2019 PBA season
The 2019 PBA season was the 44th season of the Philippine Basketball Association. The league continued to use the three-conference format, starting with the Philippine Cup. The Commissioner's Cup and the Governors' Cup are the second and third conferences in the upcoming season.
Due to the major adjustments in the league calendar, the start of the league's 44th season was set to January 13, 2019. This was the first time since 2003 that the league opened their season in January or February. The PBA Leo Awards will be held during the opening ceremonies of the 2019 season while the 2018 PBA draft is set on December 16. The schedule is also affected by the Philippine national team's participation in the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the Southeast Asian Games.
The 2019 PBA All-Star Game was played from March 29 to 31, 2019 at Calasiao, Pangasinan.
Executive board
- Commissioner: WIllie Marcial
- Chairman: Ricky Vargas
- Vice-Chairman: Richard Bachmann
- Treasurer: Raymond T. Zorrilla
Teams
Arenas
Like several Metro Manila-centric leagues, most games are held at arenas within Metro Manila, either the Smart Araneta Coliseum or the Mall of Asia Arena, and sometimes, in the Ynares Center in Antipolo. Games outside this area are called "out-of-town" games, and are usually played on Saturdays. Provincial arenas usually host one game, rarely two; these arenas typically host only once per season, but a league may return within a season if the turnout is satisfactory.Typically, all playoff games are held in Metro Manila arenas, although playoff and Finals games have been seldom played in the provinces.
Main arenas
| Arena | City |
| Cuneta Astrodome | Pasay |
| Mall of Asia Arena | Pasay |
| Smart Araneta Coliseum | Quezon City |
| Ynares Center | Antipolo, Rizal |
Out-of-town arenas
Highlighted are playoff games.| Arena | City | Date | Match-up |
| Philippine Arena | Bocaue, Bulacan | January 13, 2019 | Barangay Ginebra vs. TNT |
| Calasiao Sports Complex | Calasiao, Pangasinan | January 26, 2019 | Barangay Ginebra vs. Rain or Shine |
| Davao del Sur Coliseum | Digos, Davao del Sur | February 9, 2019 | Barangay Ginebra vs. Blackwater |
| Xavier University Gym | Cagayan de Oro | March 2, 2019 | Meralco vs. Magnolia |
| Xavier University Gym | Cagayan de Oro | July 13, 2019 | Rain or Shine vs. San Miguel |
| Panabo Multi-Purpose Tourism, Sports and Cultural Center | Panabo, Davao del Norte | March 16, 2019 | San Miguel vs. Phoenix |
| AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center | Angeles | March 23, 2019 | NLEX vs. Barangay Ginebra |
| Batangas City Sports Center | Batangas City | June 23, 2019 | Columbian vs. Rain or Shine Barangay Ginebra vs. NLEX |
| Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum | Zamboanga City | June 29, 2019 | Magnolia vs. Meralco |
| Santa Rosa Sports Complex | Santa Rosa, Laguna | September 29, 2019 | Blackwater vs. NLEX Alaska vs. San Miguel |
| Hoops Dome | Lapu-Lapu City | November 9, 2019 | San Miguel vs. Rain or Shine |
| University of Southeastern Philippines Gym | Davao City | November 16, 2019 | TNT vs Magnolia |
| Quezon Convention Center | Lucena | January 10, 2020 | Barangay Ginebra vs. Meralco |
These games were played outside the Philippines:
| Arena | City | Date | Match-up |
| Coca-Cola Arena | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | October 4, 2019 | San Miguel vs. NLEX |
| Coca-Cola Arena | Dubai, United Arab Emirates | October 5, 2019 | NLEX vs. Barangay Ginebra |
Transactions
Retirement
- January 4, 2019: Jett Manuel officially announced his retirement after playing one season in the league for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel franchise.
- January 8, 2019: Chris Tiu officially announced his retirement after playing six seasons in the league for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters franchise.
- April 4, 2019: Josh Urbiztondo officially announced his retirement after playing eight seasons in the league.
- April 12, 2019: Rico Maierhofer officially announced his retirement after playing eight seasons in the league.
- November 14, 2019: Doug Kramer officially announced his retirement after playing 12 seasons in the league.
Coaching changes
Rule changes
The PBA competition committee approved the rule changes for implementation starting in the Philippine Cup games:| Rule changes |
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Notable events
- The PBA Board of Governors decided to retain Ricky Vargas of TNT KaTropa as the Board Chairman. Subsequently, Dickie Bachmann of Alaska and Raymond Zorilla of Phoenix were retained as Vice-Chairman and Treasurer respectively.
Philippine Cup
- February 17: A legends game organized by the PBA Legends Foundation and Breakthrough and Milestones Productions International entitled PBA Legends: Return of the Rivals was held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Former players from the Alaska Milkmen and the San Miguel Beermen played in the first game, while former players from Purefoods Hotdogs and the Ginebra San Miguel played in the second game.
- March 1: The 2019 season schedule will be modified to accommodate the preparations of the Philippine men's basketball team for the FIBA Basketball World Cup to be held in September and the Southeast Asian Games on December. The season may be extended up to January 2020.
