1996 PBA season explained

1996 PBA season
Year:	1996
Duration:	February 18 – December 17, 1996
No Of Teams:	8
Tv:	VTV (IBC)
Draft:	1996 PBA Draft
Top Pick:	Marlou Aquino
Picked By:	Ginebra San Miguel
Mvp:	Johnny Abarrientos
Conf1:	All-Filipino Cup
Conf1 Link:	1996 PBA All-Filipino Cup
Conf1 Champ:	Alaska Milkmen
Conf1 Runner-Up:	Purefoods TJ Hotdogs
Conf2:	Commissioner's Cup
Conf2 Link:	1996 PBA Commissioner's Cup
Conf2 Champ:	Alaska Milkmen
Conf2 Runner-Up:	Formula Shell Zoom Masters
Conf3:	Governors Cup
Conf3 Link:	1996 PBA Governors Cup
Conf3 Champ:	Alaska Milkmen
Conf3 Runner-Up:	Ginebra San Miguel
Prevseason Link:	1995 PBA season
Prevseason Year:	1995
Nextseason Link:	1997 PBA season
Nextseason Year:	1997

The 1996 PBA season was the 22nd season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Board of governors

Executive committee

• Jun Bernardino (Commissioner)
• Teodoro L. Dimayuga (Chairman, representing Purefoods TJ Hotdogs)
• Nazario L. Avendaño (Vice-Chairman, representing San Miguel Beermen)
• Dr. Antonio V. Concepcion (Treasurer, representing Ginebra San Miguel)

Teams

Team	Company	Governor	Alternate Governor
			Joaquin Trillo
		Reynaldo Gamboa	Eliseo Santiago
		Dr. Antonio Concepcion	Bernabe Navarro, Jr.
	Lapanday Holdings Corporation	Luis F. Lorenzo
		Teodoro Dimayuga	Eliezer Capacio
		Nazario Avendaño	Eddie Veneracion
	Sta. Lucia Realty and Development Corporation	Manuel Encarnado	Vicente Santos
		Elmer Yanga	Aurora Timbol

Season highlights

• The league's broadcast partner, Vintage Sports, switched networks from People's Television to Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation. They also changed their primary language from English to Tagalog.
• Crowd-favorite Ginebra San Miguel return to their winning ways after years of being a doormat with the entry of top draft pick, 6-9 Marlou Aquino, the Ginebras advances in the semifinals for the first time in three years during the All-Filipino Cup, their season was highlighted by a finals trip in the third conference, losing to grandslam champions Alaska Milkmen.
• The Pepsi Mega Bottlers sold their franchise to PILTEL and was renamed Mobiline Cellulars at the start of the Commissioner's Cup.
• The Alaska Milkmen became the fourth team to win the PBA Grand slam by sweeping all three conferences of the season, joining the 1976 and 1983 Crispa Redmanizers and the 1989 San Miguel Beermen. ^[1]
• Johnny Abarrientos became the first pure guard to win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award since Ricardo Brown in 1985. ^[2]

Opening ceremonies

The muses for the participating teams are as follows:

style= width="45%"	Team	style= width="55%"	Muse
Alaska Milkmen	Anamarie Pukon and Sharon Fuentes
Formula Shell	Teresa Herrera
Ginebra San Miguel	Amanda Page
Pepsi Mega	Maricel Morales (Mutya ng Pilipinas)
Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs	Chantal Umali
San Miguel Beermen	Candice Coral and Gracia
Sta. Lucia Realtors	Cara Sobejano and Abigail Arenas
Sunkist Orange Juicers	Vina Morales

Champions

• All-Filipino Cup: Alaska Milkmen
• Commissioner's Cup: Alaska Milkmen
• Governor's Cup: Alaska Milkmen
• Team with best win–loss percentage: Alaska Milkmen (51-21, .708)
• Best Team of the Year: Alaska Milkmen (1st)

All-Filipino Cup

See main article: 1996 PBA All-Filipino Cup.

Third place playoff

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Finals

See main article: 1996 PBA All-Filipino Cup finals. |}

• Finals MVP: Jojo Lastimosa (Alaska)
• Best Player of the Conference: Alvin Patrimonio (Purefoods)

Commissioner's Cup

See main article: 1996 PBA Commissioner's Cup.

Third-place playoff

|}

Finals

See main article: 1996 PBA Commissioner's Cup finals. |}

• Finals MVP: Bong Hawkins (Alaska)
• Best Player of the Conference: Bong Hawkins (Alaska)
• Best Import of the Conference: Ken Redfield (Formula Shell)

Governors' Cup

See main article: 1996 PBA Governors' Cup.

Finals

See main article: 1996 PBA Governors' Cup finals. |}

• Finals MVP: Johnny Abarrientos (Alaska)
• Best Player of the Conference: Marlou Aquino (Ginebra)
• Best Import of the Conference: Sean Chambers (Alaska)

Awards

• Most Valuable Player: Johnny Abarrientos (Alaska)
• Rookie of the Year: Marlou Aquino (Ginebra)
• Sportsmanship Award: Jerry Codiñera (Purefoods)
• Most Improved Player: Edward "Poch" Juinio (Alaska)
• Defensive Player of the Year: Marlou Aquino (Ginebra)
• Mythical Five:
  • Johnny Abarrientos (Alaska)
  • Rene Hawkins, Jr. (Alaska)
  • Jojo Lastimosa (Alaska)
  • Alvin Patrimonio (Purefoods)
  • Marlou Aquino (Ginebra)
• Mythical Second Team:
  • Bal David (Ginebra)
  • Noli Locsin (Ginebra)
  • Jeffrey Cariaso (Alaska)
  • Benjie Paras (Shell)
  • Nelson Asaytono (San Miguel)
• All Defensive Team:
  • Jerry Codiñera (Purefoods)
  • Chris Jackson (Sta. Lucia)
  • Johnny Abarrientos (Alaska)
  • Jeffrey Cariaso (Alaska)
  • Marlou Aquino (Ginebra)

Awards given by the PBA Press Corps

• Coach of the Year: Tim Cone (Alaska)
• Mr. Quality Minutes: Gilbert "Jun" Reyes, Jr. (Alaska)
• Executive of the Year: Jun Bernardino (PBA Commissioner)
• Comeback Player of the Year: Richie Ticzon (Shell)
• Referee of the Year: Ogie Bernarte

Cumulative standings

Team	GP	W	L	PCT
	72	51	21	.708
	64	35	29	.547
	65	33	32	.508
	51	25	26	.490
	60	29	31	.483
	45	20	25	.444
	38	16	22	.421
	35	7	28	.200

Notes and References

1. News: It's our time - Alaska's Cone. Manila Standard.
2. News: Abarrientos is PBA's '96 MVP. Manila Standard.