# 1998 PBA season

The 1998 PBA season was the 24th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

## Board of governors
### Executive committee

* Emilio P. Bernardino, Jr. (Commissioner)
* Bernabe L. Navarro, Jr. (Chairman, representing Ginebra San Miguel)
* Reynaldo G. Gamboa (Vice-Chairman, representing Formula Shell Zoommasters)
* Manuel M. Encarnado (Treasurer, representing Sta. Lucia Realtors)

### Teams

| Team | Company | Governor | Alternate Governor |
| Alaska Milkmen | Alaska Milk Corporation | Wilfred Steven Uytengsu | Joaquin Trillo |
| Formula Shell Zoommasters | Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation | Reynaldo Gamboa | |
| Gordon's Gin Boars/Ginebra San Miguel | La Tondeña Distillers, Inc. | Bernabe Navarro, Jr. | Roberto Eduardo |
| Mobiline Phone Pals | Lapanday Holdings Corporation | Luis P. Lorenzo Jr. | Ignatius F. Yenko |
| Pop Cola 800s | RFM Corporation | Elmer Yanga | Philip Prieto |
| Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs | Purefoods Corporation | Teodoro Dimayuga | Eliezer Capacio |
| San Miguel Beermen | San Miguel Corporation | Nazario Avendaño | Jose Jara |
| Sta. Lucia Realtors | Sta. Lucia Realty and Development Corporation | Manuel Encarnado | |

## Season highlights

* The PBA is in their toughest challenge with the formation of a new league called Metropolitan Basketball Association, backed by the giant network ABS-CBN, and is perceived to be a threat to the 24-year existence of the PBA.
* The Alaska Milkmen won two titles during the year while Formula Shell ended a six-year title-drought by winning the final conference of the season.
* For the third time in every four years, an All-pro squad to be known as Philippine Centennial Team will be given a task to win the basketball gold in the Asian Games, slated in December in Bangkok, Thailand. Alaska coach Tim Cone was chosen to handle to national team and pick the pro cagers to comprise the 12-man lineup. The Centennial team participated in the Jones Cup basketball tournament in Taipei and won their third championship.
* This is the only season that features four conferences with the addition of the Centennial Cup in celebration of the centennial anniversary of Philippine independence. The Philippine Centennial Team played as guest team in preparation for the 1998 Asian Games. The tournament was won by the Mobiline Phone Pals.
* The two-import format was revived during the Centennial Cup and the Governor's Cup.

## Opening ceremonies

The muses for the participating teams are as follows:
| Team | Muse |
| Alaska Milkmen | Antoiniette Enciso and Maricris Fernandez |
| Formula Shell Zoom Masters | Janine Hermann |
| Gordon's Gin Boars | Michelle Aldana |
| Mobiline Phone Pals | Sunshine Cruz |
| Pop Cola 800s | Bea and Valentin of Eat Bulaga fame |
| Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies | Cris Villonco |
| San Miguel Beermen | G Toengi |
| Sta. Lucia Realtors | Sheryl Brahman |

## Champions

* All-Filipino Cup: Alaska Milkmen
* Commissioner's Cup: Alaska Milkmen
* Centennial Cup: Mobiline Phone Pals
* Governor's Cup: Formula Shell Zoom Masters
* Team with best win–loss percentage: Alaska Milkmen (41–25, .621)
* Best Team of the Year: Alaska Milkmen (3rd)

## All-Filipino Cup
### Elimination round

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Alaska Milkmen | 9 | 2 | .818 | — | Semifinal round |
| 2 | San Miguel Beermen | 7 | 4 | .636 | 2 | Semifinal round |
| 3 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4 | Semifinal round |
| 4 | Pop Cola 800s | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4 | Semifinal round |
| 5 | Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4 | Semifinal round |
| 6 | Gordon's Gin Boars | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4 | Semifinal round |
| 7 | Mobiline Phone Pals | 4 | 7 | .364 | 5 | |
| 8 | Formula Shell Zoom Masters | 4 | 7 | .364 | 5 | |

### Semifinal round

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | San Miguel Beermen | 15 | 6 | .714 | — | Advance to the Finals |
| 2 | Alaska Milkmen | 14 | 7 | .667 | 1 | Guaranteed Finals berth playoff |
| 3 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 12 | 9 | .571 | 3 | Qualify to Finals berth playoff |
| 4 | Pop Cola 800s | 10 | 11 | .476 | 5 | Proceed to third-place playoff |
| 5 | Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies | 8 | 13 | .381 | 7 | |
| 6 | Gordon's Gin Boars | 7 | 14 | .333 | 8 | |
| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | Qualification |
| 1 | San Miguel Beermen | 8 | 2 | |
| 2 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 7 | 3 | Qualify to Finals berth playoff |
| 3 | Alaska Milkmen | 5 | 5 | |
| 4 | Pop Cola 800s | 5 | 5 | |
| 5 | Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies | 3 | 7 | |
| 6 | Gordon's Gin Boars | 2 | 8 | |

