# 2015–16 Star Hotshots season

The 2015–16 Star Hotshots season was the 28th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

## Key dates

* July 20: Assistant coach Jason Webb was promoted as the head coach of the Star Hotshots.
* August 23: The 2015 PBA draft took place in Midtown Atrium, Robinson Place Manila.

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | PBA D-League team | College |
| 1 | 8 | Norbert Torres | C | Canada | Cebuana Lhuillier Gems | DLSU |
| 3 | 30 | Mark Cruz | PG | Philippines | Jumbo Plastic Linoleum Giants | Letran |
| 4 | 39 | Rodel de Leon | SF | Philippines | Cafe France Bakers | CEU |

## Philippine Cup
### Eliminations
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Alaska Aces | 9 | 2 | .818 | — | Advance to semifinals |
| 2 | San Miguel Beermen | 9 | 2 | .818 | — | Advance to semifinals |
| 3 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 8 | 3 | .727 | 1 | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 4 | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 7 | 4 | .636 | 2 | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 5 | GlobalPort Batang Pier | 7 | 4 | .636 | 2 | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 6 | TNT Tropang Texters | 6 | 5 | .545 | 3 | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 7 | NLEX Road Warriors | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 8 | Barako Bull Energy | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 9 | Star Hotshots | 4 | 7 | .364 | 5 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 10 | Blackwater Elite | 3 | 8 | .273 | 6 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 11 | Mahindra Enforcer | 2 | 9 | .182 | 7 | |
| 12 | Meralco Bolts | 1 | 10 | .091 | 8 | |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Alaska 1–0 San Miguel
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Barangay Ginebra 1–0 GlobalPort
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: NLEX 1–0 Barako Bull

#### Game log
### Playoffs
#### Bracket

| Quarterfinals (1st phase) | Quarterfinals (1st phase) | Quarterfinals (1st phase) | Quarterfinals (2nd phase) (single elimination) | Quarterfinals (2nd phase) (single elimination) | Quarterfinals (2nd phase) (single elimination) | Semifinals (best-of-7) | Semifinals (best-of-7) | Semifinals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) |
| (#3 twice to beat) | (#3 twice to beat) | (#3 twice to beat) | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Rain or Shine | 95 | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Rain or Shine | 95 | | | | 2 | San Miguel | 4 | | | |
| 10 | Blackwater | 90 | | | | 2 | San Miguel | 4 | | | |
| 10 | Blackwater | 90 | 3 | Rain or Shine | 104 | 3 | Rain or Shine | 2 | | | |
| (#6 twice to beat) | (#6 twice to beat) | (#6 twice to beat) | 3 | Rain or Shine | 104 | 3 | Rain or Shine | 2 | | | |
| (#6 twice to beat) | (#6 twice to beat) | (#6 twice to beat) | 6 | TNT | 89 | | | | | | |
| 6 | TNT | 90 | 6 | TNT | 89 | | | | | | |
| 6 | TNT | 90 | | | | | | | 2 | San Miguel | 4 |
| 7 | NLEX | 88 | | | | | | | 2 | San Miguel | 4 |
| 7 | NLEX | 88 | | | | | | | 1 | Alaska | 3 |
| (#4 twice to beat) | (#4 twice to beat) | (#4 twice to beat) | | | | | | | 1 | Alaska | 3 |
| 4 | Barangay Ginebra | 92* | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Barangay Ginebra | 92* | | | | 1 | Alaska | 4 | | | |
| 9 | Star | 89 | | | | 1 | Alaska | 4 | | | |
| 9 | Star | 89 | 4 | Barangay Ginebra | 83 | 5 | GlobalPort | 1 | | | |
| (#5 twice to beat) | (#5 twice to beat) | (#5 twice to beat) | 4 | Barangay Ginebra | 83 | 5 | GlobalPort | 1 | | | |
| (#5 twice to beat) | (#5 twice to beat) | (#5 twice to beat) | 5 | GlobalPort | 84* | | | | | | |
| 5 | GlobalPort | 94 | 5 | GlobalPort | 84* | | | | | | |
| 8 | Barako Bull | 85 | | | | | | | | | |
*Game went into overtime
* view
* talk

