2008 PBA Fiesta Conference
The 2008 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Fiesta Conference, also known as the 2008 Smart PBA Fiesta Conference for sponsorship reasons, was the last conference of the 2007-08 PBA season. The tournament began on March 29 with a game between the Coca-Cola Tigers and the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals at Panabo, Davao del Norte. Opening ceremonies were held the day after at the Araneta Coliseum.
2008 PBA Fiesta Conference | |
---|---|
Duration | March 29 – August 20, 2008 |
TV partner(s) | ABC/TV5 (Local) The Filipino Channel (International) |
Finals | |
Champions | Barangay Ginebra Kings |
Runners-up | Air21 Express |
Awards | |
Best Player | Jayjay Helterbrand (Barangay Ginebra) |
Best Import | Chris Alexander (Barangay Ginebra) |
Finals MVP | Ronald Tubid and Eric Menk (Barangay Ginebra) |
PBA Fiesta Conference chronology | |
PBA conference chronology | |
All ten teams are permitted to acquire one non-Filipino (the "import") of unlimited height as reinforcement. Furthermore, the two worst performers in the elimination round of the previous conference (the Coca-Cola Tigers and the Welcoat Dragons), will also be able to acquire another import but with a height limit of 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m).
Tournament format
- Double round eliminations. Worst team would be eliminated.
- Sixth- to ninth-best teams figure in the one-game wildcard playoffs.
- Sixth seed vs. Ninth seed
- Seventh seed vs. Eighth seed
- Winners will figure in a playoff to advance to the quarterfinals.
- Third- to fifth-best teams, and the winner of the wildcards advance to the best-of-three quarterfinals.
- Third seed vs. winner of wildcards.
- Fourth seed vs. fifth seed.
- The two best teams and the winners of the quarterfinals advance to the best-of-seven semifinals.
- First seed vs. winner of the third seed/wildcard winner quarterfinal series
- Second seed vs. winner of the fourth seed/fifth seed quarterfinal series
- The winners of the semifinals advance to the best-of-seven Finals; the losers figure in a one-game third-place playoff.
Elimination round
Team standings
Pos | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Air21 Express | 12 | 6 | .667 | — | Advance to semifinals |
2 | Red Bull Barako | 11 | 7 | .611 | 1 | |
3 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 10 | 8 | .556[lower-alpha 1] | 2 | Advance to quarterfinals |
4 | Coca-Cola Tigers | 10 | 8 | .556[lower-alpha 1] | 2 | |
5 | Magnolia Beverage Masters | 10 | 8 | .556[lower-alpha 1] | 2 | |
6 | Alaska Aces | 9 | 9 | .500[lower-alpha 2] | 3 | Advance to wildcard round |
7 | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | 9 | 9 | .500[lower-alpha 2] | 3 | |
8 | Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants | 8 | 10 | .444 | 4 | |
9 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 7 | 11 | .389 | 5 | |
10 | Welcoat Dragons | 4 | 14 | .222 | 8 |
Notes:
- Head-to-head differential: Barangay Ginebra +14, Coca-Cola +4, Magnolia −18
- Head-to-head record: Alaska 1–1 Talk 'N Text, Alaska +9, Talk 'N Text −9
Schedule
= Win; = OT win; = Loss; = OT loss
Bracket
Wildcard phase Knockout games |
Quarterfinals Best of 3 series |
Semifinals Best of 7 series |
Fiesta Finals Best of 7 series | |||||||||||||||||||
3 | Brgy. Ginebra | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
9 | Sta. Lucia | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
6 | Alaska | 85 | 3 | Brgy. Ginebra | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
9 | Sta. Lucia | 99 | 2 | Red Bull | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
9 | Sta. Lucia | 111 | 3 | Brgy. Ginebra | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Talk 'N Text | 96 | 1 | Air21 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
7 | Talk 'N Text | 98 | 1 | Air21 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
