The 2004 PBA Fiesta Conference, or known as the 2004 Gran Matador Brandy-PBA Fiesta Conference for

sponsorship Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...

reasons, was tournament held by the

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 se ...

and the first ever edition of the

PBA Fiesta Conference The PBA Fiesta Conference was a former tournament held during a Philippine Basketball Association season. Each PBA team was allowed to hire a single foreign player, with maximum height limitations set by the league, to play for the said tournament. ...

. Prior to the formation of the said conference, the league had two import-laced conferences known as the

PBA Commissioner's Cup The PBA Commissioner's Cup is a tournament of the Philippine Basketball Association. Along with the PBA Governors' Cup, the tournament (also named as "conference") is one of the two competitions in a PBA season that allows teams to hire a single ...

(with an import height-limit of 6–8), and the

PBA Governor's Cup The PBA Governors' Cup is a tournament of the Philippine Basketball Association. Along with the PBA Commissioner's Cup, the tournament is one of the two conferences that allows teams to hire a single foreign player, also known as an "import". The ...

(with an import height-limit of 6–4). However, in 2003, the two conferences were scrapped and was replaced with an Invitational tournament, with an All-Filipino local squad along with foreign teams) and an import-laced Reinforced Conference. But, in 2004, the league changed its calendar from a calendar year to a fiscal year. As a preparation for the new format, the tournament was institutionalized in 2004 as a transitional tournament. The first Fiesta Conference was played from February–July 2004.

Opening ceremonies

The muses for the participating teams are as follows:

2004 PBA All-Star Game

The league held its All-Star Weekend on August 15, 2004 at the jampacked New Cebu City Coliseum, with the revived North vs South All-Stars format. The South All-Stars defeated the Northern selection, 130–128, in a closely fought contest.

Asi Taulava Pauliasi Taulava (born March 2, 1973) is a Tongan-born Filipino professional basketball player for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is the oldest active player in the league. Standing 6 ft 9 in (2. ...

and

Jimmy Alapag Jim Olmedo Alapag (born December 30, 1977) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player. He serves as an assistant coach for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League. He is nicknamed "The Mighty Mouse" and "The Captain". Early life ...

were named co-MVP of the All-Star Game.

Classification round

Wildcard phase

Quarterfinals

Groupings

Group A

Group B

Two guest teams participated in the tournament, the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thr ...

men's basketball team and the US Pro-Am Selection. Both never won a single game in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Bracket

Semifinals

(A1) Talk 'N Text vs. (B2) Barangay Ginebra

(B1) Coca-Cola vs. (A2) Red Bull

Third place playoff

Finals

The

Barangay Ginebra Kings A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolita ...

ended their seven-year title drought with a 3–1 series victory over

Red Bull Barako Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

in the Finals.

Awards

Eric Menk Eric Conrad Menk (born August 24, 1974) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player who played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the Asean Basketball League. Known as Major Pain, Menk is a four-time PBA champion ...

Barangay Ginebra The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The most popular team in the league, it is owned by Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.), a subsidia ...

was named the Best Player of the Conference while Red Bull's Victor Thomas is the conference Best Import.

Broadcast notes

References

External links

PBA.ph
{{PBA seasons

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