# 1997 PBA Governors' Cup

The 1997 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors' Cup was the third and last conference of the 1997 PBA season. It started on September 20 with a provincial game in Tarlac City and ended on December 14, 1997. The tournament is an import-laden format, which requires an import or a pure-foreign player for each team.

## Format

The following format will be observed for the duration of the conference:
* Double-round robin eliminations; 14 games per team.
* The top two teams will automatically qualify to the semifinals while the next four teams will have a crossover quarterfinal round.
* Quarterfinals:
** QF1: #3 vs. #6, with #3 having the twice-to-beat advantage
** QF2: #4 vs. #5, with #4 having the twice-to-beat advantage
* Best-of-five semifinals:
** SF1: QF1 vs. #4
** SF2: QF2 vs. #3
* Third-place playoff: losers of the semifinals
* Best-of-seven finals: winners of the semifinals

## Elimination round
### Team standings

| Pos | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | San Miguel Beermen | 9 | 5 | .643 | — | Advance to semifinals |
| 2 | Alaska Milkmen | 9 | 5 | .643 | — | Advance to semifinals |
| 3 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 9 | 5 | .643 | — | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 4 | Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies | 8 | 6 | .571 | 1 | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 5 | Mobiline Cellulars | 7 | 7 | .500 | 2 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 6 | Gordon's Gin Boars | 7 | 7 | .500 | 2 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 7 | Pop Cola Sizzlers | 5 | 9 | .357 | 4 | |
| 8 | Formula Shell Zoom Masters | 2 | 12 | .143 | 7 | |
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head quotient: San Miguel 1.027, Alaska 1.000, Sta. Lucia 0.975
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Mobiline 2–0 Gordon's

## Bracket

| Quarterfinals (Higher seeds twice-to-beat) | Quarterfinals (Higher seeds twice-to-beat) | Quarterfinals (Higher seeds twice-to-beat) | Quarterfinals (Higher seeds twice-to-beat) | Semifinals (best-of-5 series) | Semifinals (best-of-5 series) | Semifinals (best-of-5 series) | Finals (best-of-7 series) | Finals (best-of-7 series) | Finals (best-of-7 series) |
| | | | | 1 | San Miguel | 2 | | | |
| 4 | Purefoods | Purefoods | 93 | 4 | Purefoods | 3 | | | |
| 5 | Mobiline | Mobiline | 91 | | | | 4 | Purefoods | 1 |
| | | | | | | | 2 | Alaska | 4 |
| | | | | 2 | Alaska | 3 |
| 3 | Sta. Lucia | Sta. Lucia | 102 | 3 | Sta. Lucia | 0 |
| 6 | Gordon's Gin | Gordon's Gin | 93 | | | | Third place | Third place | Third place |
| | | | | | | | 1 | San Miguel | 99 |
| | | | | | | | 3 | Sta. Lucia | 89 |

## Quarterfinals
### (3) Sta. Lucia vs. (6) Gordon's Gin

* VTV
* November 18
Sta. Lucia Realtors 102, Gordon's Gin Boars 93 :
* Sta. Lucia wins series in one game ||
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay

### (4) Purefoods vs. (5) Mobiline

* VTV
* November 18
* recap
Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies 93, Mobiline Phone Pals 91 :
* Purefoods wins series in one game ||
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay

## Semifinals
### (1) San Miguel vs. (4) Purefoods

* VTV
* November 23
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay
* VTV
* November 25
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay
* VTV
* November 28
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* VTV
* November 30
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay
* VTV
* December 2
* recap
San Miguel Beermen 89, Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies 91 :
* Purefoods wins series, 3–2 ||
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay

### (2) Alaska vs. (3) Sta. Lucia

* VTV
* November 23
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay
* VTV
* November 25
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay
* VTV
* November 28
Alaska Milkmen 95, Sta. Lucia Realtors 80 :
* Alaska wins series, 3–0 ||
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City

## Third place playoff

* VTV
* December 5
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City

## Finals

* VTV
* December 5
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* VTV
* December 7
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay
* VTV
* December 9
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay
* VTV
* December 12
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* VTV
* December 14
Alaska Milkmen 94, Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies 66 :
* Alaska wins series, 4–1 ||
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay