1999 PBA season

Duration	February 7 – December 12, 1999
Number of teams	9
TV partner(s)	VTV (IBC)
1999 PBA Draft
Top draft pick	Sonny Alvarado
Picked by	Tanduay Rhum Masters
Season MVP	Benjie Paras (Shell Velocity)
All-Filipino Cup champions	Formula Shell Zoom Masters
All-Filipino Cup runners-up	Tanduay Rhum Masters
Commissioner's Cup champions	San Miguel Beermen
Commissioner's Cup runners-up	Formula Shell Zoom Masters
Governors Cup champions	San Miguel Beermen
Governors Cup runners-up	Alaska Milkmen
Seasons
← 1998 2000 →

The 1999 PBA season was the 25th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Season highlights

A new era began with the entry of Fil-foreign cagers such as Asi Taulava and Eric Menk.
During the opening ceremonies, the PBA honored basketball greats in their respective era as the all-time first five, nominated in each decade from 1950s–1990s were Caloy Loyzaga, Narciso Bernardo, Robert Jaworski, Hector Calma and Alvin Patrimonio, surprisingly absent from the list was Ramon Fernandez, who was then the MBA Commissioner.
The opening ceremonies for the said season went head-to-head against the opening ceremonies of rival league, MBA, involving the TV network war. The PBA sought the alliance of GMA Network who facilitated their opening ceremonies while MBA used ABS-CBN's roster of stars for its opening ceremonies. The 1999 season's opening ceremonies is one of the highest rated TV Specials in Philippine TV.
The PBA transferred from the Cuneta Astrodome to the PhilSports Arena as their main playing venue.
The league changes their playdates from Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays to Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Friday games were still held exclusively at the Araneta Coliseum while the Sunday games are played at the PhilSports Arena.
The Tanduay Rhum Masters returned to the PBA after a 12-year absence.
During the off-season, the league allowed each team to have a direct-hire Filipino-Foreigner recruit as their answer to the increasing popularity of rival basketball league, the Metropolitan Basketball Association.^[1]
Formula Shell became the 10th team to win the All-Filipino crown, and won their first back-to-back championships, the underdog Shell team led by Benjie Paras, Victor Pablo and Gerry Esplana, defied the odds by beating the stronger Tanduay ballclub, composed of powerhouse rookies Sonny Alvarado, Mark Telan, Chris Cantonjos and Eric Menk.
The San Miguel Beermen, under new coach Jong Uichico, ended a five-year title-drought and won the final two conferences of the season to tie the legendary Crispa Redmanizers for the most championships with 13.

Opening ceremonies

The muses for the participating teams are as follows:

Team	Muse
Alaska Milkmen
Barangay Ginebra Kings	Ruffa Gutierrez
Formula Shell Zoom Masters	Francine Prieto
Pop Cola 800s	Cris Villonco
Mobiline Phone Pals
Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs
San Miguel Beermen	Aileen Damiles
Sta. Lucia Realtors
Tanduay Rhum Masters	Ara Mina

1999 PBA All-Filipino Cup

Main article: 1999 PBA All-Filipino Cup

Elimination round

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Mobiline Phone Pals	11	5	.688	—	Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals
2	Alaska Milkmen	9	7	.563^[a]	2
3	Tanduay Gold Rhum Masters	9	7	.563^[a]	2
4	Formula Shell Zoom Masters	9	7	.563^[a]	2
5	San Miguel Beermen	8	8	.500	3	Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals
6	Pop Cola 800s	7	9	.438^[b]	4
7	Purefoods TJ Hotdogs	7	9	.438^[b]	4
8	Barangay Ginebra Kings	6	10	.375^[c]	5
9	Sta. Lucia Realtors	6	10	.375^[c]	5

Source: PBA.ph
Notes:

^ ^a ^b ^c Head-to-head differential: Alaska +11, Tanduay +8, Shell −19
^ ^a ^b Head-to-head record: Pop Cola 2–0 Purefoods
^ ^a ^b Eighth-seed playoff: Barangay Ginebra 77–74 Sta. Lucia

Playoffs


Quarterfinals				Semifinals (Best-of-5)			Finals (Best-of-7)

#1 twice-to-beat

1	Mobiline	67	81

8	Brgy. Ginebra	81	82
				8	Brgy. Ginebra	0
#4 twice-to-beat
				4	Formula Shell	3
4	Formula Shell		79

5	San Miguel		73
							4	Formula Shell	4
#2 twice-to-beat
							3	Tanduay	2
2	Alaska	74	W

7	Purefoods	86	L
				2	Alaska	1	Third place playoff
#3 twice-to-beat
				3	Tanduay	3
3	Tanduay		91
							8	Brgy. Ginebra	95
6	Pop Cola		77
							2	Alaska	73

Finals

Main article: 1999 PBA All-Filipino Cup Finals

Team 1	Series	Team 2	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7
(3) Tanduay Rhum Masters	4–2	(4) Shell Turbo Chargers	91–84	76–79	81–91	87–65	68–75	76–85	—

