2009–10 PBA season

2009-10 PBA season
Duration	October 11, 2009 - August 18, 2010
Number of teams	10
TV partner(s)	Solar TV Basketball TV DZRJ 810 (Local) TFC (International)
Draft
Top draft pick	Japeth Aguilar
Picked by	Burger King Whoppers
Conferences
Philippine Cup champions	Purefoods TJ Giants
Runners-up	Alaska Aces
Fiesta Conference champions	Alaska Aces
Runners-up	San Miguel Beermen
Awards
Season MVP	James Yap (Derby Ace)
Top scorer	Gary David (Coca-Cola)
Seasons
< 2008–09 2010–11  >

The 2009–10 PBA Season was the 35th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The season formally opened on October 11, 2009 and ended on August 18, 2010. The league started the season with the Philippine Cup, or the traditional All-Filipino Conference, while finishing the season with the import-laiden Fiesta Conference.

The 2009 PBA Draft was held on August 2, 2009 at the Market! Market!, and Japeth Aguilar was selected first overall by the Air21 Express. The Puerto Princesa City Government hosted the 2010 PBA All-Star Weekend at the Puerto Princesa Coliseum in Palawan on April 25, 2010.

Pre-season events

Player movement

Key transactions:
Trades:

• Burger King traded Arwind Santos to San Miguel for Marc Pingris and Ken Bono.^[1] Both players were later traded to Purefoods in exchange for the team's 2010 1st and 2nd round picks.^[2]
• Barangay Ginebra traded Paul Artadi, Rafi Reavis, and the rights to 2009 draftee Chris Timberlake for Enrico Villanueva, Rich Alvarez, Celino Cruz, and Paolo Bugia of Purefoods.
• Burger King traded Pocholo Villanueva to Ginebra for rights to rookie Orlando Daroya and future picks.^[3]
• Sta. Lucia traded Dennis Miranda to San Miguel for future draft picks.^[4]
• Sta. Lucia traded Dennis Espino to Coca Cola for two future draft picks and Jason Misolas.^[5]

Signing:

• Rain or Shine signed Mike Hrabak.^[6]
• Coca-Cola signed Norman Gonzales.

Resigning:

• Barangay Ginebra re-signed center Eric Menk.

Rule changes

The PBA board approved the rule changes for implementation starting in the pre-season games:^[7][8]

Rule changes (effective for the 2009–10 PBA season)

# The three-point line's distance is set back to 22 feet. The line was previously 20.6 feet away from the basket. The "key" is now a rectangle. It was previously the FIBA standard trapezoid key. The 24-second violation will be ignored if the opposing team has clear possession of the basketball. All parts of the backboard are considered in play when struck by the ball except the back of the backboard, which is not in play. The ball is considered out of bounds if the ball hits the top of the board and passes directly behind the backboard from any point. The ball is considered out of bounds if the ball hits the top of the board and then hits the game clock, shot clock, support or any device above the backboard. It is considered a violation attempting a field goal directly behind the backboard. Any ball that rebounds and goes over the top and passes directly behind the backboard without hitting any part of the board is considered out-of-bounds. Hanging on the rim after a dunk is now allowed (monkey ride). Landing spot rule: If without contact, Flagrant Foul Penalty 1 is called - two (2) free throws are awarded, ball possession is retained by team of offended player, guilty player sits for (3) three playing minutes. If with contact, Flagrant Foul Penalty 2 is called - two (2) free throws are awarded, team of offended player retains ball possession, and guilty player is ejected from the game. Automatic Fine of minimum P10,000.00. Minimum of one (1) day suspension if contact resulted in dire consequence (i.e. injury to player resulting in inability to play). A tip-in is considered act of shooting. A player screening an opponent must have both feet on the floor when contact occurs. A player setting a screen can move his body into a new but equal position sideways provided his shoulders are directly squared with his foot. The screener cannot lean forward towards the defender or extend any part of his body (i.e., extending an arm, leg or hips) in attempting to impede the basketball defender's movement in covering his man. Pushing or bumping is illegal personal contact of an opponent in which a defensive player forcibly moves or attempts to move a shooter, cutter or dribbler wherein the offensive player is placed at a disadvantage. A foul will be called if the defender bumps 1) a shooter, 2) a cutter, 3) a dribbler who loses the ball. Falling down to fake a foul (flopping) will not be tolerated. Referees will now give a warning on the first infraction. Subsequently, a technical foul will be given on the next violation.

