2015–16 PBA Philippine Cup

The 2015–16 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup, also known as the 2015–16 SmartBRO-PBA Philippine Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the first conference of the 2015–16 PBA season. The tournament started on October 21, 2015, and was finished on February 3, 2016. The tournament did not allow teams to hire foreign players or imports.

2015–16 PBA Philippine Cup
Duration	October 21, 2015 – February 3, 2016
TV partner(s)	Local: Sports5 TV5 Fox Sports Asia Cignal PPV (HD) Hyper (HD) International: AksyonTV International
Finals
Champions	San Miguel Beermen
Runners-up	Alaska Aces
Awards
Best Player	June Mar Fajardo (San Miguel Beermen)
Finals MVP	Chris Ross (San Miguel Beermen)
PBA Philippine Cup chronology
< 2014–15 2016–17 >
PBA conference chronology
< 2015 Governors' 2016 Commissioner's >

Format

The following format was observed for the duration of the conference:

• Single-round robin eliminations; 11 games per team; Teams are then seeded by basis on win–loss records. Ties are broken among the head-to-head records of the tied teams.
• The top two teams after the elimination round will automatically advance to the semifinals.
• The next eight teams will play in a double-phase quarterfinal round. The #3 to #6 seed will have twice-to-beat advantage against their opponent. Phase 1 matchups are:
  • QF1: #3 team vs. #10 team
  • QF2: #4 team vs. #9 team
  • QF3: #5 team vs. #8 team
  • QF4: #6 team vs. #7 team
• The winners of Phase 1 will advance to the knockout phase. The match ups are:
  • KO1: QF1 vs. QF4
  • KO2: QF2 vs. QF3
• The winners of the quarterfinals will challenge the top two teams in a best-of-seven semifinals series. Match ups are:
  • SF1: #1 vs. KO2
  • SF2: #2 vs. KO1
• The winners in the semifinals advance to the best of seven finals.

Elimination round

Team standings

Pos	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Alaska Aces	9	2	.818[a]	—	Advance to semifinals
2	San Miguel Beermen	9	2	.818[a]	—
3	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	8	3	.727	1	Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals
4	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	7	4	.636[b]	2
5	GlobalPort Batang Pier	7	4	.636[b]	2
6	TNT Tropang Texters	6	5	.545	3
7	NLEX Road Warriors	5	6	.455[c]	4	Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals
8	Barako Bull Energy	5	6	.455[c]	4
9	Star Hotshots	4	7	.364	5
10	Blackwater Elite	3	8	.273	6
11	Mahindra Enforcer	2	9	.182	7
12	Meralco Bolts	1	10	.091	8

Source: PBA.ph
Notes:

1. Head-to-head record: Alaska 1–0 San Miguel
2. Head-to-head record: Barangay Ginebra 1–0 GlobalPort
3. Head-to-head record: NLEX 1–0 Barako Bull

Schedule

Team ╲ Game	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Alaska Aces	TNT	BW	MAH	BGSM	GP	SH	NLEX	MER	ROS	SMB	BBE
Barako Bull Energy	NLEX	BGSM	GP	MER	MAH	SMB	ROS	TNT	BW	SH	ALA
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	SH	BBE	ALA	SMB	MER	MAH	GP	ROS	BW	NLEX	TNT
Blackwater Elite	NLEX	ALA	MER	SMB	ROS	TNT	GP	BGSM	BBE	SH	MAH
GlobalPort Batang Pier	SMB	SH	BBE	ROS	ALA	BGSM	BW	NLEX	MER	MAH	TNT
Mahindra Enforcer	ROS	TNT	ALA	NLEX	BBE	BGSM	MER	SMB	SH	GP	BW
Meralco Bolts	SMB	BW	TNT	BBE	BGSM	SH	NLEX	MAH	ALA	GP	ROS
NLEX Road Warriors	BW	BBE	SH	MAH	TNT	MER	ALA	GP	SMB	BGSM	ROS
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	SH	MAH	SMB	GP	BW	BBE	BGSM	TNT	ALA	MER	NLEX
San Miguel Beermen	GP	MER	ROS	BW	BGSM	BBE	SH	MAH	NLEX	TNT	ALA
Star Hotshots	ROS	BGSM	GP	NLEX	TNT	MER	ALA	SMB	MAH	BBE	BW
TNT Tropang Texters	ALA	MAH	MER	SH	NLEX	BW	BBE	ROS	SMB	GP	BGSM

