2015–16 PBA Philippine Cup
The 2015–16 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup, also known as the 2015–16 SmartBRO-PBA Philippine Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the first conference of the 2015–16 PBA season. The tournament started on October 21, 2015, and was finished on February 3, 2016. The tournament did not allow teams to hire foreign players or imports.
| 2015–16 PBA Philippine Cup | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Duration | October 21, 2015 – February 3, 2016 |
| TV partner(s) | Local: Sports5 TV5 Fox Sports Asia Cignal PPV (HD) Hyper (HD) International: AksyonTV International |
| Finals | |
| Champions | San Miguel Beermen |
| Runners-up | Alaska Aces |
| Awards | |
| Best Player | June Mar Fajardo (San Miguel Beermen) |
| Finals MVP | Chris Ross (San Miguel Beermen) |
| PBA Philippine Cup chronology | |
| PBA conference chronology | |
Format
The following format was observed for the duration of the conference:
- Single-round robin eliminations; 11 games per team; Teams are then seeded by basis on win–loss records. Ties are broken among the head-to-head records of the tied teams.
- The top two teams after the elimination round will automatically advance to the semifinals.
- The next eight teams will play in a double-phase quarterfinal round. The #3 to #6 seed will have twice-to-beat advantage against their opponent. Phase 1 matchups are:
- QF1: #3 team vs. #10 team
- QF2: #4 team vs. #9 team
- QF3: #5 team vs. #8 team
- QF4: #6 team vs. #7 team
- The winners of Phase 1 will advance to the knockout phase. The match ups are:
- KO1: QF1 vs. QF4
- KO2: QF2 vs. QF3
- The winners of the quarterfinals will challenge the top two teams in a best-of-seven semifinals series. Match ups are:
- SF1: #1 vs. KO2
- SF2: #2 vs. KO1
- The winners in the semifinals advance to the best of seven finals.
Elimination round
Team standings
| Pos | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska Aces | 9 | 2 | .818[lower-alpha 1] | — | Advance to semifinals |
| 2 | San Miguel Beermen | 9 | 2 | .818[lower-alpha 1] | — | |
| 3 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 8 | 3 | .727 | 1 | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 4 | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 7 | 4 | .636[lower-alpha 2] | 2 | |
| 5 | GlobalPort Batang Pier | 7 | 4 | .636[lower-alpha 2] | 2 | |
| 6 | TNT Tropang Texters | 6 | 5 | .545 | 3 | |
| 7 | NLEX Road Warriors | 5 | 6 | .455[lower-alpha 3] | 4 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 8 | Barako Bull Energy | 5 | 6 | .455[lower-alpha 3] | 4 | |
| 9 | Star Hotshots | 4 | 7 | .364 | 5 | |
| 10 | Blackwater Elite | 3 | 8 | .273 | 6 | |
| 11 | Mahindra Enforcer | 2 | 9 | .182 | 7 | |
| 12 | Meralco Bolts | 1 | 10 | .091 | 8 |
Notes:
- Head-to-head record: Alaska 1–0 San Miguel
- Head-to-head record: Barangay Ginebra 1–0 GlobalPort
- Head-to-head record: NLEX 1–0 Barako Bull
Schedule
= Win; = OT win; = Loss; = OT loss
Results
Bracket
| Quarterfinals (1st phase) | Quarterfinals (2nd phase) (Single elimination) | Semifinals (Best-of-7) | Finals (Best-of-7) | |||||||||||||||
| (#3 twice to beat) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Rain or Shine | 95 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | San Miguel | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Blackwater | 90 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Rain or Shine | 104 | 3 | Rain or Shine | 2 | |||||||||||||
| (#6 twice to beat) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | TNT | 89 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | TNT | 90 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | San Miguel | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | NLEX | 88 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Alaska | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| (#4 twice to beat) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Barangay Ginebra | 92* | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Alaska | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Star | 89 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Barangay Ginebra | 83 | 5 | GlobalPort | 1 | |||||||||||||
| (#5 twice to beat) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | GlobalPort | 84* | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | GlobalPort | 94 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Barako Bull | 85 | ||||||||||||||||
*Game went into overtime
Quarterfinals
First phase
In this round, the higher-seeded team in the series has the twice-to-beat advantage.