Notable occurrences

• The third set of inductees for the PBA Hall of Fame were awarded on October 9 at the Shangri-la Hotel in Makati.^[9]
• The pre-season was started on September 25 but was cut short due to the onslaught of Typhoon Ondoy in Metro Manila.

Opening ceremonies

The season began on October 11 with the Purefoods TJ Giants defeating the Burger King Whoppers, 90-83.

The muses for the participating teams are as follows:

Team	Muse
Smart Gilas	Jessica Mendoza
Alaska Aces	CJ Haravata
Barako Bull Energy Boosters	Nadine Wisher
Barangay Ginebra Kings	Anne Curtis
Burger King Whoppers	Karla Henry
Coca-Cola Tigers	Pokwang
Purefoods TJ Giants	Bianca Manalo
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	Carla Abellana
San Miguel Beermen	SMB models
Sta. Lucia Realtors	Patricia Fernandez and Jennifer Barrientos
Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters	Rags to Riches mothers

2009–10 Philippine Cup

Notable events

• After playing with just one game with the Burger King Whoppers, top rookie pick Japeth Aguilar was traded to Talk 'N Text after a three way trade involving Barako Bull. Burger Kings was able to get Barako Bull’s 2010 (previously acquired by Talk ‘N Text) and 2012 first-round picks and will also take Talk ‘N Text’s 2013 and 2014 first-round picks. Barako Bull will now have the rights on Orlando Daroya while Talk ‘N Text will get Aguilar, who will be loaned to Smart Gilas.^[10]
• Wynne Arboleda of the Burger King Whoppers was suspended without pay for the rest of the season plus one game after a violent altercation with a fan during their game against Smart Gilas last October 16. He also drew a PhP20,000 fine. While serving his suspension, Arboleda cannot be present at the playing venues during Burger King’s games.^[11]
• On October 29, 2009. The PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios announced that the games played by the Smart Gilas National Team will have no effects on the standings of the other teams of the PBA. This decision was made by the commissioner because of the intensity of the games played against Smart Gilas that resulted in the suspension of and the possibility of criminal charges against Wynne Arboleda as a result of him attacking a fan at courtside in Araneta Coliseum when the Burger King Whoppers played the Smart Gilas National Team.^[12]
• Talk 'N Text walked out of the playing court during their quarterfinal game with Barangay Ginebra leading 27–20 with a minute left in the first quarter after Ranidel de Ocampo was called for a flagrant foul against Ronald Tubid.^[13] Besides forfeiting Game 4 to their opponent, Commissioner Sonny Barrios penalized the telecommunication franchise of fines ranging over P1 million. The P500,000 for the forfeiture (the said amount going to Barangay Ginebra as indicated to the league's by-laws), an additional P500,000 fine, which will go directly to the league's Players’ Educational Trust Fund, and the team's share in the gate receipts and TV revenues for that particular game, which ranges anywhere between P200,000 to P250,000.^[14]

Elimination round

	Qualified for semifinals
	Qualified for quarterfinals
	Qualified for wildcards
	Eliminated

#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	PD
1	Alaska Aces	13	5	.722	--	+17
2	San Miguel Beermen	13	5	.722	--	−17
3	Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants	12	6	.647	1	0; +85
4	Barangay Ginebra Kings	12	6	.667	1	0; +75
5	Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters	11	7	.611	2
6	Sta. Lucia Realtors	10	8	.556	3
7	Coca-Cola Tigers	6	12	.333	7	+10
8	Burger King Whoppers	6	12	.333	7	−10
9	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	4	14	.222	9
10	Barako Bull Energy Boosters	3	15	.167	10
	Smart Gilas†	3	6	.333	5.5

†Games involving Smart Gilas are not included in the team standings.