### Third-place playoff

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| (3) Sta. Lucia Realtors | 60–66 | (4) Pop Cola 800s |

### Finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 |
| (1) San Miguel Beermen | 3–4 | (2) Alaska Milkmen | 76–69 | 64–80 | 84–89 | 97–90 | 78–73 (OT) | 61–99 | 63–72 |
* Finals MVP: Kenneth Duremdes (Alaska)
* Best Player of the Conference: Nelson Asaytono (San Miguel)

## Commissioner's Cup
### Elimination round

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Alaska Milkmen | 9 | 2 | .818 | — | Advance to semifinals |
| 2 | Pop Cola 800s | 6 | 5 | .545 | 3 | Advance to semifinals |
| 3 | San Miguel Beermen | 6 | 5 | .545 | 3 | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 4 | Purefoods TJ Hotdogs | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4 | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 5 | Formula Shell Zoom Masters | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 6 | Mobiline Phone Pals | 5 | 6 | .455 | 4 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 7 | Ginebra San Miguel | 4 | 7 | .364 | 5 | |
| 8 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 4 | 7 | .364 | 5 | |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Pop Cola 1–0 San Miguel
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head differential: Purefoods 1.106, Shell 0.987, Mobiline 0.869
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Ginebra 1–1 Sta. Lucia; Ginebra +2, Sta. Lucia −2

### Playoffs

| 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 | Alaska | 3 | | | |
| 4 | Purefoods | 84 | 78 | 5 | Formula Shell | 2 | | | |
| 5 | Formula Shell | 96 | 87 | | | | 1 | Alaska | 4 |
| | | | | | | | 3 | San Miguel | 2 |
| | | | | 2 | Pop Cola | 0 |
| 3 | San Miguel | San Miguel | 95 | 3 | San Miguel | 3 |
| 6 | Mobiline | Mobiline | 89 | | | | Third place | Third place | Third place |
| | | | | | | | 2 | Pop Cola | 84 |
| | | | | | | | 5 | Formula Shell | 80 |

### Finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 |
| (1) Alaska Milkmen | 4–2 | (3) San Miguel Beermen | 107–97 (OT) | 106–89 | 81–88 | 83–92 | 92–84 | 85–74 | — |
* Finals MVP: Kenneth Duremdes (Alaska)
* Best Player of the Conference: Kenneth Duremdes (Alaska)
* Best Import of the Conference: Devin Davis (Alaska)

## Centennial Cup
### Elimination round

| Pos | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Ginebra San Miguel | 6 | 2 | .750 | — | Semifinals |
| 2 | Mobiline Phone Pals | 5 | 3 | .625 | 1 | Semifinals |
| 3 | Pop Cola 800s | 5 | 3 | .625 | 1 | Semifinals |
| 4 | Formula Shell Zoom Masters | 5 | 3 | .625 | 1 | Semifinals |
| 5 | Purefoods TJ Hotdogs | 5 | 3 | .625 | 1 | |
| 6 | San Miguel Beermen | 4 | 4 | .500 | 2 | |
| 7 | Alaska Milkmen | 4 | 4 | .500 | 2 | |
| 8 | Philippine Centennial Team (G) | 1 | 7 | .125 | 5 | |
| 9 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 1 | 7 | .125 | 5 | |
* 1 2 3 4 Head-to-head quotient: Mobiline 1.142, Pop Cola 0.995, Shell 0.973, Purefoods 0.915
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Philippine Centennial Team 1–0 Sta. Lucia

### Playoffs

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Ginebra (OT) | 75 | | | |
| 4 | Shell | 78 | | | |
| 4 | Shell | 78 | 4 | Shell (OT) | 66 |
| | | | 2 | Mobiline | 67 |
| 2 | Mobiline | 74 | 2 | Mobiline | 67 |
| 3 | Pop Cola | 71 | Battle-for-third | Battle-for-third | Battle-for-third |
| | | | 1 | Ginebra | 71 |
| | | | 3 | Pop Cola | 85 |

## Governors' Cup
### Elimination round

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Mobiline Phone Pals | 9 | 6 | .600 | — | Semifinal round |
| 2 | Formula Shell Zoom Masters | 9 | 6 | .600 | — | Semifinal round |
| 3 | San Miguel Beermen | 9 | 6 | .600 | — | Semifinal round |
| 4 | Purefoods TJ Hotdogs | 9 | 6 | .600 | — | Semifinal round |
| 5 | Pop Cola 800s | 8 | 7 | .533 | 1 | |
| 6 | Ginebra San Miguel | 7 | 8 | .467 | 2 | |
| 7 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 6 | 9 | .400 | 3 | |
| 8 | Alaska Milkmen | 6 | 9 | .400 | 3 | |
* 1 2 3 4 Head-to-head quotient: Mobiline 1.068, Shell 1.027, San Miguel 0.953, Purefoods 0.952

