the Commissioner's Cup's semifinals are best-of-five affairs. For the Governor's Cup, the top four teams will have a twice-to-beat advantage over the other four teams in the lower bracket in the quarterfinals. The top four teams advancing will face each other in the best-of-five semis before the season concludes with the best-of-seven series finals.
The league will take a break on July 10-12 for the All-Star Weekend festivities that will take place in Passi, Iloilo. It is also staging more provincial games and out-of-town contests across the country for the season. In fact, five games in the Philippine Cup have already set and these will be held in Bataan, Cagayan De Oro, Panabo, Dipolog and Iloilo. Following its successful doubleheader in Dubai last year, the PBA aims to hold games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and possibly in the United States as potential hosts. Furthermore, for the third straight year, the 45th season of the PBA will have no scheduled games on Christmas Day.
Apart from what to expect in the regular season starting March, Philippine basketball fans should also watch out for PBA's own 3x3 league which will be a standalone program similar to the PBA D-League. This follows the Philippines' successful campaign last year on their road towards its Olympic dream as its national 3x3 team backed by Chooks-To-Go is slated to compete in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament determining which teams will compete for the Tokyo Games. PBA's upcoming 3x3 league will likely feature players who are not in the active list within the league's twelve teams.
