PBA IMAGES
Coming off another banner year, the PBA will still adopt the same three-conference format for the upcoming 43rd season.
The Board of Governors resolved the issue in the last board meeting in Manila before team representatives flew to Los Angeles for the annual planning sessions.
Locals will take center stage once again as the PBA opens with the Philippine Cup, set to tip off on December 17.
Import-spiced conferences, meanwhile, will continue with height limits for the reinforcements already set — 6-foot-10 for the Commissioner’s Cup and 6-foot-5 for the Governors Cup.
San Miguel reigned in the first two conferences last season, but their bid to be the sixth team to complete a Grand Slam feat was foiled when Barangay Ginebra successfully defended its throne in the season-ending tournament.
All three conferences will have a single round-robin elimination phase, with the top eight teams progressing to the playoffs.
The all-Filipino and Commissioner’s Cups will see the top two squads gaining a twice-to-beat advantage against the bottom two in the quarterfinals, while the four middle teams face off in a best-of-three series.
Meanwhile, the top four teams in the Governors’ Cup will have twice-to-beat edge in the playoffs.
Also, the 2018 PBA All-Star Game will once again be a three-leg event just like the previous year.
The Luzon leg will be in Batangas, Davao will be the stage in Mindanao while the Visayas tilt is still up for bidding.
“The members of the PBA board were all happy with the turnout of each game, thus, they want another Luzon-Visayas-Mindanao series,” said PBA director for external affairs Willie Marcial.
The format for this season’s All-Star Game has not yet to be agreed on, but the Board expressed its satisfaction of how the public embraced the midseason celebration.
Last year, the PBA scrapped the traditional North versus South format and instead, pitted Gilas Pilipinas against superstars from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao in three separate games.