### Semifinal round

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Mobiline Phone Pals | 12 | 9 | .571 | — | Advance to the finals |
| 2 | Formula Shell Super Unleaded | 12 | 9 | .571 | — | Advance to the finals |
| 3 | San Miguel Beermen | 12 | 9 | .571 | — | Proceed to third-place playoff |
| 4 | Purefoods TJ Hotdogs | 12 | 9 | .571 | — | Proceed to third-place playoff |
* 1 2 3 4 Head-to-head quotient: Mobiline 1.045, Shell 1.006, San Miguel 0.985, Purefoods 0.963; first-seed playoff: Mobiline 84–80 Purefoods; second-seed playoff: Shell 87–83 San Miguel

### Third-place playoffs

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
| (3) San Miguel Beermen | 1–2 | (4) Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs | 94–88 | 90–101 | 99–96 |

### Finals

| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 |
| (1) Mobiline Phone Pals | 3–4 | (2) Formula Shell Super Unleaded | 90–110 | 94–67 | 81–78 | 97–109 | 88–81 | 77–80 | 91–93 |
* Finals MVP: Benjie Paras (Shell)
* Best Player of the Conference: Jerry Codiñera (Purefoods)
* Best Import of the Conference: Silas Mills (Mobiline)

## Individual awards

* Most Valuable Player: Kenneth Duremdes (Alaska)
* Rookie of the Year: Danny Ildefonso (San Miguel)
* Sportsmanship Award: Freddie Abuda (San Miguel)
* Most Improved Player: Patrick Fran (Mobiline)
* Defensive Player of the Year: Chris Jackson (Formula Shell)
* Mythical Five
** Johnny Abarrientos (Alaska)
** Alvin Patrimonio (Purefoods)
** Jerry Codiñera (Purefoods)
** Jojo Lastimosa (Alaska)
** Kenneth Duremdes (Alaska)
* Mythical Second Team
** Rodericko "Olsen" Racela (San Miguel)
** Mike Mustre (San Miguel)
** Danny Ildefonso (San Miguel)
** Nelson Asaytono (San Miguel)
** Victor Pablo (Formula Shell)
* All Defensive Team
** Chris Jackson (Formula Shell)
** Freddie Abuda (San Miguel)
** Jerry Codiñera (Purefoods)
** Glenn Capacio (Mobiline)
** Patrick Fran (Mobiline)

## Awards given by the PBA Press Corps

* Coach of the Year: Perry Ronquillo (Formula Shell)
* Mr. Quality Minutes: Rodney Santos (Alaska)
* Executive of the Year: Wilfred Uytengsu (Alaska)
* Comeback Player of the Year: Glenn Capacio (Mobiline)
* Referee of the Year: Franco Ilagan

## Board of Governors

* Emilio Bernardino (Commissioner)
* Ruben Cleofe (Secretary)
* Bernabe Navarro (Chairman, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc)
* Reynaldo Gamboa (Vice-Chairman, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp.)
* Manuel Encarnado (Treasurer, Sta. Lucia Realty and Development, Inc)
* Wilfred Steven Uytengsu (Alaska Milk Corp.)
* Luis Lorenzo, Jr (Lapanday Holdings Corp.)
* Nazario Avendaño (San Miguel Corp.)
* Joaquin Trillo (Alaska Milk Corp.)
* Teodoro Dimayuga (Purefoods Corp.)
* Elmer Yanga (Republic Flour Mills Corp.)
* Roberto Eduardo (La Tondeña Distillers, Inc)
* Eliezer Capacio (Purefoods Corp.)
* Ignatius Yenko (Lapanday Holdings Corp.)

## Cumulative standings

| Team | GP | W | L | PCT |
| Alaska Milkmen | 66 | 41 | 25 | .621 |
| San Miguel Beermen | 74 | 43 | 31 | .581 |
| Formula Shell Zoom Masters / Super Unleaded | 61 | 31 | 30 | .508 |
| Pop Cola 800s | 54 | 27 | 27 | .500 |
| Mobiline Phone Pals | 54 | 27 | 27 | .500 |
| Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies / Tender Juicy Hotdogs | 59 | 27 | 32 | .458 |
| Sta. Lucia Realtors | 49 | 22 | 27 | .449 |
| Gordon's Gin Boars / Ginebra Kings | 49 | 18 | 31 | .368 |
| Philippine Centennial Team | 8 | 1 | 7 | .125 |