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
  = Win;   = OT win;   = Loss;   = OT loss

Results

Team	ALA	BBE	BGSM	BWE	GP	MAH	MER	NLEX	ROS	SMB	SH	TNT
Alaska		108–100	92–93	87–79	123–104	98–94	88–86	89–81	105–111	103–97	107–102	114–98
Barako Bull	—		82–79	92–116	91–105*	93–85	108–106	85–93	104–110	105–106	101–83	105–98*
Barangay Ginebra	—	—		102–94**	85–70	80–76	89–64	91–90	86–94	82–100	78–86	91–84
Blackwater	—	—	—		105–120	108–99	92–90	86–90	81–103	83–93	89–102	98–109
GlobalPort	—	—	—	—		118–116*	108–104	96–90	113–111	86–97	101–94	96–107
Mahindra	—	—	—	—	—		86–83	103–93	94–108	86–102	96–104	97–101
Meralco	—	—	—	—	—	—		91–93	87–97	85–101	87–83	91–105
NLEX	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		111–106	80–88*	95–97	107–101
Rain or Shine	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		99–84	96–87	85–95
San Miguel	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		101–90	97–84
Star	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		86–91
TNT	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Legend: Blue = left column team win; Red = top row team win.
Matches with lighter background shading were decided after overtime.

Bracket

	Quarterfinals (1st phase) (Higher seeds twice-to-beat)					Quarterfinals (2nd phase) (Single elimination)					Semifinals (Best-of-7)					Finals (Best-of-7)
	3	Rain or Shine	95
											2	San Miguel	4
	10	Blackwater	90
						3	Rain or Shine	104			3	Rain or Shine	2
						6	TNT	89
	6	TNT	90
																2	San Miguel	4
	7	NLEX	88
																1	Alaska	3
	4	Barangay Ginebra	92*
											1	Alaska	4
	9	Star	89
						4	Barangay Ginebra	83			5	GlobalPort	1
						5	GlobalPort	84*
	5	GlobalPort	94
	8	Barako Bull	85

*Game went into overtime

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Quarterfinals

First phase

In this round, the higher-seeded team in the series has the twice-to-beat advantage.

(3) Rain or Shine vs. (10) Blackwater

December 26

Boxscore

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 95, Blackwater Elite 90
Scoring by quarter: 17–14, 27–20, 25–26, 26–30
Pts: Chan 17 Rebs: Belga 10 Asts: Belga, Chan 4		Pts: Lastimosa 35 Rebs: Ballesteros, Erram 8 Asts: Lastimosa 5
Rain or Shine wins series in one game

Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Referees: J. Mariano, P. Balao, M. Montoya, M. Flordeliza

(4) Barangay Ginebra vs. (9) Star

December 25

Boxscore

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 92, Star Hotshots 89 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 21–18, 17–19, 16–25, 26–18, Overtime: 12–9
Pts: Mercado 17 Rebs: Aguilar 14 Asts: Tenorio 6		Pts: Simon 17 Rebs: Reavis 12 Asts: three players 2
Barangay Ginebra wins series in one game

Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Attendance: 21,808 Referees: M. Quilingen, E. Aquino, R. Yante, R. Dacanay

(5) GlobalPort vs. (8) Barako Bull

December 25

Boxscore

GlobalPort Batang Pier 94, Barako Bull Energy 85
Scoring by quarter: 21–25, 20–23, 28–16, 25–21
Pts: Romeo 33 Rebs: Pringle 13 Asts: Romeo 5		Pts: Wilson 15 Rebs: Wilson 15 Asts: Wilson 5
GlobalPort wins series in one game

Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Attendance: 21,808 Referees: J. Mariano, S. Pineda, R. Gruta, A. Guevarra

(6) TNT vs. (7) NLEX

December 26

Boxscore

TNT Tropang Texters 90, NLEX Road Warriors 88
Scoring by quarter: 11–21, 25–15, 25–31, 29–21
Pts: Rosario 20 Rebs: Fonacier, Williams 8 Asts: Castro, R. Reyes 4		Pts: Taulava 22 Rebs: Anthony 13 Asts: Cardona, J. Villanueva 3
TNT wins series in one game

Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Referees: A. Herrera, E. Tangkion, J. Marabe, R. Yante

Second phase

This is a one-game playoff. The winner advances to the semifinals.

