# 2003 Talk 'N Text Phone Pals season

The 2003 Talk 'N Text Phone Pals season was the 14th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and third season under the management of Smart Communications.

## Transactions

| Players Added Via Draft Jimmy Alapag Harvey Carey William Villa Via Free Agency Angelo David (From Sta. Lucia Realtors; Both teams agreed to share obligations on contract of the player) Jonathan De Guzman (Drafted by Purefoods in 2001) Expedito Falcasantos (From Sta. Lucia Realtors) Jojo Manalo (From Coca Cola Tigers) | Players Lost Via Free Agency Don Camaso (To Alaska) Alex Crisano (To Barangay Ginebra Kings) Via Trade Gilbert Demape (To Purefoods and their 6th pick; acquired the Hotdogs' number 4 pick) |

## Occurrences

February 27: PBA Suspends Asi Taulava for two games after he was found to have traces of Marijuana during a mandated test conducted by league physician Ben Salud.
April 12: Phone Pals coach Paul Woolpert was fired by the management and named assistant coach Joel Banal as his interim replacement.
May 6: Forward Norman Gonzales was also tested positive of banned substance, he was the fifth player to be suspended indefinitely by the PBA and was ordered to undergo a six-month rehabilitation.
August 15: Talk 'N Text acting head coach Ariel Vanguardia, who took over from Joel Banal, when the latter decided to honor his commitment with the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the UAAP, was slapped with a five-game suspension and a P50,000 fine while the team P250,000 in a game-sham that took place on August 13 when the Phone Pals tried to extend a winning ballgame against Red Bull in overtime by deliberately shooting on the Barako's goal, Talk 'N Text representative to the PBA board Ricky Vargas said the team will appeal the five-game suspension to Commissioner Noli Eala since the Phone Pals cannot hire an interim coach for five games starting the Third Conference.

## Championship

The Talk 'N Text Phone Pals won their first championship in the All-Filipino Cup by defeating the defending champions Coca Cola Tigers. The Phone Pals lost the first two games of the series but won the next four to clinch their first title in 13 years, not counting the 1998 Centennial Cup triumph. Asi Taulava was voted finals MVP of the series.

## Awards

* Asi Taulava won the coveted Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, aside from winning the Best Player of the Conference in the All-Filipino Cup.
* Jimmy Alapag won the Rookie of the Year honors.

## Game results
### All-Filipino Cup

| Date | Opponent | Score | Top scorer | Venue | Location |
| February 26 | Shell | 74–77 | | Philsports Arena | Pasig |
| March 2 | Alaska | 78–96 | Alapag (24 pts) | Araneta Coliseum | Quezon City |
| March 9 | San Miguel | 83–79 | Ravena (21 pts) | Araneta Coliseum | Quezon City |
| March 14 | Sta.Lucia | 72–71 | Alapag (16 pts) | Philsports Arena | Pasig |
| March 21 (Ordered replay) | Brgy.Ginebra | 117–122 2OT | Alapag (40 pts) | Araneta Coliseum | Quezon City |
| March 26 | Shell | 104–92 | Taulava (46 pts) | Makati Coliseum | Makati City |
| March 29 | Red Bull | 88–94 | Taulava (27 pts) | | Cebu City |
| April 2 | Purefoods | 83–85 | | Philsports Arena | Pasig |
| April 9 | FedEX | 93–86 OT | Taulava (38 pts) | Philsports Arena | Pasig |
| April 12 | Coca-Cola | 78–79 | | | San Fernando, Pampanga |
| April 16 | Sta.Lucia | 84–77 | | Philsports Arena | Pasig |
| April 22 (Replay) | Brgy.Ginebra | 90–87 | Alapag (26 pts) | Araneta Coliseum | Quezon City |
| April 25 | Red Bull | | | Philsports Arena | Pasig |
| April 30 | Alaska | 89–88 | | Makati Coliseum | Makati City |
| May 4 | Coca-Cola | 91–87 | Taulava (30 pts) | Araneta Coliseum | Quezon City |
| May 9 | FedEx | 105–116 | | Philsports Arena | Pasig |
| May 11 | Brgy.Ginebra | 82–99 | Alapag (21 pts) | Araneta Coliseum | Quezon City |
| May 21 | Purefoods | | | Philsports Arena | Pasig |
| May 28 | San Miguel | 102–106 | Taulava (31 pts) | Philsports Arena | Pasig |
Win  Win via OT  loss  loss via OT