- April 9: PBA referee Guillermo "Emy" Tangkion died after collapsing during their referee's workout at the JSCGO Gymnasium. A moment of silence was observed the following day before the start of the quarterfinals match between the San Miguel Beermen and the TNT KaTropa.
Commissioner's Cup
- May 16: A rule change was made to be implemented starting the Commissioner's Cup that will allow a video review if a shot was made before or after the expiration of the 24-second shotclock throughout the game. Before the rule change, a video review is only possible if the shot was made in the last two minutes of the game. The rule change was made in light of the controversial shot made by Magnolia's Rome dela Rosa during Game 7 of their best-of-seven semifinals series against Rain or Shine, at the 3:30 mark of the 4th quarter. The referees counted his three point basket even though replays showed that the ball was still in his hands when the shotclock expired.
- May 19: The PBA began using the Molten BG5000 basketball as their official tournament ball. The same ball will be used during the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
- June 4: Calvin Abueva of the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters was indefinitely suspended by PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial after he was involved in two on-court incidents during Phoenix's games against Blackwater Elite and TNT KaTropa. On May 31, Abueva was involved in a verbal altercation against Ray Parks' girlfriend Maika Rivera and did lewd gestures to her after their win against Blackwater. On June 2, he clotheslined TNT's import Terrence Jones. Abueva was also fined a total of P70,000 for both incidents.
- August 14: During the second quarter of game five of the PBA Commissioner's Cup, Arwind Santos made "monkey gestures" at the San Miguel bench addressing Jones after the latter committed a foul. Initially he refused to apologize stating "I’m going to apologize? No. It depends on him. If he was annoyed, he’s a real monkey." PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial summoned Santos the following day and was fined P200,000, 100 hours of community services. Santos will also undergo counseling on equality and racial discrimination. Santos later posted a public apology through his Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Opening ceremonies
The first game of the Philippine Cup between the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the TNT KaTropa was played after the opening ceremonies.
Below is the list of team muses:
| Team | Muse | Ref. |
| Alaska Aces | Klea Pineda | |
| Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | Pia Wurtzbach | |
| Blackwater Elite | Myla Pablo and Jasmine Alkhaldi | |
| Columbian Dyip | Kelley Day | |
| Magnolia Hotshots | Sharon Cuneta | |
| Meralco Bolts | Eva Patalinjug | |
| NLEX Road Warriors | Alyssa Valdez | |
| NorthPort Batang Pier | Aya Fernandez | |
| Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters | Yam Concepcion | |
| Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | Anie Uson | |
| San Miguel Beermen | Kylie Verzosa | |
| TNT KaTropa | Sam Pinto |
2019 PBA Philippine Cup
The 2019 Philippine Cup started on January 13, and ended on May 15, 2019.Elimination round
Playoffs
Finals results
- Philippine Cup Finals: San Miguel def. Magnolia, 4 games to 3
- *Finals MVP: June Mar Fajardo
- Best Player of the Conference: June Mar Fajardo
2019 PBA Commissioner's Cup
Elimination round
Playoffs
Finals results
- Commissioner's Cup Finals: San Miguel def. TNT, 4 games to 2
- *Finals MVP: Terrence Romeo
- Best Player of the Conference: Jayson Castro
- Bobby Parks Best Import of the Conference: Terrence Jones
2019 PBA Governors' Cup
Elimination round
Playoffs
Finals results
- Governors' Cup Finals: Barangay Ginebra def. Meralco, 4 games to 1
- *Finals MVP: Japeth Aguilar
- Best Player of the Conference: Christian Standhardinger
- Bobby Parks Best Import of the Conference: Allen Durham
Awards
Leo Awards">The PBA Leo Awards">Leo Awards
- Most Valuable Player: June Mar Fajardo
- Rookie of the Year: CJ Perez
- Most Improved Player: Moala Tautuaa
- First Mythical Team:
- * Jayson Castro
- * CJ Perez
- * June Mar Fajardo
- * Christian Standhardinger
- * Sean Anthony
- Second Mythical Team:
- * Roger Pogoy
- * Stanley Pringle
- * Japeth Aguilar
- * Troy Rosario
- * Ian Sangalang
- All-Defensive Team:
- * CJ Perez
- * Chris Ross
- * June Mar Fajardo
- * Sean Anthony
- * Japeth Aguilar
- Samboy Lim Sportsmanship Award: Gabe Norwood
PBA Press Corps Annual Awards
- Defensive Player of the Year: Sean Anthony
- Scoring Champion: CJ Perez
- Baby Dalupan Coach of the Year: Leo Austria
- Mr. Quality Minutes: Terrence Romeo
- Danny Floro Executive of the Year: Ricky Vargas
- Order of Merit: June Mar Fajardo
- All-Rookie Team
- * CJ Perez
- * Robert Bolick
- * Javee Mocon
- * Bobby Ray Parks Jr.
- * Abu Tratter
- All-Interview Team
- * Kiefer Ravena
- * Christian Standhardinger
- * Beau Belga
- * Vic Manuel
- * Arwind Santos
- * Yeng Guiao
- Game of the Season: NorthPort vs. NLEX
- President's Cup: Vergel Meneses
PBA teams in Asian club competitions