Philippine Basketball Association Opening Ceremonies

	Philippine Basketball Association Opening Ceremonies The Philippine Basketball Association opening ceremonies marks the start of the league's season. Since 1995, a single game is held, preceded by an entertainment program and parade of participating teams. The ceremonies is usually held at the third Sunday of October. Overview An opening ceremonies is held to mark the start of the season since the league's maiden season in 1975. The ceremonies typically start with an entertainment show, depending on the theme for that year. Usual highlights are performances of Filipino artists and speeches from the league commissioner and other invited guests. A parade of participating teams follows afterwards. Each team marches into the venue together with their muses. After all of the teams have paraded, the season's chairman of the PBA Board of Governors gives a speech and afterwards, he will officially declare the season open. After the opening ceremonies, a lone game, the first game for the season, will be played. From 1975 to 1994, two games w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the second oldest continuously professional basketball league existing in the world after the National Basketball Association, NBA,Bartholomew, Rafe. ''Pacific Rims''. New American Library, 2010, p. 13. established before the "open era" of basketball in 1990 where FIBA allowed longstanding domestic leagues, which mostly had predated the PBA, to become professional. The league's regulations are a hybrid of rules from the NBA and FIBA. The league played its first game at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on April 9, 1975. Its main office is located along Circumferential Road 5, Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue (C-5 road), Eastwood City, Bagumbayan, Quezon City. The San Miguel Beermen have the most PBA championships with 28 titles. Entering the 2022 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Mall Of Asia Arena The SM Mall of Asia Arena, also known as the Mall of Asia Arena or the MoA Arena, is an indoor arena within the SM Mall of Asia complex, in Bay City, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. It has a seating capacity of 15,000 for sporting events, and a full house capacity of 20,000. The Arena officially opened on May 21, 2012. It has retractable seats and a 2,000-capacity car park building. The SM Mall of Asia Arena is the alternate venue of the Philippine Basketball Association when the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City is unavailable. The arena is also one of the main venues for the University Athletic Association of the Philippines and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. History The construction of the SM Mall of Asia Arena began in 2010. and costed around . The venue is part of the master plan for the SM Mall of Asia complex which in 2012 already had the SMX Convention Center and the One E-com and Two E-com office buildings. The arena had its topping-off ceremony ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1984 PBA Season The 1984 PBA season was the 10th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Board of governors Executive committee * Mariano A. Yenko, Jr. (Commissioner) * Tomas L. Manotoc (Deputy Commissioner) * Carlos Palanca III (President, representing Gilbey's Gin Tonics) * Jose Ibazeta, Jr. (Vice-President and Treasurer, representing Gold Eagle Beermen) Teams Season highlights The season marked the first without the multi-titled Toyota as the ballclub disbanded at the start of the year and sold its franchise to Asia Brewery, which played their first season under the name of Beer Hausen. The NCC basketball team, the national training team coached by Ron Jacobs, played in the first two conferences as guest team. The PBA was forced to have two All-Filipino Conferences as the nation reeled from year-round economic crisis; the import-laced tournament did return in the Third Conference. The Crispa Redmanizers played their final season in the PBA, winning their 13th and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1983 PBA Season The 1983 PBA season was the 9th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Board of governors Executive committee * Mariano A. Yenko, Jr. (Commissioner) * Carlos Palanca III (President, representing Gilbey's Gin) * Jose Ibazeta, Jr. (Vice-President, representing San Miguel Beermen) * Anna Dominique Coseteng (Treasurer, representing Galerie Dominique) Teams Season highlights The Crispa Redmanizers completed a three-conference sweep and won their second Grandslam after first doing the trick back in 1976, this time under new coach Tommy Manotoc. On May 15, the PBA fans witnessed the "Black Superman" Billy Ray Bates played his first game for Crispa Redmanizers. Bates won the best import award in both Reinforced and Open Conferences, leading the Redmanizers to two championships and a grandslam. A rising powerhouse Great Taste Coffee with the entry of Fil-Am rookie Ricardo Brown, three-time MVP Bogs Adornado and import Norman Black in their lineup, led the Coffee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR:* [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1982 PBA Season The 1982 PBA season was the eighth season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Board of governors Executive committee * Leopoldo L. Prieto (Commissioner) * Domingo Y. Itchon (President, representing YCO-Tanduay) Teams Season highlights The start of the year saw the league's membership reduced