The 2025–26 PBA season, also referred to as PBA season 50 or PBA 50, is the 50th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The season began on October 5, 2025, and is set to conclude in December 2026.
The first activity of the season was the PBA season 50 draft on September 7, 2025. The Philippine Cup acts as the season-opening conference. This is then followed by the Commissioner's Cup and the season-ending Governors' Cup.
This is also be the first season of competition for the Titan Ultra Giant Risers, after Pureblends Corporation acquired the NorthPort Batang Pier franchise in October.
The 2026 PBA All-Star Weekend was held from March 6 to 8, 2026 in Candon, Ilocos Sur.
50th anniversary events The league's golden anniversary celebrations continued into this season. The season logo in gold was unveiled on February 10. There will also be a reunion of its 50 Greatest Players for the opening ceremony, ten of which were added last season.
The league also renamed the Finals Most Valuable Player award, with 19-time champion Ramon Fernandez becoming the award's namesake beginning with the 2025–26 Philippine Cup finals.
The league played international games for the first time since the 2019 season. A selection of games were held in the United Arab Emirates and in Bahrain throughout the season, with a game in Guam also being considered. Also planned are exhibition games against teams from Japan's B.League.
Season changes The order of the league's three conferences was reverted to the traditional order for the first time since the 2022–23 PBA season. The Philippine Cup is the first conference of the season, after it was held as the last conference in each of the last two seasons. The Commissioner's Cup will be the second conference and the Governors' Cup will be the season-ending conference. The eighth-seed playoff game no longer be held, meaning that the final playoff berth always be determined by tiebreakers.
Due to the third window of 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifiers in July 2026 and the 2026 Asian Games in September, the league plans to hold a mid-season pocket tournament which will feature two foreign teams. Eastern, Macau Black Bears, and a team from Indonesia are among the teams which have expressed interest in taking part after previously seeking to compete in one of the conferences, though the Black Bears would end up joining for the Commissioner's Cup.
Rule changes The league introduced ten rule changes effective for this season. The changes are as follows:
Rule changes (effective from the 2025–26 PBA Philippine Cup) The penalty situation will now apply if a team commits two fouls in the last two minutes of any period, not just the fourth quarter. The technical committee will no longer be able to review potential goaltending or basket interference unless it is called by the referees. Two-, three- and four-point field goals can no longer be corrected after the game. Offensive fouls will now count as team fouls. Throwing the ball at a player's head while in plain sight to prevent a ball from going out of bounds will now result in a flagrant foul. Excessive elbows will now result in a technical foul instead of an offensive foul Players can recover their own airball and will no longer be called for traveling. Teams will now lose possession of the ball after calling excessive timeouts. Players are now allowed to huddle during a coach's challenge. Rule changes (effective from the 2026 PBA Governors' Cup) Jump ball will now be scrapped in favor of possession arrows to help the Philippines men's national basketball team familiarize the FIBA rules.
Apart from the aforementioned changes, Willie Marcial stated that the four-point line that was added in the previous season remain for "as long as [he's] commissioner."
Teams The Titan Ultra Giant Risers, a team owned by Pureblends Corporation, joined the league after acquiring the former NorthPort Batang Pier franchise during the off-season. Ahead of the Commissioner's Cup, the Phoenix Fuel Masters reverted their name back to Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters.
For guest teams, the Macau Black Knights, who are regular competitors in the East Asia Super League, would compete during the Commissioner's Cup and will return in the Governors' Cup, rebranding as Macau Giant Pandas.
TeamCompanyGovernorCoach Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. Alfrancis Chua Tim Cone Blackwater Bossing Ever Bilena Cosmetics, Inc. Silliman Sy Patrick Aquino (interim) Converge FiberXers Converge ICT Archen Cayabyab Dennis Pineda Macau Giant Pandas (guest team) Nenking Group Jacque Ruby Marcus Elliott Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc. Jason Webb LA Tenorio Meralco Bolts Manila Electric Company William Pamintuan Luigi Trillo NLEX Road Warriors Metro Pacific Investments Corporation Ronald Dulatre Jimmy Alapag Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc. Raymond Zorrilla Charles Tiu Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Asian Coatings Philippines, Inc. Mamerto Mondragon Yeng Guiao San Miguel Beermen San Miguel Brewery, Inc. Robert Non Leo Austria Terrafirma Dyip Terrafirma Realty Development Corporation Pido Jarencio Ronald Tubid Titan Ultra Giant Risers Pureblends Corporation Emilio Tiu Rensy Bajar TNT Tropang 5G Smart Communications Ricky Vargas Chot Reyes
Arenas
Main arenas Arena Location Capacity Ninoy Aquino Stadium Manila 6,000 Quadricentennial Pavilion Manila 5,792 SM Mall of Asia Arena Pasay 15,000 Smart Araneta Coliseum Quezon City 14,429 Ynares Center II Rodriguez, Rizal 8,000 Ynares Center Antipolo, Rizal 7,400
Out-of-town arenas Arena Location Date Match-up Ref. Chavit Coliseum Vigan, Ilocos Sur October 18, 2025 Converge vs. TNT Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. International Convention Center Cagayan de Oro November 15, 2025 Rain or Shine vs. TNT