(3) Rain or Shine vs. (10) Blackwater
December 26 |
| Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 95, Blackwater Elite 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–14, 27–20, 25–26, 26–30 | ||
| Pts: Chan 17 Rebs: Belga 10 Asts: Belga, Chan 4 |
Pts: Lastimosa 35 Rebs: Ballesteros, Erram 8 Asts: Lastimosa 5 | |
| Rain or Shine wins series in one game | ||
(4) Barangay Ginebra vs. (9) Star
(5) GlobalPort vs. (8) Barako Bull
(6) TNT vs. (7) NLEX
December 26 |
| TNT Tropang Texters 90, NLEX Road Warriors 88 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 11–21, 25–15, 25–31, 29–21 | ||
| Pts: Rosario 20 Rebs: Fonacier, Williams 8 Asts: Castro, R. Reyes 4 |
Pts: Taulava 22 Rebs: Anthony 13 Asts: Cardona, J. Villanueva 3 | |
| TNT wins series in one game | ||
Second phase
This is a one-game playoff. The winner advances to the semifinals.
(3) Rain or Shine vs. (6) TNT
(4) Barangay Ginebra vs. (5) GlobalPort
December 27 |
| Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 83, GlobalPort Batang Pier 84 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–18, 16–15, 21–20, 21–21, Overtime: 9–10 | ||
| Pts: Slaughter 25 Rebs: Slaughter 18 Asts: Mercado, Tenorio 5 |
Pts: Pringle 25 Rebs: three players 8 Asts: Romeo 5 | |
In the final 8 seconds of overtime period of the knockout quarterfinal game between Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and GlobalPort Batang Pier, review showed that Stanley Pringle held the ball for over 5 seconds, which would have resulted in a five-second ball-hogging violation, but no call was made. After the final buzzer, the Batang Pier already went to the dugout, but Ginebra stayed behind. Ginebra fans, which were more than half of the crowd, were left stunned along with players and the Ginebra coaching staff. Head coach Tim Cone immediately went to center court and pleaded with the referees for a call or a review of the final 8-second possession of Globalport.[1][2] He then went to the scorer's table and signed the official scorecard, signifying the team's intent to file a protest with the game's result. He stayed mum after coming out of the dugout on whether they would actually file a protest. Under the league's rules, Barangay Ginebra had until 12 noon of December 28, 2015, to file a letter of protest together with a bond, which requires a minimum of P20,000.[3][4]
Some fans who waited by the players exit booed and threw coins at the car of GlobalPort forward Jay Washington, who left the venue with his family. Security struggled to control the mob of angry fans. When the car started to leave, Washington opened the window and shouted, "Better luck next conference!" to the crowd.[5]
A day after, Barangay Ginebra did not send a formal protest to the PBA office as the 12 noon deadline lapsed. Commissioner Chito Narvasa said that the league summoned the four referees of the Ginebra-GlobalPort game, Edward Aquino, Rommel Gruta, Mardy Montoya and Bing Oliva, on December 29 and re-evaluated their performance during the quarterfinal game.[6] According to the findings of the PBA technical committee, two violations were not called: the five-second ball-hogging violation and the backcourt violation committed by Stanley Pringle. Referees Edward Aquino and Rommel Gruta were therefore suspended for the rest of the Philippine Cup.[7]
Semifinals
This is a best-of-seven round. The winner advances to the finals.
(1) Alaska vs. (5) GlobalPort
January 4 |
| Alaska Aces 93, GlobalPort Batang Pier 107 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–29, 24–23, 32–30, 19–25 | ||
| Pts: Baguio 15 Rebs: Thoss 12 Asts: Baguio, Jazul 3 |
Pts: Romeo 41 Rebs: Kramer 10 Asts: three players 4 | |
January 6 |
| Alaska Aces 100, GlobalPort Batang Pier 76 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–18, 29–26, 28–16, 25–16 | ||
| Pts: Banchero 18 Rebs: Abueva 11 Asts: Baguio, Casio 4 |
Pts: Pringle 22 Rebs: Kramer 10 Asts: Romeo 5 | |
January 8 |
| Alaska Aces 82, GlobalPort Batang Pier 69 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–13, 10–13, 17–27, 29–16 | ||
| Pts: Manuel 16 Rebs: Abueva 15 Asts: Jazul, Thoss 4 |
Pts: Romeo 17 Rebs: Maierhofer, Pringle 12 Asts: Washington 3 | |
January 10 |
| Alaska Aces 109, GlobalPort Batang Pier 84 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–20, 22–20, 28–22, 27–22 | ||
| Pts: Abueva 20 Rebs: Abueva 13 Asts: Casio 4 |
Pts: Romeo 24 Rebs: Washington 8 Asts: Pringle 4 | |
January 12 |
| Alaska Aces 118, GlobalPort Batang Pier 89 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–17, 33–34, 27–22, 31–16 | ||