from 10 teams to just 8, following the disbandment of CDCP and Tefilin franchises. Vintage Enterprises Inc. took over the league's television coverage beginning this season. The PBA implement for the first time a playoff post-eliminations format with a series of best-of-three quarterfinals, best-of-five semifinals and best-of-seven finals to determine the champion in the Reinforced Filipino Conference. Toyota Super Corollas won two championships in the year, capped by center Ramon Fernandez winning his first Most Valuable Player Award. San Miguel Beer won the Invitational championship over Crispa Redmanizers for the franchise' 2nd PBA title. Baby Dalupan resigned a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1981 PBA Season The 1981 PBA season was the seventh season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Season highlights Instead of the usual three-conference format, the season was shortened to two conferences to give way for the Philippines' hosting of the SEA Games in Manila. Rivals Toyota and Crispa played in the finals for the 10th and what turn out to be the last time during the PBA Open Conference championship series. The Super Diesels finally ended a string of three runner-up finishes from last year by winning against the Redmanizers in five games. Toyota import Andrew Fields became the first recipient of the PBA Best Import Award. William "Bogs" Adornado of U/Tex Wranglers won his 3rd Most Valuable Player Award. Champions * Open Conference: Toyota Super Diesels * Reinforced Filipino Conference: Crispa Redmanizers * Team with best win–loss percentage: Toyota Super Diesels (29-14, .674) * Best Team of the Year: Crispa Redmanizers (4th) Open Conference Elimination round Semifi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1980 PBA Season The 1980 PBA season was the sixth season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Season highlights The three-point field goal was introduced at the start of the year. From July 3 to 7, two PBA selections hosted the visiting Golden State Warriors in a series of exhibition games. Their four-game series ends in a tie with two wins apiece. The U/tex Wranglers wins the Open Conference title by beating Toyota in overtime, 99-98 in the deciding fifth game, best remembered for the famous "Last 16 seconds" when coach Tommy Manotoc's team wiped out a four-point deficit with 16 seconds left in regulation and winning in the extension period. Nicholas Stoodley/USA wins the Invitational Championship with a two-game sweep over Toyota Tamaraws to become the first foreign team to capture a PBA title. The season-ending tournament marked the Crispa Redmanizers' incredible 20-1 record in the All-Filipino Conference, winning their first 19 games and almost completed a conference sweep, if ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR:* [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1979 PBA Season The 1979 PBA season was the fifth season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Season highlights After a two-year absence of playing against each other in the championship between the league's most noted rivalry, Crispa and Toyota played once again in the finals during the All-Filipino Conference. Crispa prevailed in five games, winning the deciding game, 118–111 on July 7. On September 4, the visiting Washington Bullets, which lost to Seattle SuperSonics in the 1979 NBA Finals, played against a PBA All-Star Selection at the Araneta Coliseum in an exhibition game attended by Philippines First Lady Imelda Marcos, the Bullets with the line-up of hall of famers Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld and among others, Greg Ballard, Dave Corzine and coach by Dick Motta, won the match, 133–123. The PBA selection were coach by Baby Dalupan and played with five imports and one locals from each of the nine ballclubs. Royal Tru-Orange won their first PBA title in the Open Conference b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR:* [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1978 PBA Season The 1978 PBA season was the fourth season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Executive board * Leopoldo L. Prieto (Commissioner) * Domingo Y. Itchon (President, representing Elizalde & Co., Inc.) * Dante Silverio (Vice President, representing Delta Motor Corporation) * Walter Euyang (Treasurer, representing Universal Textile Mills, Inc.) Season highlights In a special pre-season event, a Crispa-PBA All-Star series was played, a five-game duel decided by cumulative scores which raked in more funds to the PBA players' trust fund. Crispa won three games but lost by 12 points in the cumulative scoring. On February 26, Crispa beat the PBA-All Stars, 99–90, for a 3–2 victory in a series played in Davao, Iloilo, Cebu and Manila. The All-Stars lineup were Robert Jaworski, Francis Arnaiz, Danny Florencio, Manny Paner, Ramon Fernandez, Rudolf Kutch, Abe King, Estoy Estrada, Jun Papa, Lim Eng Beng, Freddie Webb and Johnny Revilla. Their coach was Dante Silverio. Toyota ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1977 PBA Season The 1977 PBA season was the third season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Season highlights The league's third season started on April 17 and for the first time, three referees were called to officiate the games. The opening game between Crispa and Toyota, where the Redmanizers edged out the Tamaraws, 122-121, was marred by a post-game rumble involving players from both teams that erupted at the Araneta Coliseum hardcourt and extended to the