# 2005–06 PBA season

The 2005–06 PBA season was the 31st season of the Philippine Basketball Association. It began on October 2, 2005, and ended on July 21, 2006. The season had two conferences played, the import-laiden 2005–06 San Mig Coffee Fiesta Conference and the season-ending 2006 Gran Matador Brandy Philippine Cup.

## Opening ceremonies

The muses for the participating teams are as follows:
| Team | Muse |
| Air21 Express | Bianca King |
| Alaska Aces | Kyla |
| Barangay Ginebra Kings | Gabriela Leguia |
| Coca-Cola Tigers | Nikki Gil |
| Purefoods Chunkee Giants | Kelly Misa |
| Red Bull Barako | Dana Gajtandzievova |
| San Miguel Beermen | Jenny Hernandez |
| Sta. Lucia Realtors | Maan Biot |
| Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | Kristine Hermosa |

## 2005–06 Fiesta Conference

Red Bull Barako won the 2005–06 Fiesta Conference defeating the Purefoods Chunkee Giants in six games. The Air21 Express defeated Barangay Ginebra Kings to capture third place in a one-game playoff.
Enrico Villanueva of Red Bull won the Best Player of the Conference honors while Purefoods' import Marquin Chandler won the Best Import Award. The league introduced a Give Me 5 Promo, in which tickets for Upper Box B and General Admission seats would cost only five pesos. The marketing scheme paid off as the league had multiple soldout games during the conference.
In the 2005 PBA All-Star Game held in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte on November 26, 2005, the North All-Stars defeated the South All-Stars. Ginebra's Jayjay Helterbrand won the All-Star Game MVP honors.

### Classification round

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Purefoods Chunkee Giants | 10 | 6 | .625 | — | Advance to semifinals |
| 2 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 9 | 7 | .563 | 1 | Advance to semifinals |
| 3 | Red Bull Barako | 9 | 7 | .563 | 1 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 4 | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | 9 | 7 | .563 | 1 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 5 | Air21 Express | 9 | 7 | .563 | 1 | Advance to wildcard phase |
| 6 | Alaska Aces | 7 | 9 | .438 | 3 | Advance to wildcard phase |
| 7 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 7 | 9 | .438 | 3 | Advance to wildcard phase |
| 8 | San Miguel Beermen | 6 | 10 | .375 | 4 | Twice-to-beat in survivor playoffs |
| 9 | Coca-Cola Tigers | 6 | 10 | .375 | 4 | Twice-to-win in survivor playoffs |
* 1 2 3 4 Head-to-head differential: Red Bull +31, Barangay Ginebra +4, Air21 −7, Talk 'N Text −28; fifth-seed playoff: Talk 'N Text 101–91 Air21; second-seed playoff: Barangay Ginebra 109–102 Red Bull
* 1 2 Head-to-head differential: Alaska +9, Sta. Lucia −9
* 1 2 Head-to-head differential: San Miguel +12, Coca-Cola −12

### Playoffs

| Survivor playoffs (#8 has twice to beat advantage) | Survivor playoffs (#8 has twice to beat advantage) | Survivor playoffs (#8 has twice to beat advantage) | Survivor playoffs (#8 has twice to beat advantage) | Wildcard playoffs (best-of-3) | Wildcard playoffs (best-of-3) | Wildcard playoffs (best-of-3) | Quarterfinals (best-of-5) | Quarterfinals (best-of-5) | Quarterfinals (best-of-5) | Semifinals (best-of-7) | Semifinals (best-of-7) | Semifinals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) |
| | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Barangay Ginebra | 3 | |
| | | | | | | | 3 | Red Bull | 3 | 3 | Red Bull | 4 | | | |
| | | | | 6 | Alaska | 2 | 6 | Alaska | 0 | | | | 3 | Red Bull | 4 |
| | | | | 7 | Sta. Lucia | 0 | | | | | | | 1 | Purefoods | 2 |
| | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Purefoods | 4 | | | |
| | | | | | | | 4 | Talk 'N Text | 2 | 5 | Air21 | 2 | Third-place playoff | Third-place playoff | Third-place playoff |
| | | | | 5 | Air21 | 2 | 5 | Air21 | 3 | | | | | | |
| 8 | San Miguel | 82 | 69 | 8 | San Miguel | 1 | | | | | | | 2 | Barangay Ginebra | 98 |
| 9 | Coca-Cola | 85* | 67 | | | | | | | | | | 5 | Air21 | 108 |
*Overtime
* view
* talk

#### Survivor playoffs

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 |
| (8) San Miguel Beermen* | 1–1 | (9) Coca-Cola Tigers | 82–85 (OT) | 69–67 |
*Team has twice-to-beat advantage. Team 1 only has to win once, while Team 2 has to win twice.