| Pts: Exciminiano 19 Rebs: Abueva 9 Asts: Baguio 6 |
Pts: Washington 26 Rebs: Maierhofer 9 Asts: Yeo 5 | |
| Alaska wins series, 4–1 | ||
(2) San Miguel vs. (3) Rain or Shine
January 5 |
| San Miguel Beermen 109, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–31, 29–37, 21–23, 38–14 | ||
| Pts: Fajardo 36 Rebs: Fajardo 18 Asts: Santos 5 |
Pts: Belga, Quiñahan 19 Rebs: Quiñahan 11 Asts: Cruz 6 | |
January 7 |
| San Miguel Beermen 97, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 105 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 15–31, 19–18, 31–30, 32–26 | ||
| Pts: Fajardo 38 Rebs: Fajardo 17 Asts: Lassiter 4 |
Pts: Chan 16 Rebs: Ponferada 10 Asts: Ahanmisi 6 | |
January 9 |
| San Miguel Beermen 106, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 111 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–26, 23–32, 36–20, 20– 33 | ||
| Pts: Fajardo 40 Rebs: Fajardo 20 Asts: Cabagnot 6 |
Pts: Lee 18 Rebs: Belga 14 Asts: Ahanmisi 6 | |
January 11 |
| San Miguel Beermen 105, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–25, 25–21, 37–22, 15–24 | ||
| Pts: Fajardo 33 Rebs: Fajardo 15 Asts: three players 3 |
Pts: Ahanmisi, Trollano 15 Rebs: Ahanmisi 7 Asts: Tiu 5 | |
January 13 |
| San Miguel Beermen 103, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 94 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–13, 33–32, 22–23, 31–26 | ||
| Pts: Fajardo 27 Rebs: Fajardo 12 Asts: Cabagnot 6 |
Pts: Quiñahan 20 Rebs: Norwood 10 Asts: Ahanmisi 3 | |
January 15 |
| San Miguel Beermen 90, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 82 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–16, 18–30, 33–17, 20–19 | ||
| Pts: Lassiter 22 Rebs: Santos 19 Asts: Ross 6 |
Pts: Belga 16 Rebs: Belga 11 Asts: Ahanmisi, Tiu 3 | |
| San Miguel wins series, 4–2 | ||
The two-time PBA MVP Fajardo had shrugs off hard fouls[8] by different Rain or Shine players had had given him a "hard life" as promised until game 6 wherein he finally fell down and injured his left knee (torn ACL) because of a hard box-out play by Rain or Shine forward Jireh Ibañes. Fajardo, who was wincing in pain, had to be stretchered out off the playing court at the 7:11 mark of the third and was later brought to St. Luke's Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.[9]
After the game, Ibañes says he meant no harm against Fajardo.[10] The injury had not only put a damper on San Miguel's return to the finals but also to Gilas Pilipinas 2016 Olympic qualifiers as he had to sit out for the rest of the season because of a torn ACL.[11]
Finals
January 17 5:00pm |
| Alaska Aces 100, San Miguel Beermen 91 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–23, 15–19, 28–33, 34–16 |
January 19 7:00pm |
| Alaska Aces 83, San Miguel Beermen 80 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–18, 16–18, 23–24, 21–20 |
January 22 7:00pm |
| Alaska Aces 82, San Miguel Beermen 75 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–17, 11–24, 24–17, 27–17 |
January 24 5:00pm |
| Alaska Aces 104, San Miguel Beermen 110 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–20, 21–23, 28–26, 21–29, Overtime: 6–12 |
January 27 7:00pm |
| Alaska Aces 73, San Miguel Beermen 86 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–23, 16–13, 19–16, 12–15, Overtime: 6–19 |
January 29 7:00pm |
| Alaska Aces 89, San Miguel Beermen 100 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 29–22, 20–29, 17–16, 23–33 |
February 3 7:00pm |
| Alaska Aces 89, San Miguel Beermen 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–22, 22–21, 13–25, 38–28 | ||
| San Miguel wins series, 4–3 |
Awards
Conference
- Best Player of the Conference: June Mar Fajardo (San Miguel Beermen)
- Finals MVP: Chris Ross (San Miguel Beermen)
Players of the Week
| Week | Player | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| October 21–25 | JR Quiñahan (Rain or Shine Elasto Painters) | [12] |
| October 26–31 | Stanley Pringle (GlobalPort Batang Pier) | [13] |
| November 1–8 | Greg Slaughter (Barangay Ginebra San Miguel) | [14] |
| November 9–15 | Stanley Pringle (GlobalPort Batang Pier) | [15] |
| November 16–22 | Sean Anthony (NLEX Road Warriors) | [16] |
| November 23–29 | Jericho Cruz (Rain or Shine Elasto Painters) | [17] |
| November 30 – December 6 | Willy Wilson (Barako Bull Energy) | [18] |
| December 7–13 | Terrence Romeo (GlobalPort Batang Pier) | [19] |
| December 14–20 | Sean Anthony (NLEX Road Warriors) | [20] |
