The 2015–16 PBA season was the 41st season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The league continued to use the three-conference format, starting with the Philippine Cup. The Commissioner's Cup and the Governors' Cup were the second and third conferences of the season.
This season was also the first season of Chito Narvasa as the PBA commissioner when Chito Salud announced his resignation at the end of the 2014–15 season. Salud remained with the PBA as he was the new president and CEO of the league. However, on December 1, 2015, Salud announced his resignation as president and CEO of the PBA that took effect at the end of December 2015, passing both President and CEO positions to Narvasa.
The first event of the season was the 2015 PBA draft which was held on August 23.
This season currently holds the record for most games played in a season, having 266 games played throughout the whole year. It surpassed the previous record of 257 games, previously set during the previous season.
Executive board Chito Narvasa (Commissioner/President/CEO) Robert Non (Chairman, representing San Miguel Beermen) Eric Arejola (Vice-chairman, representing GlobalPort Batang Pier) Ramoncito Fernandez (Treasurer, representing NLEX Road Warriors)
Teams Team Company Governor Coach Captain Alaska Aces Alaska Milk Corporation Richard Bachmann Alex Compton Tony dela Cruz Barako Bull Energy* Energy Food and Drinks Inc. Manny Alvarez Koy Banal JC Intal Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. Alfrancis Chua Tim Cone Mark Caguioa Blackwater Elite Ever Bilena Cosmetics, Inc. Silliman Sy Leo Isaac Reil Cervantes GlobalPort Batang Pier Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. Eric Arejola Johnedel Cardel Billy Mamaril Mahindra Enforcer Columbian Autocar Corporation Tomas Alvarez Manny Pacquiao Niño Canaleta Meralco Bolts Manila Electric Company Al Panlilio Norman Black Jimmy Alapag NLEX Road Warriors Metro Pacific Investments Corporation Ramoncito Fernandez Boyet Fernandez Asi Taulava Phoenix Fuel Masters** Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc. Dennis Uy Ariel Vanguardia Willy Wilson Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Asian Coatings Philippines, Inc. Mamerto Mondragon Yeng Guiao Jireh Ibañes San Miguel Beermen San Miguel Brewery, Inc. Robert Non Leo Austria Arwind Santos Star Hotshots San Miguel Pure Foods Company, Inc. Rene Pardo Jason Webb Rafi Reavis TNT KaTropa Smart Communications Victorico Vargas Jong Uichico Ranidel de Ocampo
* - Participated for the 2015–16 PBA Philippine Cup ** - Barako Bull was sold to Phoenix Petroleum in January 2016. Participated beginning the 2016 PBA Commissioner's Cup.
Arenas
Like several Metro Manila-centric leagues, most games are held at arenas within Metro Manila, and sometimes, Antipolo. Games outside this area are called "out-of-town" games, and are usually played on Saturdays. Provincial arenas usually host one game, rarely two; these arenas typically host only once per season, but could return occasionally.
Main arenas Arena CityCuneta Astrodome PasayFiloil Flying V Centre San JuanMall of Asia Arena PasayPhilSports Arena PasigSmart Araneta Coliseum Quezon CityYnares Center Antipolo
Out-of-town arenas Aside from games outside Metro Manila and Antipolo, the PBA played two games outside the Philippines, in Dubai. It was the third time the league held games in the United Arab Emirates. Arena City Date Match-upUniversity of Southeastern Philippines Gym Davao City October 24, 2015 San Miguel vs. GlobalPort April 2, 2016 Star vs. AlaskaZabeel Stadium Dubai November 6, 2015 Mahindra vs. Alaska November 7, 2015 Alaska vs. Barangay GinebraQuezon Convention Center Lucena November 14, 2015 TNT vs. Star January 22, 2016 San Miguel vs. Alaska July 30, 2016 Barangay Ginebra vs. Meralco Angeles University Foundation Gym Angeles City December 5, 2015 Barangay Ginebra vs. BlackwaterAlonte Sports Arena Biñan, Laguna February 20, 2016 Mahindra vs. San MiguelNLEX vs. Star September 18, 2016 Blackwater vs. San MiguelTNT vs. Barangay GinebraIbalong Centrum for Recreation Legazpi, Albay March 5, 2016 San Miguel vs. Meralco August 27, 2016 Rain or Shine vs. GlobalPortPanabo Multi-Purpose Tourism, Cultural, and Sports Center Panabo, Davao del Norte March 19, 2016 Barangay Ginebra vs. Phoenix August 20, 2016 Alaska vs. Star Puerto Princesa Coliseum Puerto Princesa April 9, 2016 TNT vs. Mahindra Batangas City Coliseum Batangas City September 3, 2016 TNT vs. San Miguel
Transactions
Retirement August 23, 2015: Danny Ildefonso officially announced his retirement after playing 17 seasons in the PBA.Former 2-time PBA MVP Danny Ildefonso officially retires, Alder Almo, The Philippine Star, August 24, 2015 August 25, 2015: T.Y. Tang officially announced his retirement after playing 7 seasons in the PBA, all of them with the Rain or Shine franchise.TY Tang retires from PBA at age 30, citing need to focus on family business, Snow Badua, spin.ph, August 25, 2015 October 14, 2015: Paul Artadi officially announced his retirement after playing 12 seasons in the PBA. His retirement was announced upon submitting his certificate of candidacy to run as councilor for San Juan in the 2016 elections.'Anak ng San Juan' Paul Artadi ends PBA career at 34, vies for city council seat, Snow Badua, spin.ph, October 14, 2015 November 25, 2015: Don Allado officially announced his retirement after playing 16 seasons in the PBA.Don Allado retires from basketball after 16 years, Randolph Leongson, PBA.inquirer.net, November 25, 2015
Coaching changes
Offseason July 20, 2015: Barangay Ginebra San Miguel fired head coach Frankie Lim. He was replaced by Star Hotshots coach Tim Cone. Cone's assistant from Star, Richard del Rosario, joins him in his transfer to Ginebra, as well. July 20, 2015: Assistant coach Jason Webb was promoted as the head coach of the Star Hotshots.
Commissioner's Cup April 28, 2016: Coach Chito Victolero resigned as interim head coach of Manny Pacquiao of the Mahindra Enforcer. April 29, 2016: The Mahindra Enforcer appointed Chris Gavina as their first assistant coach to replace the interim head coach slot vacated by resigned Chito Victolero. May 31, 2016: The Phoenix Fuel Masters hired Ariel Vanguardia as replacement for head coach Koy Banal.
Notable events
Pre-season July 16: Columbian Autocar Corporation (CAC) announced that they had changed their team name from Kia Carnival to Mahindra Enforcer. September 19: PBA Commissioner Chito Narvasa officially banned sportswriter Snow Badua from covering the league's activities due to his personal "baseless" attacks against Barangay Ginebra board governor Alfrancis Chua. October 14: The PBA Board, unanimously approved the memo that supported the Gilas Pilipinas in their participation in the Olympic qualifying tournament, that was held in July 2016, in lieu of this, 17 PBA players constituted the player pool of the Tab Baldwin-mentored national squad. October 14: The board of governors approved to adjust the league calendar to accommodate the preparation of the Philippines men's national basketball team for the 2016 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The Commissioner's Cup was extended until May 2016, then the league took a break for the duration of the qualifiers. The season's Governors' Cup will be held after the qualifiers and will finish around October 2016.PBA facing year-long season after giving way to Gilas stint in Olympic wildcard qualifiers, Gerry Ramos, spin.ph, October 14, 2015 The PBA launched their first 3x3 basketball tournament that catered for women's basketball players on October 23. Each active PBA team was represented by one women's team composed of four players. The women's 3x3 tournament games were to be played in between of the first and second games of the Wednesday and Friday gamedays.
Philippine Cup The Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters silently changed their name to TNT Tropang Texters. This is after their mother company, Talk 'N Text was rebranded as "TNT" last September 2015. PBA Commissioner Chito Narvasa imposed an indefinite ban to Mahindra team consultant Joe Lipa, after the latter accused Narvasa of issuing degrading remarks against Mahindra player-coach Manny Pacquiao during a press conference in Dubai. Narvasa made a mandatory summon over Lipa's remarks, but Lipa did not honor it. December 1: PBA President and CEO Chito Salud resigned from his post effective December 31. He was replaced by current PBA chairman Robert Non who took over as president and CEO until the board finds his replacement. During an out of town game between Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Blackwater Elite at the AUF Gymnasium, Pampanga, Barangay Ginebra board governor Alfrancis Chua was seen using an e-cigarette while on the team's bench.Alfrancis Chua and the use of e-cigarettes while on the court , Alvin Fadul, hoops.ph, December 7, 2015 Since the game was broadcast live on national television, the Department of Health, the Philippine Sports Commission and Angeles University Foundation officials requested the PBA to take action on prohibiting the use of e-cigarettes on the team bench.AUF officials, PSC chairman Garcia not happy with Alfrancis Chua e-cigarette incident, Snow Badua, spin.ph, December 12, 2015 On December 13, 2015, PBA Commissioner Chito Narvasa issued a reprimand against Alfrancis Chua for the vaping incident.Narvasa reprimands ‘apologetic’ Chua over vaping incident, PBA.ph, December 13, 2015 In the final eight seconds of the overtime period of the knockout quarterfinal game between Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and GlobalPort Batang Pier, review showed that Stanley Pringle held the ball for over 5 seconds, which would have resulted in a five-second violation, but no call was made. After the final buzzer, the Batang Pier already went to the dugout, but Ginebra stayed behind. Ginebra fans, which were more than half of the crowd, were left stunned along with players and the Ginebra coaching staff. Head coach Tim Cone immediately went to center court and pleaded with the referees for a call or a review of the final 8-second possession of Globalport.Chaos at the MOA Arena Sports5, Youtube.com December 27, 2015 He then went to the scorer's table and signed the official scorecard, signifying the team's intent to file a protest with the game's result. He stayed mum after coming out of the dugout on whether they would actually file a protest. Under the league's rules, Barangay Ginebra had until 12 noon of December 28, 2015, to file a letter of protest together with a bond, which requires a minimum of P20,000. Barangay Ginebra did not send a formal protest to the PBA office as the 12 noon deadline lapsed on December 28. Commissioner Chito Narvasa said that the league summoned the four referees of the Ginebra-GlobalPort game, Edward Aquino, Rommel Gruta, Mardy Montoya and Bing Oliva, on December 29 and re-evaluated their performance during the quarterfinal game. According to the findings of the PBA technical committee on December 29, two violations were not called: the five-second ball-hogging violation and the backcourt violation committed by Stanley Pringle. Referees Edward Aquino and Rommel Gruta were therefore suspended for the rest of the Philippine Cup.2 erring referees in GlobalPort-Ginebra game suspended for rest of PH Cup, PBA.inquirer.net, December 29, 2015