The PBA, Asia’s first professional basketball league, is entering its golden season, and it promises to be like no other in more ways than one.
Can you believe the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is about to start its 50th season? Somehow, through all the challenges and issues that have been thrown its way, a league that was founded 50 years ago when Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. was president has survived long enough to see Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. get elected president.
The landscape has certainly changed from the time of Marcos Sr. to the here and now with Marcos, Jr. When the PBA first opened shop on April 9, 1975, it was the first professional basketball league in Asia. Now, it’s just one of many in a crowded and thriving Asian basketball scene.
The league has lined up several activities to commemorate their golden season. Here’s what to expect.
Going overseas
There will be several games in Season 50 that will be held abroad, starting with the San Miguel Beermen-Barangay Ginebra tiff at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on October 26. This will mark the first official PBA game to be held in Dubai since a pair of games was held at the same venue in 2019.
For the first time in league history, the PBA will have official games in Bahrain. The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters will take on the Magnolia Hotshots on December 15 and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on December 17 at the Khalifa Sports City Arena in Isa Town. Officials from the Bahrain Basketball Association, accompanied by former DLSU Green Archer Bader Malabes, flew in last July to finalize the event, which will also commemorate the silver anniversary of the BBA.
Finally, a more ambitious venue for an overseas game is currently being discussed. If plans push through, the PBA will hold one game in New York in June 2026. The exact date is still being finalized, but the league is reportedly positioning the game to coincide with Philippine Independence Day on June 12. If this pushes through, it would mark the first official PBA game to be held in the United States.
Long, long season
A ton of international basketball is scheduled to take place in late 2025 and the whole of 2026, so much so that the PBA will be taking multiple breaks during its 50th season to give way to Gilas Pilipinas’ preparations.
There will be five windows for the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers, from late November 2025 up to early July 2026, and the PBA will halt all play for two weeks each time. Then there are the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, which will run from September 19 up to October 4, and where Gilas is the defending men’s basketball champion. The league will take another long break, possibly a month, to accommodate both the training schedule and the tournament itself.
There’s also a plan to hold a pocket tournament somewhere in the middle of all this, featuring as many as three foreign guest teams. This is on top of the three regular tournaments — the Philippine Cup, the Commissioner’s Cup, and the Governors’ Cup. One of those import-reinforced tournaments will likely feature another guest team.
All this will lead to the longest season ever in PBA history, one that will run for 15 months from October 2025 to December 2026, with the next rookie draft set for January 2027. Will this result in a shift back to a calendar year schedule for the PBA season going forward?
Nostalgia all the way
The PBA will usher in their golden season with back-to-back activities on Oct. 4 and 5, both designed to tap into the league’s glorious past. First, on October 4, current players will host a meet-and-greet with fans at Novotel Manila Araneta at 1:30 p.m.
Then, at 5:00 p.m. at the Meralco Theater, there will be a Fellowship Night. This will serve as a grand reunion of sorts for all former players, coaches, officials, and even game announcers. League officials say that there have been dozens of inquiries already from past players.
The following day, the league will host the Leo Awards, which recognize the top individual awardees from the past season, at 1:30 p.m. at the Novotel Manila Araneta. This will be followed by the formal opening ceremonies of Season 50 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, where the very first PBA game was held in 1975. Former players and officials have also been invited to attend. Finally, the first game of Season 50 will feature the PBA’s longest-running rivalry: the Manila Clasico featuring Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, coached by the league’s winningest coach in Tim Cone, and the Magnolia Hotshots, coached by Cone’s former player, LA Tenorio.
Throughout the season, there will be nods to the past honoring league pioneers and former superstars.
Banner Images from PBA Media Bureau