8 | Purefoods | 83 | 5 | Magnolia | 2 | Third place playoff | ||||||||||||||||
4 | Coca-Cola | 1 | 2 | Red Bull | 102 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Magnolia | 2 | 5 | Magnolia | 90 |
Wildcard phase
First round
Second round
Quarterfinals
(3) Barangay Ginebra vs. (9) Sta. Lucia
July 16 |
Sta. Lucia Realtors 85, Barangay Ginebra Kings 113 | ||
Barangay Ginebra wins series, 2–0 |
Ynares Center, Antipolo |
(4) Coca-Cola vs. (5) Magnolia
July 18 |
Magnolia Beverage Masters 78, Coca-Cola Tigers 60 | ||
Magnolia wins series 2–1 |
Ynares Center, Antipolo |
Semifinals
(1) Air21 vs. (5) Magnolia
(2) Red Bull vs. (3) Barangay Ginebra
Third place playoff
August 6 |
Red Bull Barako 102, Magnolia Beverage Masters 90 | ||
Scoring by quarter: 28-22, 15-26, 27-37, 20-17 |
Finals
August 8 7:20 p.m. |
Barangay Ginebra Kings 90, Air21 Express 124 |
Ynares Center, Antipolo Referees: Montiel, Ferrer, Pascual |
Awards
- Finals Most Valuable Player: Ronald Tubid and Eric Menk (Barangay Ginebra)
- Best Player of the Conference: Jayjay Helterbrand (Barangay Ginebra)
- Best Import of the Conference: Chris Alexander (Barangay Ginebra)
- Players of the Week:
- March 29-April 6: Kelly Williams (Sta. Lucia)
- April 7–13: Danny Seigle (Magnolia)
- April 14–20: Cyrus Baguio (Red Bull)
- April 22-May 4: Mark Cardona (Talk 'N Text)
- May 5–11: Asi Taulava (Coca-Cola) & Rob Wainwright (Welcoat)
- May 12–18: Willie Miller (Alaska)
- May 19–25: Mark Caguioa (Barangay Ginebra)
- May 26-June 1: Gary David (Air21)
- June 2–8: Jayjay Helterbrand (Barangay Ginebra)
- June 9–15: Jayjay Helterbrand (Barangay Ginebra)
- June 16–22: Lordy Tugade (Magnolia) & Ren-Ren Ritualo (Talk 'N Text)
- June 23–29: Jayjay Helterbrand (Barangay Ginebra)
- June 30–July 6: Gary David (Air21) & Mark Caguioa (Barangay Ginebra)
- July 7–July 13: Joseph Yeo (Sta. Lucia)
- July 14–July 20: none
- July 21–July 27: Mark Caguioa (Barangay Ginebra)
- July 28–August 3: Gary David (Air21)
Imports
The following is the list of imports, which had played for their respective teams at least once, with the returning imports in italics. Highlighted are the imports who stayed with their respective teams for the whole conference.
# | Name | Team | Debuted |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Calvin Cage | Coca-Cola Tigers | March 29 vs. Talk 'N Text |
2 | Jason Dixon | Coca-Cola Tigers | March 29 vs. Talk 'N Text |
3 | Aaron McGhee | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | March 29 vs. Coca-Cola |
4 | Steve Thomas | Air21 Express | March 30 vs. Welcoat |
5 | Jason Keep | Welcoat Dragons | March 30 vs. Air21 |
6 | Cory Santee | Welcoat Dragons | March 30 vs. Air21 |
7 | Adam Parada | Red Bull Barako | March 30 vs. Brgy. Ginebra |
8 | Rahshon Turner | Barangay Ginebra Kings | March 30 vs. Red Bull |
9 | Wesley Wilson | Sta. Lucia Realtors | April 2 vs. Alaska |
10 | Randy Holcomb | Alaska Aces | April 2 vs. Sta. Lucia |
11 | Darius Rice | Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants | April 2 vs. Magnolia |
12 | Jameel Watkins | Magnolia Beverage Masters | April 2 vs. Purefoods |
13 | Marquis Gainous | Welcoat Dragons | April 9 vs. Coca-Cola |
14 | Ernest Brown | Barangay Ginebra Kings | April 12 vs. Sta. Lucia |
15 | George Gervin, Jr. | Coca-Cola Tigers | April 13 vs. Air21 |
16 | Chris Alexander | Barangay Ginebra Kings | May 2 vs. Purefoods |
17 | Reda Rhalimi | Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants | May 10 vs. Alaska |
18 | Donald Copeland | Coca-Cola Tigers | May 23 vs. Red Bull |
19 | Jamar Brown | Sta. Lucia Realtors | June 1 vs. Air21 |
20 | Lee Benson, Jr. | Sta. Lucia Realtors | June 13 vs. Magnolia |
21 | Amal McCaskill | Magnolia Beverage Masters | June 13 vs. Sta. Lucia |
22 | Terrence Leather | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | June 13 vs. Air21 |
23 | Alex Compton | Welcoat Dragons | June 18 vs. Air21 |
24 | Brandon Dean | Coca-Cola Tigers | July 13 vs. Magnolia |