Tiebreakers:

• Alaska defeated San Miguel in both of their elimination round games.
• Purefoods and Barangay Ginebra split their elimination round games, and both won by eight points against each other. Purefoods won by having a better overall point differential.
• Coca-Cola and Burger King split their elimination round games, Coca-Cola won by having a better point differential in games between the two teams.

Playoffs

Wildcard phase Knockout games										Quarterfinals Best of 5 series					Semifinals Best of 7 series					Philippine Cup Finals Best of 7 series
										3	Purefoods	3
										9	Rain or Shine	2
6	Sta. Lucia	86													3	Purefoods	4
9	Rain or Shine	90													2	San Miguel	2
					9	Rain or Shine	99													3	Purefoods	4
					7	Coca-Cola	84													1	Alaska	0
7	Coca-Cola	118													1	Alaska	4
8	Burger King	112													4	Brgy. Ginebra	0			Third-place playoff
										4	Brgy. Ginebra	3								2	San Miguel	95
										5	Talk 'N Text	2								4	Brgy. Ginebra	88

Finals results

• Philippine Cup Finals: (3) Purefoods (12-6) def. (1) Alaska (13-5), 4 games to 0.
  • Finals MVP: James Yap (Purefoods)
• Third place: San Miguel (def. Brgy. Ginebra 95-88 in a one-game playoff)
• Best Player of the Conference: James Yap (Purefoods)

Mid-season break events

Player movement

Key transactions:
Trades:

• Air21 traded JR Quiñahan, Mark Yee and Aaron Aban to Talk 'N Text for Yancy de Ocampo and Renren Ritualo.^[15]
• Air21 traded Yancy de Ocampo and their second round pick for the 2010 PBA Draft to Barangay Ginebra for Rich Alvarez and Doug Kramer.^[16]
• Air21 traded Alex Cabagnot to San Miguel for Mike Cortez.^[16]
• Sta. Lucia Realtors traded Joseph Yeo to San Miguel for Bonbon Custodio.

Team re-brandings

• The Burger King Whoppers returned to their previous identity as the Air21 Express.^[17]
• San Miguel Corporation changed the name of the Purefoods TJ Giants to the Derby Ace Llamados.
• The Barako Bull Energy Boosters changed their moniker to the Barako Energy Coffee Masters.

Notable occurrences

• The board of governors approved stiffer penalties for teams that would walk out of a game and rookie draftees who would turn their back on the league.^[18]

2010 Fiesta Conference

Notable events

• Wynne Arboleda returned as an active player of the Air21 Express after he was reinstated by the Office of the Commissioner after serving eight months of suspension.^[19]

Elimination round

 y  – clinched outright semifinals,  x  – clinched outright quarterfinals,  w  – clinched wild card,  e  – eliminated

2010 PBA Fiesta Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	PD
1	y-Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters	15	3	.833	--
2	y-San Miguel Beermen	13	5	.722	2
3	x-Derby Ace Llamados	13	5	.722	2
4	x-Alaska Aces	11	7	.611	4
5	x-Barangay Ginebra Kings	9	9	.500	6
6	w-Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	9	9	.500	6
7	w-Coca-Cola Tigers	8	10	.444	7
8	w-Sta. Lucia Realtors	5	13	.278	10
9	w-Air21 Express	4	14	.222	11
10	Barako Energy Coffee Masters	3	15	.167	10

NA* = teams tied for 2nd and 3rd, 5th and 6th, and 8th and 9th would have to play an extra game regardless of the results of their classification round games. For all other ties, they are broken via point differential from the games among the tied teams. If they are still tied, point differential from all games will be considered.

Playoffs

Wildcard phase Knockout games										Quarterfinals Best of 5 series					Semifinals Best of 7 series					Fiesta Cup Finals Best of 7 series
										3	Derby Ace	3
										6	Rain or Shine	2
6	Rain or Shine	92													3	Derby Ace	2
9	Air21	89													2	San Miguel	4
					6	Rain or Shine	98													2	San Miguel	2
					7	Coca-Cola	93													4	Alaska	4
7	Coca-Cola	100													1	Talk 'N Text	3
8	Sta. Lucia	84													4	Alaska	4			Third-place playoff
										4	Alaska	3								3	Derby Ace	95
										5	Brgy. Ginebra	2								1	Talk 'N Text	113

Finals results

• Fiesta Conference Finals: (4) Alaska Aces (11-7) def. (2) San Miguel (13-5), 4 games to 2.
  • Finals MVP: Cyrus Baguio and LA Tenorio (Alaska)
• Third place: Talk 'N Text (def. Derby Ace 113-95 in a one-game playoff)
• Best Player of the Conference: Jay Washington (San Miguel)
• Best Import of the Conference: Gabe Freeman (San Miguel)

2010 PBA All-Star Weekend

The 2010 PBA All-Star Weekend was held from April 22 to 25 at the Puerto Princesa Coliseum, Puerto Princesa, Palawan.^[20] The winners were:

• Obstacle Challenge: Jonas Villanueva (San Miguel Beermen)
• Three-point Shootout: Mark Macapagal (Coca-Cola Tigers)
• Slam Dunk Competition: Niño Canaleta (Derby Ace Llamados)

Rookie-Sophomore Blitz Game

Solar TV / Basketball TV

April 23

Rookies 86, Sophomores 106
Scoring by quarter: 17-20, 31-20, 10-30, 29-36
Pts: Buenafe 25, Lanete 17, Cruz 14, Devance 14, Bono 10, Aljamal 8, Kramer 7, Eman 6.		Pts: Menor 19, Cruz 18, Urbiztondo 17, Ross 11, Marias 9, Timberlake 7, Arellano 6, Burtscher 0.
Jared Dillinger named the game's most valuable player.

Puerto Princesa Coliseum, Puerto Princesa, Palawan

All-Star Game

Solar TV / Basketball TV

April 27 6:30 p.m.

North All-Stars 133, South All-Stars 130
Scoring by quarter: 38-39, 38-30, 28-32, 29-29
Pts: Mark Cardona 20		Pts: Kelly Williams 17
Gabe Norwood named the All-Star Game MVP.

Puerto Princesa Coliseum, Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Individual awards

• Most Valuable Player: James Yap Derby Ace
• Rookie of the Year: Rico Maierhofer (Derby Ace)
• First Mythical Team:
  • LA Tenorio (Alaska)
  • James Yap (Derby Ace)
  • Jay Washington (San Miguel)
  • Arwind Santos (San Miguel)
  • Sonny Thoss (Alaska)
• Second Mythical Team:
  • Roger Yap (Derby Ace)
  • Mark Cardona (Talk 'N Text)
  • Joe Devance (Alaska)
  • Kelly Williams (Talk 'N Text)
  • Asi Taulava (Coca Cola)
• All-Defensive Team:
  • Arwind Santos (San Miguel)
  • Marc Pingris (Derby Ace)
  • Gabe Norwood (Rain or Shine)
  • Roger Yap (Derby Ace)
  • Ryan Reyes (Talk 'N Text)
• Most Improved Player: LA Tenorio (Alaska)
• Sportsmanship Award: Cyrus Baguio (Alaska)

Awards given by the PBA Press Corps

• Coach of the Year: Ryan Gregorio (B-Meg Derby Ace)
• Mr. Quality Minutes: KG Canaleta (B-Meg Derby Ace)
• Comeback Player of the Year: Kelly Williams (Talk 'N Text)
• Executive of the Year: Wilfred Uytengsu (Alaska)
• Referee of the Year: Manolito Quilingen
• All-Rookie Team
  • Rico Maierhofer (B-Meg Derby Ace)
  • Josh Urbiztondo (Sta. Lucia)
  • Ronnie Matias (Air21)
  • Ogie Menor (Barako Bull)
  • Jervy Cruz (Rain or Shine)