| December 21–28 | Stanley Pringle (GlobalPort Batang Pier) | [21] |
Statistics
Individual statistic leaders
| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Terrence Romeo | GlobalPort Batang Pier | 25.2 |
| Rebounds per game | Greg Slaughter | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 14.5 |
| Assists per game | Jayson Castro | TNT Tropang Texters | 4.9 |
| Steals per game | LA Revilla | Mahindra Enforcer | 2.0 |
| Blocks per game | John Paul Erram | Blackwater Elite | 1.9 |
| Turnovers per game | June Mar Fajardo | San Miguel Beermen | 4.0 |
| Fouls per game | John Paul Erram | Blackwater Elite | 4.5 |
| Minutes per game | Greg Slaughter | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 38.7 |
| FG% | Bradwyn Guinto | Mahindra Enforcer | 58.5% |
| FT% | Mark Borboran | NLEX Road Warriors | 100.0% |
| Reynel Hugnatan | Meralco Bolts | ||
| 3FG% | Aldrech Ramos | Mahindra Enforcer | 57.6% |
| Double-doubles | June Mar Fajardo | San Miguel Beermen | 17 |
Individual game highs
| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | June Mar Fajardo | San Miguel Beermen | 43 |
| Rebounds | Greg Slaughter | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 26 |
| Assists | RJ Jazul | Alaska Aces | 10 |
| Steals | Chris Ross | San Miguel Beermen | 7 |
| Blocks | John Paul Erram | Blackwater Elite | 7 |
| Three Pointers | Gary David | Meralco Bolts | 7 |
| Terrence Romeo | GlobalPort Batang Pier | ||
Team statistic leaders
| Category | Team | Statistic |
|---|---|---|
| Points per game | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 100.4 |
| Rebounds per game | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 53.1 |
| Assists per game | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 20.3 |
| Steals per game | Mahindra Enforcer | 7.4 |
| Blocks per game | San Miguel Beermen | 5.3 |
| Turnovers per game | Star Hotshots | 19.8 |
| FG% | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 44.0% |
| FT% | Barako Bull Energy | 74.0% |
| 3FG% | TNT Tropang Texters | 34.5% |
References
- Bracher, Jane (December 27, 2015). "Ginebra-Globalport PBA quarterfinals game marred by controversial end". Rappler. rappler.com. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
- Chaos at the MOA Arena Sports5, Youtube.com December 27, 2015
- Leongson, Randolph (December 27, 2015). "Official protest an option for Ginebra; PBA sets 12nn deadline". Inquirer Sports. inquirer.net. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
- Bracher, Jane (December 27, 2015). "Globalport knocks out Ginebra in OT for first-ever semifinals seat". Rappler. rappler.com. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
- Panaligan, Marisse (December 27, 2015). "Ginebra fans throw coins at Jay Washington, family after playoff loss". GMA News Online. gmanetwork.com. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
- Leongson, Randolph (December 28, 2015). "No protest filed by Ginebra; Commissioner sets hearing for referees". Inquirer Sports. inquirer.net. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
- 2 erring referees in GlobalPort-Ginebra game suspended for rest of PH Cup, PBA.inquirer.net, December 29, 2015
- "Fajardo shrugs off hard fouls: 'I don't care, I just want to play'". January 8, 2016.
- "PBA: Fajardo stretchered off the court after injuring knee". January 15, 2016.
- "Ibañes says he meant no harm against Fajardo: 'I just tried to box him out'". January 16, 2016.
- "Doctors fear June Mar Fajardo suffered partially torn ACL, out for PBA Finals and Olympic qualifiers".
- Hot streak earns JR Quinahan first Accel Player of the Week citation of PBA season, spin.ph, October 26, 2015
- Stanley Pringle beats out Sean Anthony, Vic Manuel for PBA Player of the Week honor, spin.ph, November 2, 2015
- Greg Slaughter's offseason work quick to pay off as he earns Player of the Week citation, spin.ph, November 9, 2015
- Stanley Pringle beats out Fajardo, Castro to win second PBA Player of the Week citation, spin.ph, November 16, 2015
- NLEX forward Sean Anthony's career game earns him PBA Player of the Week honor, spin.ph, November 23, 2015
- ROS' Jericho Cruz is PBA Player of the Week, ABS-CBN News, December 1, 2015
- Doing the best work of his career, Wilson is Player of the Week, ABS-CBN Sports, December 7, 2015
- GlobalPort's Romeo earns Player of the Week honors, ABS-CBN News, December 14, 2015
- Sean Anthony takes second PBA Player of the Week citation this season, spin.ph, December 21, 2015
- Player of the Week: Pringle earns third citation, pba.inquirer.net, December 28, 2015