dugout. The brawl resulted in the arrest and booking of all 13 Crispa and 10 Toyota players at the stockade of Camp Crame where they were held for 13 hours. PBA Commissioner Leo Prieto fined both teams P5,000 each for that melee. On July 12, Mariwasa beats Toyota, 121-114, to set the stage for the first non Crispa-Toyota title-showdown. Crispa wins the All-Filipino crown and their fifth consecutive championship by defeating Mariwasa-Honda Panthers. The Redmanizers continued its dynasty and a quest for another grandslam by win ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR:* [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1976 PBA Season The 1976 PBA season was the second season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Season highlights The Crispa Redmanizers won all three conferences in the year to cap the first Grand Slam in the PBA. On December 21, Crispa achieved the first PBA Grandslam by winning the All-Philippine championship with a 110-92 win over Toyota Tamaraws in the deciding Game five of the finals. The Redmanizers, reinforced by Cyrus Mann and Bill Bunton, were down 0-2 in the series but won the last three games against their arch rivals, which had Byron "Snake" Jones and Howard Smith as their imports. William "Bogs" Adornado wins his second Most Valuable Player Award. He also became the first player to reach the 2,000 point plateau when he scored 24 points in Crispa's title-clinching 101-100 win over Toyota in Game four of the First Conference finals on July 11. The first-ever triple-overtime game took place on August 17, Noritake outlasts Tanduay, 153-151, on a jumper by Hubert Filipina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1975 PBA Season The 1975 PBA season was the inaugural season of the Philippine Basketball Association. Notable events In 1975, nine big corporations with basketball teams in the Manila Industrial Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) declared their independence from the Basketball Association of the Philippines and formed the first professional basketball league in Asia, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). On April 9, the PBA opens with its inaugural double-header at the Araneta Coliseum, with a sellout crowd of 18,000 watching, the Marisawa-Noritake Porcelain Makers defeated Concepcion Carrier, 101-98, in the opening game while Toyota Comets won over U/Tex Weavers, 105-101, in the main game. Gregorio "Joy" Dionisio of Carrier scored the very first basket in PBA history. In front of 11,000 fans at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on May 10, the Crispa-Floro Redmanizers and Toyota Comets clash for the first time in what could be the start of their long-storied rivalry. The Redmanizers hac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]

	Philippine Basketball Association Opening Ceremonies The Philippine Basketball Association opening ceremonies marks the start of the league's season. Since 1995, a single game is held, preceded by an entertainment program and parade of participating teams. The ceremonies is usually held at the third Sunday of October. Overview An opening ceremonies is held to mark the start of the season since the league's maiden season in 1975. The ceremonies typically start with an entertainment show, depending on the theme for that year. Usual highlights are performances of Filipino artists and speeches from the league commissioner and other invited guests. A parade of participating teams follows afterwards. Each team marches into the venue together with their muses. After all of the teams have paraded, the season's chairman of the PBA Board of Governors gives a speech and afterwards, he will officially declare the season open. After the opening ceremonies, a lone game, the first game for the season, will be played. From 1975 to 1994, two games w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the second oldest continuously professional basketball league existing in the world after the National Basketball Association, NBA,Bartholomew, Rafe. ''Pacific Rims''. New American Library, 2010, p. 13. established before the "open era" of basketball in 1990 where FIBA allowed longstanding domestic leagues, which mostly had predated the PBA, to become professional. The league's regulations are a hybrid of rules from the NBA and FIBA. The league played its first game at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on April 9, 1975. Its main office is located along Circumferential Road 5, Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue (C-5 road), Eastwood City, Bagumbayan, Quezon City. The San Miguel Beermen have the most PBA championships with 28 titles. Entering the 2022 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