(3) Rain or Shine vs. (6) TNT

December 28

Boxscore

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 104, TNT Tropang Texters 89
Scoring by quarter: 26–21, 26–24, 32–31, 20–13
Pts: Almazan 15 Rebs: Almazan, Ponferada 10 Asts: Belga 7		Pts: Castro 25 Rebs: Castro 11 Asts: Castro 4

Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Referees: A. Herrera, R. Marabe, E. Tangkion, J. Narandan

(4) Barangay Ginebra vs. (5) GlobalPort

December 27

Boxscore

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 83, GlobalPort Batang Pier 84 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 16–18, 16–15, 21–20, 21–21, Overtime: 9–10
Pts: Slaughter 25 Rebs: Slaughter 18 Asts: Mercado, Tenorio 5		Pts: Pringle 25 Rebs: three players 8 Asts: Romeo 5

Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Referees: E. Aquino, R. Gruta, M. Montoya, J. Oliva

In the final 8 seconds of 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 ball-hogging 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.^[1][2] 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.^[3][4]

Some fans who waited by the players exit booed and threw coins at the car of GlobalPort forward Jay Washington, who left the venue with his family. Security struggled to control the mob of angry fans. When the car started to leave, Washington opened the window and shouted, "Better luck next conference!" to the crowd.^[5]

A day after, Barangay Ginebra did not send a formal protest to the PBA office as the 12 noon deadline lapsed. 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.^[6] According to the findings of the PBA technical committee, 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.^[7]

Semifinals

This is a best-of-seven round. The winner advances to the finals.

(1) Alaska vs. (5) GlobalPort

January 4

Boxscore

Alaska Aces 93, GlobalPort Batang Pier 107
Scoring by quarter: 18–29, 24–23, 32–30, 19–25
Pts: Baguio 15 Rebs: Thoss 12 Asts: Baguio, Jazul 3		Pts: Romeo 41 Rebs: Kramer 10 Asts: three players 4

Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Referees: P. Balao, J. Mariano, S. Pineda, J. Oliva

January 6

Boxscore

Alaska Aces 100, GlobalPort Batang Pier 76
Scoring by quarter: 18–18, 29–26, 28–16, 25–16
Pts: Banchero 18 Rebs: Abueva 11 Asts: Baguio, Casio 4		Pts: Pringle 22 Rebs: Kramer 10 Asts: Romeo 5

Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: A. Herrera, E. Tangkion, R. Dacanay, M. Montoya

January 8

Boxscore

Alaska Aces 82, GlobalPort Batang Pier 69
Scoring by quarter: 26–13, 10–13, 17–27, 29–16
Pts: Manuel 16 Rebs: Abueva 15 Asts: Jazul, Thoss 4		Pts: Romeo 17 Rebs: Maierhofer, Pringle 12 Asts: Washington 3

Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Referees: M. Quilinguen, P. Balao, B. Oliva, M. Flordeliza

January 10

Boxscore

Alaska Aces 109, GlobalPort Batang Pier 84
Scoring by quarter: 32–20, 22–20, 28–22, 27–22
Pts: Abueva 20 Rebs: Abueva 13 Asts: Casio 4		Pts: Romeo 24 Rebs: Washington 8 Asts: Pringle 4

Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: P. Balao, J. Mariano, R. Yante, M. Flordeliza

January 12

Boxscore

Alaska Aces 118, GlobalPort Batang Pier 89
Scoring by quarter: 27–17, 33–34, 27–22, 31–16
Pts: Exciminiano 19 Rebs: Abueva 9 Asts: Baguio 6		Pts: Washington 26 Rebs: Maierhofer 9 Asts: Yeo 5
Alaska wins series, 4–1

Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: J. Mariano, E. Tangkion, N. Guevarra, D. Dacanay

(2) San Miguel vs. (3) Rain or Shine

January 5

Boxscore

San Miguel Beermen 109, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 105
Scoring by quarter: 21–31, 29–37, 21–23, 38–14
Pts: Fajardo 36 Rebs: Fajardo 18 Asts: Santos 5		Pts: Belga, Quiñahan 19 Rebs: Quiñahan 11 Asts: Cruz 6

Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Referees: A. Herrera, M. Quilinguen, R. Yante, R. Marabe

January 7

Boxscore

San Miguel Beermen 97, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 105
Scoring by quarter: 15–31, 19–18, 31–30, 32–26
Pts: Fajardo 38 Rebs: Fajardo 17 Asts: Lassiter 4		Pts: Chan 16 Rebs: Ponferada 10 Asts: Ahanmisi 6

Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: J. Mariano, E. Tangkion, A. Guevarra, J. Narandan

January 9

Boxscore

San Miguel Beermen 106, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 111
Scoring by quarter: 27–26, 23–32, 36–20, 20– 33
Pts: Fajardo 40 Rebs: Fajardo 20 Asts: Cabagnot 6		Pts: Lee 18 Rebs: Belga 14 Asts: Ahanmisi 6

Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: A. Herrera, M. Quilinguen, R. Marabe, R. Dacanay

January 11

Boxscore

San Miguel Beermen 105, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 92
Scoring by quarter: 28–25, 25–21, 37–22, 15–24
Pts: Fajardo 33 Rebs: Fajardo 15 Asts: three players 3		Pts: Ahanmisi, Trollano 15 Rebs: Ahanmisi 7 Asts: Tiu 5

Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: A. Herrera, P. Balao, J. Narandan, M. Montoya

January 13

Boxscore

San Miguel Beermen 103, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 94
Scoring by quarter: 17–13, 33–32, 22–23, 31–26
Pts: Fajardo 27 Rebs: Fajardo 12 Asts: Cabagnot 6		Pts: Quiñahan 20 Rebs: Norwood 10 Asts: Ahanmisi 3

Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: N. Quilinguen, P. Balao, R. Yante, M. Flordeliza

January 15

Boxscore

San Miguel Beermen 90, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 82
Scoring by quarter: 19–16, 18–30, 33–17, 20–19
Pts: Lassiter 22 Rebs: Santos 19 Asts: Ross 6		Pts: Belga 16 Rebs: Belga 11 Asts: Ahanmisi, Tiu 3
San Miguel wins series, 4–2

Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: A. Herrera, J. Mariano, N. Guevarra, R. Marabe

The two-time PBA MVP Fajardo had shrugs off hard fouls^[8] by different Rain or Shine players had had given him a "hard life" as promised until game 6 wherein he finally fell down and injured his left knee (torn ACL) because of a hard box-out play by Rain or Shine forward Jireh Ibañes. Fajardo, who was wincing in pain, had to be stretchered out off the playing court at the 7:11 mark of the third and was later brought to St. Luke's Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.^[9]

After the game, Ibañes says he meant no harm against Fajardo.^[10] The injury had not only put a damper on San Miguel's return to the finals but also to Gilas Pilipinas 2016 Olympic qualifiers as he had to sit out for the rest of the season because of a torn ACL.^[11]

Finals

Main article: 2015–16 PBA Philippine Cup Finals

TV5

January 17 5:00pm

Boxscore

Alaska Aces 100, San Miguel Beermen 91

Scoring by quarter: 23–23, 15–19, 28–33, 34–16

Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: A. Herrera, P. Balao, E. Tangkion, J. Oliva

TV5

January 19 7:00pm

Boxscore

Alaska Aces 83, San Miguel Beermen 80

Scoring by quarter: 23–18, 16–18, 23–24, 21–20

Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: P. Balao, J. Mariano, E. Tangkion, J. Oliva

TV5

January 22 7:00pm

Boxscore

Alaska Aces 82, San Miguel Beermen 75

Scoring by quarter: 20–17, 11–24, 24–17, 27–17

Quezon Convention Center, Lucena Referees: N. Quilinguen, P. Balao, E. Tangkion, S. Pineda

TV5

January 24 5:00pm

Boxscore

Alaska Aces 104, San Miguel Beermen 110 (OT)

Scoring by quarter: 28–20, 21–23, 28–26, 21–29, Overtime: 6–12

PhilSports Arena, Pasig Referees: N. Quilinguen, R. Marabe, R. Dacanay, J. Oliva

TV5

January 27 7:00pm

Boxscore

Alaska Aces 73, San Miguel Beermen 86 (OT)

Scoring by quarter: 20–23, 16–13, 19–16, 12–15, Overtime: 6–19

Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: J. Mariano, N. Guevarra, J. Marabe, E. Tangkion

TV5

January 29 7:00pm

Boxscore

Alaska Aces 89, San Miguel Beermen 100

Scoring by quarter: 29–22, 20–29, 17–16, 23–33

Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: A. Herrera, P. Balao, N. Guevara, S. Pineda

TV5

February 3 7:00pm

Boxscore

Alaska Aces 89, San Miguel Beermen 96

Scoring by quarter: 16–22, 22–21, 13–25, 38–28

San Miguel wins series, 4–3

Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Referees: N. Quilinguen, N. Guevarra, R. Dacanay, J. Oliva

Awards

Conference

• Best Player of the Conference: June Mar Fajardo (San Miguel Beermen)
• Finals MVP: Chris Ross (San Miguel Beermen)

Players of the Week

Week	Player	Ref.
October 21–25	JR Quiñahan (Rain or Shine Elasto Painters)	[12]
October 26–31	Stanley Pringle (GlobalPort Batang Pier)	[13]
November 1–8	Greg Slaughter (Barangay Ginebra San Miguel)	[14]
November 9–15	Stanley Pringle (GlobalPort Batang Pier)	[15]
November 16–22	Sean Anthony (NLEX Road Warriors)	[16]
November 23–29	Jericho Cruz (Rain or Shine Elasto Painters)	[17]
November 30 – December 6	Willy Wilson (Barako Bull Energy)	[18]
December 7–13	Terrence Romeo (GlobalPort Batang Pier)	[19]
December 14–20	Sean Anthony (NLEX Road Warriors)	[20]
December 21–28	Stanley Pringle (GlobalPort Batang Pier)	[21]

Statistics

Individual statistic leaders

Category	Player	Team	Statistic
Points per game	Terrence Romeo	GlobalPort Batang Pier	25.2
Rebounds per game	Greg Slaughter	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	14.5
Assists per game	Jayson Castro	TNT Tropang Texters	4.9
Steals per game	LA Revilla	Mahindra Enforcer	2.0
Blocks per game	John Paul Erram	Blackwater Elite	1.9
Turnovers per game	June Mar Fajardo	San Miguel Beermen	4.0
Fouls per game	John Paul Erram	Blackwater Elite	4.5
Minutes per game	Greg Slaughter	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	38.7
FG%	Bradwyn Guinto	Mahindra Enforcer	58.5%
FT%	Mark Borboran	NLEX Road Warriors	100.0%
	Reynel Hugnatan	Meralco Bolts
3FG%	Aldrech Ramos	Mahindra Enforcer	57.6%
Double-doubles	June Mar Fajardo	San Miguel Beermen	17

Individual game highs

Category	Player	Team	Statistic
Points	June Mar Fajardo	San Miguel Beermen	43
Rebounds	Greg Slaughter	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	26
Assists	RJ Jazul	Alaska Aces	10
Steals	Chris Ross	San Miguel Beermen	7
Blocks	John Paul Erram	Blackwater Elite	7
Three Pointers	Gary David	Meralco Bolts	7
	Terrence Romeo	GlobalPort Batang Pier

Team statistic leaders

Category	Team	Statistic
Points per game	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	100.4
Rebounds per game	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	53.1
Assists per game	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	20.3
Steals per game	Mahindra Enforcer	7.4
Blocks per game	San Miguel Beermen	5.3
Turnovers per game	Star Hotshots	19.8
FG%	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	44.0%
FT%	Barako Bull Energy	74.0%
3FG%	TNT Tropang Texters	34.5%