#### Wildcard playoffs

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| (5) Air21 Express | 2–1 | (8) San Miguel Beermen | 97–88 | 103–104 | 100–86 |
| (6) Alaska Aces | 2–0 | (7) Sta. Lucia Realtors | 108–104 | 95–90 | — |

#### Quarterfinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| (3) Red Bull Barako | 3–0 | (6) Alaska Aces | 100–92 | 80–73 | 81–65 | — | — |
| (4) Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | 2–3 | (5) Air21 Express | 111–109 | 87–90 | 93–98 | 99–89 | 110–117 (OT) |

#### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 |
| (1) Purefoods Chunkee Giants | 4–3 | (5) Air21 Express | 94–89 | 88–87 | 87–101 | 100–90 | 99–100 | 100–79 | — |
| (2) Barangay Ginebra Kings | 4–3 | (3) Red Bull Barako | 105–100 (OT) | 83–86 | 85–93 | 85–88 | 97–83 | 85–77 | 79–83 |

#### Third place playoff

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| (2) Barangay Ginebra Kings | 98–108 | (5) Air21 Express |

#### Finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 |
| (1) Purefoods Chunkee Giants | 2–4 | (3) Red Bull Barako | 102–107 (OT) | 84–98 | 103–97 | 96–91 | 86–91 | 73–83 | — |
* Finals MVP: Lordy Tugade (Red Bull)
* Best Player of the Conference: Enrico Villanueva (Red Bull)
* Best Import Award: Marquin Chandler (Purefoods)

## 2006 Philippine Cup

The Purefoods Chunkee Giants defeated the Red Bull Barako, 4–2, in their best-of-seven finals series to win the Philippine Cup. On the third place playoff, the Alaska Aces defeated the San Miguel Beermen.
The South All-Stars defeated the North All-Stars 122–120 in the All-Star Game held in Cagayan de Oro on April 29, 2006. Asi Taulava was named as the All-Star Game MVP.
On May 14, 2006, an incident occurred when Purefoods' Eugene Tejada suffered a career-threatening injury against Red Bull, suffering extensive neck and spinal cord injuries.

### Classification round

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Purefoods Chunkee Giants | 12 | 4 | .750 | — | Advance to semifinals |
| 2 | San Miguel Beermen | 11 | 5 | .688 | 1 | Advance to semifinals |
| 3 | Red Bull Barako | 9 | 7 | .563 | 3 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 4 | Alaska Aces | 9 | 7 | .563 | 3 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 5 | Coca-Cola Tigers | 7 | 9 | .438 | 5 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 6 | Air21 Express | 7 | 9 | .438 | 5 | Advance to wildcard phase |
| 7 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 7 | 9 | .438 | 5 | Advance to wildcard phase |
| 8 | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | 6 | 10 | .375 | 6 | Advance to wildcard phase |
| 9 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 4 | 12 | .250 | 8 | Advance to wildcard phase |
* 1 2 Head-to-head differential: Red Bull +11, Alaska −11
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head differential: Air21 +16, Coca-Cola +10, Barangay Ginebra − 26; fifth-seed playoff: Coca-Coca 87–73 Air21

### Wildcard round

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 6 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 10 | 9 | .526 | — | Quarterfinals |
| 7 | Air21 Express | 9 | 10 | .474 | 1 | |
| 8 | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | 6 | 13 | .316 | 4 | |
| 9 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 5 | 14 | .263 | 5 | |
| Pos | Teamvte | W | L |
| 6 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | Air21 Express | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | 0 | 3 |

### Playoffs

| Quarterfinals (best-of-5) | Quarterfinals (best-of-5) | Quarterfinals (best-of-5) | Semifinals (best-of-7) | Semifinals (best-of-7) | Semifinals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) |
| | | | 1 | Purefoods | 4 | | | |
| 4 | Alaska | 3 | 4 | Alaska | 3 | | | |
| 5 | Coca-Cola | 1 | | | | 1 | Purefoods | 4 |
| | | | | | | 3 | Red Bull | 2 |
| | | | 2 | San Miguel | 3 |
| 3 | Red Bull | 3 | 3 | Red Bull | 4 |
| 7 | Barangay Ginebra | 2 | | | | Third place playoff | Third place playoff | Third place playoff |
| | | | | | | 4 | Alaska | 102 |
| | | | | | | 2 | San Miguel | 95 |

#### Quarterfinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 |
| (3) Red Bull Barako | 3–2 | (7) Barangay Ginebra Kings | 95–86 | 103–112 | 85–97 | 118–97 | 120–98 |
| (4) Alaska Aces | 3–1 | (5) Coca-Cola Tigers | 95–94 | 81–75 | 75–77 | 94–69 | — |

#### Semifinals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 |
| (1) Purefoods Chunkee Giants | 4–3 | (4) Alaska Aces | 92–94 | 77–86 | 82–79 | 77–99 | 85–74 | 99–96 | 90–89 |
| (2) San Miguel Beermen | 3–4 | (3) Red Bull Barako | 78–94 | 114–98 | 95–99 | 106–82 | 101–107 | 116–101 | 84–86 |

#### Third place playoff

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| (2) San Miguel Beermen | 95–102 | (4) Alaska Aces |

#### Finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 |
| (1) Purefoods Chunkee Giants | 4–2 | (3) Red Bull Barako | 101–97 | 93–82 | 79–89 | 99–81 | 93–98 | 90–83 | — |
* Finals MVP: Marc Pingris (Purefoods)
* Best Player of the Conference: Danny Seigle (San Miguel)

## Cumulative standings
### Overall standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | Qualification |
| 1 | Purefoods Chunkee Giants | 57 | 36 | 21 | .632 | Champions |
| 2 | Red Bull Barako | 67 | 38 | 29 | .567 | Champions |
| 3 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 49 | 25 | 24 | .510 | Fourth place |
| 4 | Air21 Express | 52 | 26 | 26 | .500 | Third place |
| 5 | Alaska Aces | 48 | 24 | 24 | .500 | Third place |
| 6 | San Miguel Beermen | 44 | 22 | 22 | .500 | Fourth place |
| 7 | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | 41 | 18 | 23 | .439 | Quarterfinalist |
| 8 | Coca-Cola Tigers | 39 | 16 | 23 | .410 | Quarterfinalist |
| 9 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 37 | 12 | 25 | .324 | Wildcard phase |

### Classification rounds

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PCT |
| 1 | Purefoods Chunkee Giants | 32 | 22 | 10 | .688 |
| 2 | Red Bull Barako | 32 | 18 | 14 | .563 |
| 3 | San Miguel Beermen | 32 | 17 | 15 | .531 |
| 4 | Air21 Express | 32 | 16 | 16 | .500 |
| 5 | Alaska Aces | 32 | 16 | 16 | .500 |
| 6 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 32 | 16 | 16 | .500 |
| 7 | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | 32 | 15 | 17 | .469 |
| 8 | Coca-Cola Tigers | 32 | 13 | 19 | .406 |
| 9 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 32 | 11 | 21 | .344 |

### Playoffs

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L |
| 1 | Red Bull Barako | 35 | 20 | 15 |
| 2 | Purefoods Chunkee Giants | 25 | 14 | 11 |
| 3 | Air21 Express | 20 | 10 | 10 |
| 4 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 17 | 9 | 8 |
| 5 | Alaska Aces | 16 | 8 | 8 |
| 6 | San Miguel Beermen | 12 | 5 | 7 |
| 7 | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | 9 | 3 | 6 |
| 8 | Coca-Cola Tigers | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| 9 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 5 | 1 | 4 |

## Awards

* Most Valuable Player: James Yap (Purefoods)
* Rookie of the Year: Larry Fonacier (Red Bull)
* Most Improved Player: Marc Pingris (Purefoods)
* Mythical Five:
** Kerby Raymundo (Purefoods)
** James Yap (Purefoods)
** Roger Yap (Purefoods)
** Enrico Villanueva (Red Bull)
** Lordy Tugade (Red Bull)
* Mythical Second Team:
** Mark Caguioa (Barangay Ginebra)
** Dorian Peña (San Miguel)
** Danny Seigle (San Miguel)
** Mike Cortez (Alaska)
** Marc Pingris (Purefoods)
* All-Defensive Team:
** Dorian Peña (San Miguel)
** Marc Pingris (Purefoods)
** Wynne Arboleda (Air21)
** Topex Robinson (Red Bull)
** Nic Belasco (Alaska)

### Awards given by the PBA Press Corps

* Coach of the Year: Ryan Gregorio (Purefoods)
* Mr. Quality Minutes: Ronald Tubid (Air21)
* Comeback Player of the Year: Danny Seigle (San Miguel)
* Referee of the Year: Luisito Cruz
* All-Rookie Team
** Paolo Bugia (Red Bull)
** Dennis Miranda (Coca-Cola)
** Leo Najorda (Red Bull)
** KG Canaleta (Air21)
** Larry Fonacier (Red Bull)