1999 PBA Commissioner's Cup

Main article: 1999 PBA Commissioner's Cup

Elimination round

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Alaska Milkmen	6	2	.750	—	Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals
2	Formula Shell Zoom Masters	5	3	.625	1
3	Sta. Lucia Realtors	5	3	.625	1
4	San Miguel Beermen	5	3	.625	1
5	Tanduay Rhum Masters	5	3	.625	1	Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals
6	Barangay Ginebra Kings	3	5	.375	3
7	Purefoods TJ Hotdogs	3	5	.375	3
8	Mobiline Phone Pals	3	5	.375	3
9	Pop Cola 800s	1	7	.125	5

Source: PBA.ph

Playoffs


Quarterfinals				Semifinals (Best-of-5)			Finals (Best-of-7)

#1 twice-to-beat

1	Alaska		88

8	Mobiline		77
				1	Alaska	2
#4 twice-to-beat
				4	San Miguel	3
4	San Miguel		73

5	Tanduay		67
							4	San Miguel	4
#2 twice-to-beat
							2	Formula Shell	2
2	Formula Shell	71	65

7	Purefoods	78	58
				2	Formula Shell	3	Third place playoff
#3 twice-to-beat
				3	Sta. Lucia	2
3	Sta. Lucia		96
							1	Alaska	93
6	Barangay Ginebra		75
							3	Sta. Lucia	88

Finals

Main article: 1999 PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals

Team 1	Series	Team 2	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7
(2) Shell Turbo Chargers	2–4	(4) San Miguel Beermen	64–68	68–78	89–87 (OT)	77–72	85–89	64–74	—

1999 PBA Governors' Cup

Main article: 1999 PBA Governors' Cup

Elimination round

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Purefoods TJ Hotdogs	7	1	.875^[a]	—	Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals
2	Tanduay Rhum Masters	7	1	.875^[a]	—
3	San Miguel Beermen	6	2	.750	1
4	Alaska Milkmen	5	3	.625	2
5	Shell Velocity	4	4	.500	3	Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals
6	Sta. Lucia Realtors	3	5	.375^[b]	4
7	Mobiline Phone Pals	3	5	.375^[b]	4
8	Barangay Ginebra Kings	1	7	.125	6
9	Pop Cola 800s	0	8	.000	7

Source: PBA.ph
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Head-to-head record: Purefoods 1–0 Tanduay
^ ^a ^b Head-to-head record: Sta. Lucia 1–0 Mobiline

Playoffs


Quarterfinals				Semifinals (Best-of-5)			Finals (Best-of-7)

#1 twice-to-beat

1	Purefoods		80

8	Brgy. Ginebra		74
				1	Purefoods	0
#4 twice-to-beat
				4	Alaska	3
4	Alaska		77

5	Shell Velocity		65
							4	Alaska	2
#2 twice-to-beat
							3	San Miguel	4
2	Tanduay	78	84

7	Mobiline	93	75
				2	Tanduay	0	Third place playoff
#3 twice-to-beat
				3	San Miguel	3
3	San Miguel		82
							1	Purefoods	92
6	Sta.Lucia		66
							2	Tanduay	101

Finals

Team 1	Series	Team 2	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7
(3) San Miguel Beermen	4–2	(4) Alaska Aces	87–80 (2OT)	62–73	82–88	76–65	74–68	72–69	—

Awards

Most Valuable Player: Benjie Paras (Shell)
Rookie of the Year: Danny Seigle (San Miguel)
Sportsmanship Award: Rey Evangelista (Purefoods)
Most Improved Player: Elmer Lago (Ginebra)
Defensive Player of the Year: Chris Jackson (Formula Shell)
Mythical Five
- Johnny Abarrientos (Alaska)
- Jeffrey Cariaso (Mobiline)
- Sonny Alvarado (Tanduay)
- Benjie Paras (Shell)
- Danny Seigle (San Miguel)
Mythical Second Team
- Olsen Racela (San Miguel)
- Danny Ildefonso (San Miguel)
- Eric Menk (Tanduay)
- Jojo Lastimosa (Alaska)
- Kenneth Duremdes (Alaska)
All Defensive Team
- Chris Jackson (Shell)
- Freddie Abuda (San Miguel)
- Johnny Abarrientos (Alaska)
- Dindo Pumaren (Purefoods)
- Eric Menk (Tanduay)

Awards given by the PBA Press Corps

Coach of the Year:Perry Ronquillo (Shell)
Mr. Quality Minutes: Rodney Santos (Alaska)
Executive of the Year: Jun Bernardino (PBA commissioner)
Comeback Player of the Year: Benjie Paras (Shell)
Referee of the Year: Ernie de Leon

Cumulative standings

Team	GP	W	L	PCT
San Miguel Beermen	55	35	20	.636
Alaska Milkmen	56	32	24	.571
Formula Shell Zoom Masters / Shell Velocity	56	32	24	.571
Tanduay Gold Rhum Masters	50	28	22	.560
Mobiline Phone Pals	37	18	19	.487
Sta. Lucia Realtors	42	18	24	.429
Purefoods TJ Hotdogs	51	20	31	.392
Barangay Ginebra Kings	42	15	27	.358
Pop Cola 800s	33	8	25	.242

References

^ Tighter PBA rules on imported cagers, Philippine Headline News Online

1999 PBA season

Team seasons

Succession

1998

All-Filipino Cup

2000

1998

Commissioner's Cup
2000

1998

Governors' Cup
2000

v t e Philippine Basketball Association seasons
1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2019 2020 2021 2022–23 2023–24