# 2017–18 PBA Philippine Cup

The 2017–18 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup was the first conference of the 2017–18 PBA season. The tournament started on December 17, 2017, and ended on April 6, 2018. The tournament does not allow teams to hire foreign players or imports.

## Format

The following format will be observed for the duration of the conference:
* Single-round robin eliminations; 11 games per team; Teams are then seeded by basis on win–loss records.
* Top eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals. In case of tie, playoff games will be held only for the #8 seed.
* Quarterfinals:
** QF1: #1 vs #8 (#1 twice-to-beat)
** QF2: #2 vs #7 (#2 twice-to-beat)
** QF3: #3 vs #6 (best-of-3 series)
** QF4: #4 vs #5 (best-of-3 series)
* Semifinals (best-of-7 series):
** SF1: QF1 Winner vs. QF4 Winner
** SF2: QF2 Winner vs. QF3 Winner
* Finals (best-of-7 series)
** F1: SF1 Winner vs SF2 Winner

## Elimination round
### Team standings

| Pos | Teamvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | San Miguel Beermen | 8 | 3 | .727 | — | Twice-to-beat in the quarterfinals |
| 2 | Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok | 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 | 6 | 5 | .545 | 2 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 5 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 6 | 5 | .545 | 2 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 6 | NLEX Road Warriors | 6 | 5 | .545 | 2 | Best-of-three quarterfinals |
| 7 | GlobalPort Batang Pier | 5 | 6 | .455 | 3 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 8 | TNT KaTropa | 5 | 6 | .455 | 3 | Twice-to-win in the quarterfinals |
| 9 | Phoenix Fuel Masters | 5 | 6 | .455 | 3 | |
| 10 | Blackwater Elite | 5 | 6 | .455 | 3 | |
| 11 | Meralco Bolts | 4 | 7 | .364 | 4 | |
| 12 | Kia Picanto | 1 | 10 | .091 | 7 | |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: San Miguel 1–0 Magnolia
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head quotient: Barangay Ginebra 1.03, Rain or Shine 1.02, NLEX 0.95
* 1 2 3 4 Head-to-head quotient: GlobalPort 1.14, Phoenix 1.00, TNT 0.97, Blackwater 0.89; #8 seed playoff: TNT defeated Phoenix

### Schedule

| Team ╲ Game | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Alaska Aces | MAG | TNT | MER | KIA | BGSM | BWE | PHX | GP | NLEX | SMB | ROS |
| Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | MAG | GP | BWE | ALA | PHX | SMB | NLEX | KIA | TNT | MER | ROS |
| Blackwater Elite | MER | ROS | BGSM | TNT | GP | ALA | MAG | SMB | KIA | NLEX | PHX |
| GlobalPort Batang Pier | NLEX | BGSM | ROS | BWE | SMB | MER | ALA | TNT | MAG | KIA | PHX |
| Kia Picanto | NLEX | PHX | MAG | ALA | ROS | MER | TNT | BGSM | BWE | GP | SMB |
| Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok | ALA | BGSM | KIA | NLEX | PHX | TNT | BWE | SMB | ROS | GP | MER |
| Meralco Bolts | BWE | SMB | ALA | TNT | KIA | GP | ROS | NLEX | PHX | BGSM | MAG |
| NLEX Road Warriors | KIA | GP | PHX | MAG | SMB | ROS | BGSM | MER | ALA | BWE | TNT |
| Phoenix Fuel Masters | SMB | KIA | NLEX | ROS | MAG | BGSM | ALA | TNT | MER | BWE | GP |
| Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | TNT | BWE | GP | PHX | KIA | NLEX | MER | MAG | ALA | SMB | BGSM |
| San Miguel Beermen | PHX | MER | TNT | NLEX | GP | BGSM | MAG | BWE | ALA | KIA | ROS |
| TNT KaTropa | ROS | ALA | SMB | BWE | MER | MAG | KIA | PHX | BGSM | GP | NLEX |

