# 2002–03 Philippine Basketball League season

The 2002–03 season of the Philippine Basketball League (PBL).

## 2002-03 Challenge Cup
### Team standings

| Group A | Win | Loss | Coach |
| Welcoat Paints | 9 | 2 | Leo Austria |
| Dazz Dishwashing | 7 | 4 | Junel Baculi |
| Blu Detergent | 7 | 4 | Leo Isaac |
| LBC-Batangas | 7 | 4 | Nash Racela |
| Group B | Win | Loss | Coach |
| ICTSI-La Salle | 8 | 4 | Franz Pumaren |
| Montaña Jewels | 6 | 6 | Ronnie Dojillo |
| John-O | 5 | 7 | Dong Vergeire |
| Cheeseballs-Shark | 3 | 9 | Jing Ruiz / Philip Cezar |
| Sunkist-Pampanga | 2 | 10 | Boyzie Zamar |
Welcoat Paintmasters is the top team in the eliminations and will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage against the fourth finisher in the crossover semis. Welcoat will meet the winner of ICTSI and LBC-Batangas. Blu Detergent and Dazz finished with identical 7-4 won-loss cards and will play in the other crossover semis.

### Crossover semifinals

* January 13
* recap
* Pasig Sports Center, Pasig
* January 13
* Pasig Sports Center, Pasig
* January 16
* recap
* Makati Coliseum, Makati
* January 18
* Pasig Sports Center, Pasig
* January 18
* Pasig Sports Center, Pasig
Welcoat and Dazz had a twice-to-beat advantage against the two other semifinalist and they made it to the championship round.

### Finals

* January 23
* recap
* Quezon Convention Center, Lucena City
* January 25
* recap
* La Salle Centrum, Lipa City
* January 27
Welcoat Paints 80, Dazz 71 (OT) :
* Welcoat wins series, 3-0 ||
* Pasig Sports Center, Pasig
Comebacking Welcoat Paintmasters completed a three-game sweep over Dazz. Coach Leo Austria now won three PBL titles, two of which came when he was a Shark Energy Drink mentor. The Welcoat franchise won their fifth PBL championship, and all their series victories were via sweeps.

### Individual awards

* Most Valuable Player: Rommel Adducul (Welcoat)
* Sportsmanship Award: Alex Compton (LBC-Batangas)
* Most Improved Player Award: Paul Artadi (Welcoat)
* Top Newcomer: Mark Cardona (ICTSI-La Salle)
* Finals MVP: Rommel Adducul and Ronald Tubid (Welcoat)
* Mythical First Team
** Rommel Adducul (Welcoat)
** Eddie Laure (Welcoat)
** Ronald Tubid (Welcoat)
** Aries Dimaunahan (Blu)
** Mark Cardona (ICTSI-La Salle)

## 2003 Sunkist-Unity Cup

| Semifinal standings | Win | Loss | PCT |
| Hapee Toothpaste | 5 | 1 | .833 |
| Viva Mineral Water | 4 | 2 | .667 |
| Montaña Jewels | 3 | 3 | .500 |
| John-O | 0 | 6 | .000 |
Two new teams joined the league, replacing Cheeseballs-Shark and Sunkist-Pampanga, these are Viva Mineral Water, coach by Koy Banal, and Nutrilicious, handled by Monel Kallos.
Hapee (formerly Dazz) and Viva Mineral Water advances to the championship after the double-round semifinals among the top four teams in the eliminations.

### Finals

* June 7
* recap
* Quezon Convention Center, Lucena City
* June 10
* recap
* Pasig Sports Center, Pasig
* June 14
* recap
* Pasig Sports Center, Pasig
* June 17
* recap
* Pasig Sports Center, Pasig
* June 19
Hapee Toothpaste 64, Viva Mineral Water 62 :
* Hapee wins series, 3-2 ||
* Pasig Sports Center, Pasig
Hapee Toothpaste won their first title since the 1996 Reinforced Conference, denying Viva Mineral Water a championship in their very first try. Hapee mentor Junel Baculi won his sixth title as a coach.