## Commissioner's Cup
### Eliminations
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | San Miguel Beermen | 8 | 3 | .727 | — | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 2 | Meralco Bolts | 8 | 3 | .727 | — | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 3 | Alaska Aces | 7 | 4 | .636 | 1 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 4 | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 7 | 4 | .636 | 1 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 5 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 7 | 4 | .636 | 1 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 6 | Tropang TNT | 6 | 5 | .545 | 2 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 7 | NLEX Road Warriors | 5 | 6 | .455 | 3 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 8 | Star Hotshots | 5 | 6 | .455 | 3 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 9 | Mahindra Enforcer | 4 | 7 | .364 | 4 | |
| 10 | Blackwater Elite | 3 | 8 | .273 | 5 | |
| 11 | Phoenix Fuel Masters | 3 | 8 | .273 | 5 | |
| 12 | GlobalPort Batang Pier | 3 | 8 | .273 | 5 | |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: San Miguel 1–0 Meralco
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head quotient: Alaska 1.18, Barangay Ginebra 1.03, Rain or Shine 0.84
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: NLEX 1–0 Star
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head quotient: Blackwater 1.04, Phoenix 0.99, GlobalPort 0.98

#### Game log
### Playoffs
#### Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals (best-of-5) | Semifinals (best-of-5) | Semifinals (best-of-5) | Finals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) |
| (#1 twice-to-beat) | (#1 twice-to-beat) | (#1 twice-to-beat) | (#1 twice-to-beat) | | | | | | |
| 1 | San Miguel | 99 | 103 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Star | 108 | 99 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Star | 108 | 99 | 1 | San Miguel | 1 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 1 | San Miguel | 1 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 5 | Rain or Shine | 3 | | | |
| 4 | Barangay Ginebra | Barangay Ginebra | 0 | 5 | Rain or Shine | 3 | | | |
| 5 | Rain or Shine | Rain or Shine | 2 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Rain or Shine | Rain or Shine | 2 | | | | 5 | Rain or Shine | 4 |
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | | | | 5 | Rain or Shine | 4 |
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | | | | 3 | Alaska | 2 |
| 2 | Meralco | Meralco | 104 | | | | 3 | Alaska | 2 |
| 7 | NLEX | NLEX | 97 | | | | | | |
| 7 | NLEX | NLEX | 97 | 2 | Meralco | 2 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 2 | Meralco | 2 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 3 | Alaska | 3 | | | |
| 3 | Alaska | Alaska | 2 | 3 | Alaska | 3 | | | |
| 6 | TNT | TNT | 1 | | | | | | |
* view
* talk

## Governors' Cup
### Eliminations
#### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | TNT KaTropa | 10 | 1 | .909 | — | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 2 | San Miguel Beermen | 8 | 3 | .727 | 2 | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 3 | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 8 | 3 | .727 | 2 | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 4 | Meralco Bolts | 6 | 5 | .545 | 4 | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 5 | Mahindra Enforcer | 6 | 5 | .545 | 4 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 6 | Alaska Aces | 6 | 5 | .545 | 4 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 7 | NLEX Road Warriors | 5 | 6 | .455 | 5 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 8 | Phoenix Fuel Masters | 5 | 6 | .455 | 5 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 9 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 5 | 6 | .455 | 5 | |
| 10 | GlobalPort Batang Pier | 4 | 7 | .364 | 6 | |
| 11 | Star Hotshots | 2 | 9 | .182 | 8 | |
| 12 | Blackwater Elite | 1 | 10 | .091 | 9 | |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Barangay Ginebra 1–0 San Miguel
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head quotient: Meralco 1.039, Mahindra 1.017, Alaska 0.950; fourth seed playoff: Meralco 104–99 Mahindra
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head quotient: NLEX 1.04, Rain or Shine 1.03, Phoenix 0.93; eighth seed playoff: Phoenix 105–94 Rain or Shine

## Transactions
### Trades

Off-season
| September 19, 2015 |
| September 19, 2015 | To Barako BullMick Pennisi | To Star2017 2nd round pick |
| September 28, 2015 | To Barangay GinebraJoe Devance (via Barako Bull) | To Barako BullMac Baracael Prince Caperal |
| September 28, 2015 | To StarRonald Pascual Jake Pascual | To GlobalPortDorian Peña |
Governor's Cup
| October 13, 2016 |
| October 13, 2016 | To StarPaul Lee | To Rain or ShineJames Yap |

### Recruited imports

| Tournament | Name | Debuted | Last game | Record |
| Commissioner's Cup | Denzel Bowles | February 10 (vs. Meralco) | February 28 (vs. Ginebra) | 1–4 |
| Commissioner's Cup | Ricardo Ratliffe | March 6 (vs. TNT) | April 20 (vs. San Miguel) | 5–3 |
| Governors' Cup | Marqus Blakely | July 15 (vs. Mahindra) | July 31 (vs. San Miguel) | 1–3 |
| Governors' Cup | Joel Wright | August 12 (vs. NLEX) | September 16 (vs. Rain or Shine) | 1–6 |