International arenas Arena Country Location Date Match-up Ref. Coca-Cola Arena Dubai October 26, 2025 San Miguel vs. Barangay Ginebra Khalifa Sports City Arena Isa Town December 15, 2025 Magnolia vs. Rain or Shine December 17, 2025 Rain or Shine vs. Barangay Ginebra
Transactions
Retirement On July 3, 2025, Jared Dillinger officially retired after played for three teams in his 14 seasons in the league. He was a nine-time PBA champion and was part of the All-Rookie Team in 2009. On July 28, 2025, LA Tenorio retired as a full-time player after being tapped by the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots as its head coach. Tenorio played for three teams in his 18 seasons in the league. He was an eight-time champion, four-time Finals MVP, and four-time Mythical Team selection. While he was listed as a player in the Magnolia roster, he was put under the team's injury/reverse list. On December 20, 2025, he was activated by the Hotshots, becoming a player-coach. On September 15, 2025, Sean Anthony officially retired after played for eight teams in his 14 seasons in the league. He won Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 and was selected to the Mythical Team twice. On September 17, 2025, Chris Exciminiano and Ryan Reyes announced their retirements. Exciminiano played for three teams in his 8 seasons in the league, winning three championships and earning two All-Defensive Team selections. Reyes played for two teams in his 17 seasons in the league, winning eight championships and earning four All-Defensive Team selections. On October 3, 2025, JVee Casio officially retired after played for three teams in his 13 seasons in the league. He was a one-time champion with Alaska and was part of the All-Rookie Team in 2012. On October 9, 2025, Gabe Norwood announced that he would retire after the 2025–26 PBA Philippine Cup. On December 29, 2025, he officially retired after the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters was eliminated by the Meralco Bolts in a do-or-die game of the quarterfinal round. Norwood played his entire 17 seasons in the PBA with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, winning 2 championships and was the Rookie of the Year in 2009, selected to Second Mythical Team, and the All-Rookie Team in 2009, and earning 8 All-Defensive Team selections, including a Defensive Player of the Year award in 2010. He also served as an assistant coach for the team in 2025 up until his retirement.
Coaching changes Team Previous Replaced by Ref. Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots Chito Victolero LA Tenorio Phoenix Fuel Masters Jamike Jarin Willy Wilson Terrafirma Dyip Raymond Tiongco (interim) Ronald Tubid Converge FiberXers Franco Atienza (interim) Dennis Pineda NorthPort Batang Pier / Titan Ultra Giant Risers Bonnie Tan Johnedel Cardel Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters Willy Wilson Charles Tiu Titan Ultra Giant Risers Johnedel Cardel Rensy Bajar Macau Black Knights (guest team) Garrett Kelly Marcus Elliott Blackwater Bossing Jeffrey Cariaso Patrick Aquino (interim) NLEX Road Warriors Jong Uichico Jimmy Alapag
Notable events
Off-season July 17, 2025: The PBA approved a new rule that would ban players from playing in the league for three years if they play in other leagues, domestic or international, following the expiration of their contracts. The rule, however, wasn't reported until a month later in August. Players are exempt from the rule if were unrestricted free agents released by the team, not offered a new contract by the team they played in the previous season within 30 days of the expiration of their previous contract, or have played in the PBA for seven full seasons (21 conferences). July 18, 2025: The franchise sale of the Terrafirma Dyip was dropped after the team and the organization behind the Zamboanga Valientes mutually agreed to no longer push through with the acquisition. Despite the failed sale, Terrafirma continued to compete through this season.
Pre-season September 4, 2025: The ban imposed on Larry Muyang has been lifted after he was traded from Phoenix Fuel Masters to Converge FiberXers. September 10, 2025: Willie Marcial and Ricky Vargas have retained their positions as the league's commissioner and chairman, respectively. September 16, 2025: The PBA approved a new rule that prohibit future first overall picks from being traded for two seasons after they were drafted. Geo Chiu, the first overall pick in the season 50 draft, was the first player covered by this new rule. September 26, 2025: The Meralco Bolts unveiled a new logo, which is a simplified version of their previous mark. The team's new dark uniforms were unveiled the same day, featuring a new black base with blue accents across the jersey. A white version will be worn as the light uniform. Additionally, the 1971 Meralco Reddy Kilowatts jerseys, which were worn last season during the 50th anniversary games, will be added to the regular jersey rotation. October 1, 2025: Pureblends Corporation's sale of the NorthPort Batang Pier was completed. The team rebranded as the Titan Ultra Giant Risers.
Philippine Cup October 8, 2025: Titan Ultra played their first game as a franchise. They also got their first win as a franchise, a 100–96 victory against Meralco. November 8, 2025: The PBA announced that the games between the TNT vs. Magnolia and the Barangay Ginebra vs. Titan Ultra on November 9 had been postponed due to Typhoon Uwan (Fung-wong). The said games were later postponed to December 21, 6 weeks after, with TNT defeating Magnolia in the first game and Barangay Ginebra defeating Titan Ultra in the second game. January 9, 2026: TNT retired the jersey number of Ranidel de Ocampo (#33) during the halftime of Game 3 of the semifinals matchup against Meralco. January 12, 2026: Converge players Justine Baltazar, Mark Omega, and assistant coach Humperdink Dimatulac were all fined ₱20,000 each (totalling ₱60,000) for their “cooking gestures” during the Quarterfinals against Barangay Ginebra.