picture info	Mall Of Asia Arena The SM Mall of Asia Arena, also known as the Mall of Asia Arena or the MoA Arena, is an indoor arena within the SM Mall of Asia complex, in Bay City, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. It has a seating capacity of 15,000 for sporting events, and a full house capacity of 20,000. The Arena officially opened on May 21, 2012. It has retractable seats and a 2,000-capacity car park building. The SM Mall of Asia Arena is the alternate venue of the Philippine Basketball Association when the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City is unavailable. The arena is also one of the main venues for the University Athletic Association of the Philippines and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. History The construction of the SM Mall of Asia Arena began in 2010. and costed around . The venue is part of the master plan for the SM Mall of Asia complex which in 2012 already had the SMX Convention Center and the One E-com and Two E-com office buildings. The arena had its topping-off ceremony ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1984 PBA Season The 1984 PBA season was the 10th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Board of governors Executive committee * Mariano A. Yenko, Jr. (Commissioner) * Tomas L. Manotoc (Deputy Commissioner) * Carlos Palanca III (President, representing Gilbey's Gin Tonics) * Jose Ibazeta, Jr. (Vice-President and Treasurer, representing Gold Eagle Beermen) Teams Season highlights The season marked the first without the multi-titled Toyota as the ballclub disbanded at the start of the year and sold its franchise to Asia Brewery, which played their first season under the name of Beer Hausen. The NCC basketball team, the national training team coached by Ron Jacobs, played in the first two conferences as guest team. The PBA was forced to have two All-Filipino Conferences as the nation reeled from year-round economic crisis; the import-laced tournament did return in the Third Conference. The Crispa Redmanizers played their final season in the PBA, winning their 13th and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1983 PBA Season The 1983 PBA season was the 9th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Board of governors Executive committee * Mariano A. Yenko, Jr. (Commissioner) * Carlos Palanca III (President, representing Gilbey's Gin) * Jose Ibazeta, Jr. (Vice-President, representing San Miguel Beermen) * Anna Dominique Coseteng (Treasurer, representing Galerie Dominique) Teams Season highlights The Crispa Redmanizers completed a three-conference sweep and won their second Grandslam after first doing the trick back in 1976, this time under new coach Tommy Manotoc. On May 15, the PBA fans witnessed the "Black Superman" Billy Ray Bates played his first game for Crispa Redmanizers. Bates won the best import award in both Reinforced and Open Conferences, leading the Redmanizers to two championships and a grandslam. A rising powerhouse Great Taste Coffee with the entry of Fil-Am rookie Ricardo Brown, three-time MVP Bogs Adornado and import Norman Black in their lineup, led the Coffee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR:* [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1982 PBA Season The 1982 PBA season was the eighth season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Board of governors Executive committee * Leopoldo L. Prieto (Commissioner) * Domingo Y. Itchon (President, representing YCO-Tanduay) Teams Season highlights The start of the year saw the league's membership reduced from 10 teams to just 8, following the disbandment of CDCP and Tefilin franchises. Vintage Enterprises Inc. took over the league's television coverage beginning this season. The PBA implement for the first time a playoff post-eliminations format with a series of best-of-three quarterfinals, best-of-five semifinals and best-of-seven finals to determine the champion in the Reinforced Filipino Conference. Toyota Super Corollas won two championships in the year, capped by center Ramon Fernandez winning his first Most Valuable Player Award. San Miguel Beer won the Invitational championship over Crispa Redmanizers for the franchise' 2nd PBA title. Baby Dalupan resigned a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1981 PBA Season The 1981 PBA season was the seventh season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Season highlights Instead of the usual three-conference format, the season was shortened to two conferences to give way for the Philippines' hosting of the SEA Games in Manila. Rivals Toyota and Crispa played in the finals for the 10th and what turn out to be the last time during the PBA Open Conference championship series. The Super Diesels finally ended a string of three runner-up finishes from last year by winning against the Redmanizers in five games. Toyota import Andrew Fields became the first recipient of the PBA Best Import Award. William "Bogs" Adornado of U/Tex Wranglers won his 3rd Most Valuable Player Award. Champions * Open Conference: Toyota Super Diesels * Reinforced Filipino Conference: Crispa Redmanizers * Team with best win–loss percentage: Toyota Super Diesels (29-14, .674) * Best Team of the Year: Crispa Redmanizers (4th) Open Conference Elimination round Semifi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1980 PBA Season The 1980 PBA season was the sixth season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Season highlights The three-point field goal was introduced at the start of the year. From July 3 to 7, two PBA selections hosted the visiting Golden State Warriors in a series of exhibition games. Their four-game series ends in a tie with two wins apiece. The U/tex Wranglers wins the Open Conference title by beating Toyota in overtime, 99-98 in the deciding fifth game, best remembered for the famous "Last 16 seconds" when coach Tommy Manotoc's team wiped out a four-point deficit with 16 seconds left in regulation and winning in the extension period. Nicholas Stoodley/USA wins the Invitational Championship with a two-game sweep over Toyota Tamaraws to become the first foreign team to capture a PBA title. The season-ending tournament marked the Crispa Redmanizers' incredible 20-1 record in the All-Filipino Conference, winning their first 19 games and almost completed a conference sweep, if ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR:* [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1979 PBA Season The 1979 PBA season was the fifth season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Season highlights After a two-year absence of playing against each other in the championship between the league's most noted rivalry, Crispa and Toyota played once again in the finals during the All-Filipino Conference. Crispa prevailed in five games, winning the deciding game, 118–111 on July 7. On September 4, the visiting Washington Bullets, which lost to Seattle SuperSonics in the 1979 NBA Finals, played against a PBA All-Star Selection at the Araneta Coliseum in an exhibition game attended by Philippines First Lady Imelda Marcos, the Bullets with the line-up of hall of famers Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld and among others, Greg Ballard, Dave Corzine and coach by Dick Motta, won the match, 133–123. The PBA selection were coach by Baby Dalupan and played with five imports and one locals from each of the nine ballclubs. Royal Tru-Orange won their first PBA title in the Open Conference b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR:* [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1978 PBA Season The 1978 PBA season was the fourth season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Executive board * Leopoldo L. Prieto (Commissioner) * Domingo Y. Itchon (President, representing Elizalde & Co., Inc.) * Dante Silverio (Vice President, representing Delta Motor Corporation) * Walter Euyang (Treasurer, representing Universal Textile Mills, Inc.) Season highlights In a special pre-season event, a Crispa-PBA All-Star series was played, a five-game duel decided by cumulative scores which raked in more funds to the PBA players' trust fund. Crispa won three games but lost by 12 points in the cumulative scoring. On February 26, Crispa beat the PBA-All Stars, 99–90, for a 3–2 victory in a series played in Davao, Iloilo, Cebu and Manila. The All-Stars lineup were Robert Jaworski, Francis Arnaiz, Danny Florencio, Manny Paner, Ramon Fernandez, Rudolf Kutch, Abe King, Estoy Estrada, Jun Papa, Lim Eng Beng, Freddie Webb and Johnny Revilla. Their coach was Dante Silverio. Toyota ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1977 PBA Season The 1977 PBA season was the third season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Season highlights The league's third season started on April 17 and for the first time, three referees were called to officiate the games. The opening game between Crispa and Toyota, where the Redmanizers edged out the Tamaraws, 122-121, was marred by a post-game rumble involving players from both teams that erupted at the Araneta Coliseum hardcourt and extended to the dugout. The brawl resulted in the arrest and booking of all 13 Crispa and 10 Toyota players at the stockade of Camp Crame where they were held for 13 hours. PBA Commissioner Leo Prieto fined both teams P5,000 each for that melee. On July 12, Mariwasa beats Toyota, 121-114, to set the stage for the first non Crispa-Toyota title-showdown. Crispa wins the All-Filipino crown and their fifth consecutive championship by defeating Mariwasa-Honda Panthers. The Redmanizers continued its dynasty and a quest for another grandslam by win ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR:* [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1976 PBA Season The 1976 PBA season was the second season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Season highlights The Crispa Redmanizers won all three conferences in the year to cap the first Grand Slam in the PBA. On December 21, Crispa achieved the first PBA Grandslam by winning the All-Philippine championship with a 110-92 win over Toyota Tamaraws in the deciding Game five of the finals. The Redmanizers, reinforced by Cyrus Mann and Bill Bunton, were down 0-2 in the series but won the last three games against their arch rivals, which had Byron "Snake" Jones and Howard Smith as their imports. William "Bogs" Adornado wins his second Most Valuable Player Award. He also became the first player to reach the 2,000 point plateau when he scored 24 points in Crispa's title-clinching 101-100 win over Toyota in Game four of the First Conference finals on July 11. The first-ever triple-overtime game took place on August 17, Noritake outlasts Tanduay, 153-151, on a jumper by Hubert Filipina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]
	1975 PBA Season The 1975 PBA season was the inaugural season of the Philippine Basketball Association. Notable events In 1975, nine big corporations with basketball teams in the Manila Industrial Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) declared their independence from the Basketball Association of the Philippines and formed the first professional basketball league in Asia, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). On April 9, the PBA opens with its inaugural double-header at the Araneta Coliseum, with a sellout crowd of 18,000 watching, the Marisawa-Noritake Porcelain Makers defeated Concepcion Carrier, 101-98, in the opening game while Toyota Comets won over U/Tex Weavers, 105-101, in the main game. Gregorio "Joy" Dionisio of Carrier scored the very first basket in PBA history. In front of 11,000 fans at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on May 10, the Crispa-Floro Redmanizers and Toyota Comets clash for the first time in what could be the start of their long-storied rivalry. The Redmanizers hac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu]