1998–99 Philippine Basketball League season

The 1998–99 season of the Philippine Basketball League (PBL).

1998–99 PBL season
Duration	April 18, 1998 – January 21, 1999
Number of teams	7
TV partner(s)	Silverstar Sports (PTV)
Season MVP	Eric Menk Eric Menk
1st Centennial Cup champions	Tanduay Centennial Rhum Masters
1st Centennial Cup runners-up	Batang Red Bull Energy Kings
2nd Centennial Cup champions	Dr.J Rubbing Alcohol
2nd Centennial Cup runners-up	Tanduay Gold Rhum Masters

TV coverage

PTV 4, in partnership with Silverstar Sports as the line producer, covered the PBL games.

1998 (1st) Centennial Cup

Participating teams (coach)

• Batang Red Bull (Nat Canson)
• Dr.J Rubbing Alcohol (Leo Isaac)
• Zest-O Juice Drink (Mollet Pineda)
• Welcoat Paints (Gabby Velasco)
• Tanduay Centennial Rhum (Alfrancis Chua)
• Chowking Oriental Fastfood (Arturo Cristobal)
• Wilkins Distilled Water (Arlene Rodriguez)

Finals series

PTV-4

July 2

recap

Tanduay Centennial Rhum 70, Batang Red Bull 62

Makati Coliseum, Makati

PTV-4

July 4

recap

Tanduay Centennial Rhum 91, Batang Red Bull 75

Makati Coliseum, Makati

PTV-4

July 6

Tanduay Centennial Rhum 71, Batang Red Bull 65

Tanduay wins series, 3-0

Makati Coliseum, Makati

Tanduay scored a 3–0 sweep over Red Bull in the 1st Yakult-PBL Centennial Cup finals. The Rhum Masters clinch the title with a 71-65 victory in Game three.^[1]

1998-99 (2nd) Centennial Cup

Participating teams (coach)

• Batang Red Bull (Nat Canson)
• Dr.J Rubbing Alcohol/ANA Water Dispenser (Leo Isaac)
• Welcoat Paints (Gabby Velasco)
• Tanduay Centennial Rhum (Alfrancis Chua)
• Chowking Oriental Fastfood (Leo Austria)
• Blu Detergent *New team
• Paralux Auto Paints *New team

Finals series

PTV-4

January 11

Dr.J-ANA 62, Tanduay Gold Rhum 61

Makati Coliseum, Makati

PTV-4

January 14

Dr.J-ANA 75, Tanduay Gold Rhum 66

Makati Coliseum, Makati

PTV-4

January 16

Dr.J-ANA 56, Tanduay Gold Rhum 77

Makati Coliseum, Makati

PTV-4

January 18

Dr.J-ANA 57, Tanduay Gold Rhum 62

Makati Coliseum, Makati

PTV-4

January 21

Dr.J-ANA 62, Tanduay Gold Rhum 59

Dr.J-ANA wins series, 3-2

Makati Coliseum, Makati

Tanduay Rhum Masters strung up 18 straight victories (18-0) in the 2nd Yakult-PBL Centennial Cup, before newcomer Blu Detergents halted their winning run. Tanduay wound up with a 19–1 win–loss record going into the finals.

Dr.J/ANA Water Dispenser won their first-ever PBL crown with a 3-2 series win over Tanduay and denied the Rhum Masters on what could have been a grand exit for the multi-titled ballclub as the Lucio Tan franchise leaped to the pro ranks.^[2]

All-Star game

A PBL All-Star game was held in December 1998, Tanduay's Eric Menk leads the PBL-UAAP selection while Asi Taulava of Blu Detergent beef up the PBL-NCAA Hapee selection. The North vs South All-Star game had Yakult-South being coach by Leo Austria while the North All-Stars was handled by Gabby Velasco.

Women's Philippine Basketball League (WPBL)

PBL Commissioner Yeng Guiao came up with the formation of the first-ever women's league in the PBL in mid-October to spice up the 2nd conference, among the teams which participated in the Women's Philippine Basketball League are Dr J/Ana Dispenser, Dreyers Ice Cream, Welcoat Paints, Ever Bilena, Tanduay, Chowking and Paralux/Ironcon. Notable WPBL cagebelles were former RP team members Mitchell Jimenez (Paralux), Ana Marie Tinasas (Dreyers), Joanna Franquelli (Ana Dispenser), Mary Ellen Caasi and Cherry Maralit (Welcoat), and four-time SEA games campaigner and silver medal winning-RP team in the Chiang Mai games, Julie Amos of Ever Bilena.

On December 28, 1998, Ever Bilena won the first Birch Tree-Women's PBL crown with a nail-biting 52-51 victory over Chowking at the Makati Coliseum.^[3]