Cumulative standings

	Champion
	Second place
	Third place
	Semifinalist
	Quarterfinalist
	Wildcard qualifier
	Elimination round

Team	GP	W	L	PCT	Best finish
Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters	49	32	17	.653	Third place
San Miguel Beermen	56	36	20	.643	Runners-up
Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants/Derby Ace Llamados	64	41	23	.641	Champions
Alaska Aces	62	39	23	.629	Champions
Barangay Ginebra Kings	52	27	25	.519	Semifinalist
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	51	21	30	.412	Quarterfinalist
Coca-Cola Tigers	40	16	24	.400	2nd wildcard round
Sta. Lucia Realtors	38	15	23	.395	1st wildcard round
Air21 Express/Burger King Whoppers	38	10	28	.263	1st wildcard round
Barako Energy Coffee Masters/Barako Bull Energy Boosters	36	7	29	.194	Elimination round

Elimination/classification rounds

Team	W	L	PCT
San Miguel Beermen	26	10	.722
Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters	26	10	.722
Derby Ace Llamados/Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants	25	11	.694
Alaska Aces	24	12	.667
Barangay Ginebra Kings	21	15	.583
Sta. Lucia Realtors	15	21	.417
Coca-Cola Tigers	14	22	.389
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	13	23	.361
Air21 Express/Burger King Whoppers	10	26	.278
Barako Energy Coffee Masters/Barako Bull Energy Boosters	7	29	.194

Playoffs

Team	W	L	PCT
Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants	16	12	.577
Alaska Aces	15	11	.577
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	8	7	.533
San Miguel Beermen	10	10	.500
Coca-Cola Tigers	2	2	.500
Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters	6	7	.462
Barangay Ginebra Kings	6	10	.375
Sta. Lucia Realtors	0	2	.000
Air21 Express/Burger King Whoppers	0	2	.000
Barako Energy Coffee Masters/Barako Bull Energy Boosters	0	0	NA

References

1. Arwind to SMB!, Zean Macamay and Gerry Ramos, Journal Online
2. Pingris back to Giants as PBA teams continue off-season buildup, GMANews.tv
3. Trades continue: Villanueva, Alvarez to Kings; Artadi, Reavis to Giants, GMANews.tv
4. Realtors part ways with 'Denok', Noli Cortez, Malaya Online Edition
5. Realtors remain competitive, Rey Joble, Manila Standard Today
6. Fil-Am Hrabak offered frontline job by Painters, Manila Bulletin
7. "Exec: New rules to make PBA games more exciting". GMANEWS.TV. Archived from the original on 22 October 2009. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
8. PBA modifies some rules for Season 35, Malaya Online Edition.
9. 4 PBA greats, Jun B head Hall of Fame honorees, The Philippine Star.
10. Aguilar back with RP Gilas, to play against Whopper Friday, GMANews.tv
11. PBA suspends Arboleda for rest of the season, GMANews.tv
12. PBA renders Smart Gilas games no bearing, GMANews.tv
13. "Talk ‘N Text walks out of q’final game vs Ginebra". 2010-02-05. Archived from the original on 8 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
14. Talk ‘N Text fined over P1M for walkout vs Ginebra, GMANews.tv
15. Air21 gets De Ocampo, Ritualo in 5-player deal, GMANews.tv
16. Air21 ships Yancy to Ginebra for Alvarez, Kramer, GMANews.tv
17. Name dropping: Burger King is Air21 again, GMANews.tv
18. PBA sets hefty P10M fine for future walkouts, GMANews.tv
19. Arboleda returns, Guiao takes a leave for slumping Express, GMANews.tv
20. ALL-STAR POLL AT VENUES, ONLINE, PBA.ph

External links

• PBA.ph