PBA Philippine Cup 2014-15: Dates, Schedule, Bracket Format and Teams
The PBA Philippine Cup is swinging into high gear this week and will continue on through Dec. 9. There are a total of 66 games during the single-round elimination, round-robin portion of the event. You can see the entire schedule for the round-robin games at PBA-online.net.
There are 12 total teams in the event, and all teams will meet head-to-head once. Here's a list of the teams included in the competition:
| Alaska Aces | 3 | 2000 |
| Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 3 | 2006-07 |
| Kia Sorento | ||
| Meralco Bolts | ||
| NLEX Road Warriors | ||
| San Miguel Beermen | 4 | 2001 |
| Barako Bull Energy | ||
| Blackwater Elite | ||
| GlobalPort Batang Pier | ||
| Purefoods Star Hotshots | 6 | 2013-14 |
| Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | ||
| Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters | 5 | 2012-13 |
The teams will be seeded based on their win-loss records in the head-to-head competitions. In the case of a tie, point differential decides which team has the higher seed.
The two teams with the best record will bypass the wild-card and quarterfinal rounds. The bottom two teams will be eliminated.
Wild-card rounds consist of the eight teams seeded beneath the top two and above the bottom squads that failed to qualify for advancement.
The wild-card round is slanted in favor of the higher seeds. Teams seeded from Nos. 3-6 will have two opportunities to eliminate its opponent. If the lower seed wins the first two games, it will advance. Here's how those matchups will be structured:
- Wild card 1: No. 3 vs. No. 10
- Wild card 2: No. 4 vs. No. 9
- Wild card 3: No. 5 vs. No. 8
- Wild card 4: No. 6 vs. No. 7
The winners of the wild-card round will advance to the best-of-three quarterfinal round. In that round, the winner from WC1 will face the winner of WC4, while WC2's victor will play WC3.
The semifinal round ushers back the top two seeds from the single-elimination opening round back into the mix. The top seed faces the winner from the first quarterfinals matchup. The second seed meets the other quarterfinals winner. Both of these matchups are best-of-seven series.
So too is the final round that determines the champion of the Philippine Cup.
Distinctive Structure
This event does not allow the teams included to hire foreign players or to use imports, a distinction which sets the Philippine Cup apart from other basketball tournaments that take place outside of the United States.
It helps to firmly establish the sport's growing popularity in the Philippines by giving local stars a national platform to display their talents.
Teams to Watch
Purefoods
The reigning and defending champions are still one of the teams that figures to advance deep into the tournament, but a recent injury does complicate their journey. Ian Sangalang partially tore his ACL, per ABS-CBS News, and his absence will be felt by the team in the Philippine Cup.
Per the report, Sangalang is expected to miss six months, which would keep him out of action for the entire tournament. The 6'8", 22-year-old was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 PBA draft and was a key contributor to his team's drive toward a title in the last Philippine Cup. As a rookie last season, he averaged 7.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest.
Even more was expected of him this year. It will be interesting to see if Purefoods can replace his production in the paint.
Talk 'N Text
Talk 'N Text has won five Philippine Cups. Only Purefoods has won more in the history of the competition. The squad didn't get off to a strong start in the round-robin play, though.
It was blown out 101-81 by Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on the opening day of play. Talk 'N Text shot just 20 percent from the field and was outrebounded 63-50. If the team wants to add to its championship total, it'll need to shore up its shooting and rebounding efficiently.