### Results

| Team | ALA | BGSM | BWE | GP | KIA | MAG | MER | NLEX | PHX | ROS | SMB | TNT |
| Alaska | | 97–83 | 88–84 | 105–98* | 102–65 | 95–108 | 103–98 | 89–96 | 93–75 | 99–95 | 96–109 | 98–106 |
| Barangay Ginebra | — | | 77–94 | 104–97 | 103–77 | 89–78 | 82–84 | 78–81 | 82–87 | 100–92*** | 100–96 | 93–78 |
| Blackwater | — | — | | 76–101 | 95–76 | 72–78 | 98–103 | 90–93 | 83–78 | 92–87 | 106–96 | 83–92 |
| GlobalPort | — | — | — | | 108–91 | 81–96 | 107–88 | 104–115 | 100–104 | 78–70 | 93–107 | 99–84 |
| Kia | — | — | — | — | | 77–124 | 76–105 | 115–119 | 102–125 | 98–94 | 106–108 | 85–90 |
| Magnolia | — | — | — | — | — | | 94–65 | 105–94 | 97–91 | 95–101 | 76–77 | 91–83 |
| Meralco | — | — | — | — | — | — | | 85–87 | 92–90 | 84–90 | 97–103 | 81–99 |
| NLEX | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | 95–102 | 86–97 | 98–109 | 75–101 |
| Phoenix | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | 99–120 | 96–104 | 74–72 |
| Rain or Shine | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | 95–80 | 82–79 |
| San Miguel | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | 88–76 |
| TNT | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |

## Eighth seed playoff

* ESPN 5
* March 4 6:30 pm
* Box score
Phoenix Fuel Masters 97, TNT KaTropa 118 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25–27, 24–27, 27–40, 21–24 |||
| Pts: Wright 18 Rebs: Kramer, Perkins 11 Asts: Wright 6 | Pts: Rosario 18 Rebs: Castro 8 Asts: Castro 9 |
* Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: N. Quilinguen, R. Yante, R. Gruta, A. Nubla

## Bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | 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 twice-to-beat) | (#1 twice-to-beat) | (#1 twice-to-beat) | | | | | | |
| 1 | San Miguel | 106 | | | | | | |
| 8 | TNT | 93 | | | | | | |
| 8 | TNT | 93 | 1 | San Miguel | 4 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 1 | San Miguel | 4 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 4 | Barangay Ginebra | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Barangay Ginebra | 2 | 4 | Barangay Ginebra | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Rain or Shine | 0 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Rain or Shine | 0 | | | | 1 | San Miguel | 4 |
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | | | | 1 | San Miguel | 4 |
| (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | (#2 twice-to-beat) | | | | 2 | Magnolia | 1 |
| 2 | Magnolia | 86 | | | | 2 | Magnolia | 1 |
| 7 | GlobalPort | 79 | | | | | | |
| 7 | GlobalPort | 79 | 2 | Magnolia | 4 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 2 | Magnolia | 4 | | | |
| (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | (best-of-3) | 6 | NLEX | 2 | | | |
| 3 | Alaska | 0 | 6 | NLEX | 2 | | | |
| 6 | NLEX | 2 | | | | | | |
* view
* talk

## Quarterfinals
### (1) San Miguel vs. (8) TNT

* ESPN 5
* March 6 4:30 pm
* Box score
San Miguel Beermen 106, TNT KaTropa 93 :
| Scoring by quarter: 31–23, 21–21, 25–28, 29–21 |||
| Pts: Fajardo 35 Rebs: Fajardo 11 Asts: Ross 7 | Pts: Castro, Rosario 19 Rebs: Rosario 7 Asts: Castro 8 |
| San Miguel wins series in one game |||
* Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Referees: P. Balao, S. Pineda, E. Tangkion, M. Orioste

### (2) Magnolia vs. (7) GlobalPort

* ESPN 5
* March 6 7:00 pm
* Box score
Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok 86, GlobalPort Batang Pier 79 :
| Scoring by quarter: 12–26, 22–19, 27–14, 25–20 |||
| Pts: Barroca 17 Rebs: Lee 13 Asts: Jalalon 4 | Pts: Pringle 31 Rebs: Pringle, Taha 10 Asts: Romeo 6 |
| Magnolia wins series in one game |||
* Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Referees: J. Mariano, N. Guevarra, M. Flordeliza, G. Borja

### (3) Alaska vs. (6) NLEX

* ESPN 5
* March 5 4:30 pm
* Box score
Alaska Aces 99, NLEX Road Warriors 105 :
| Scoring by quarter: 22–24, 18–26, 32–24, 27–31 |||
| Pts: Banchero 20 Rebs: Abueva 13 Asts: three players 3 | Pts: Ravena 25 Rebs: Quiñahan 10 Asts: Ravena 8 |
* Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Referees: N. Quilinguen, R. Gruta, M. Montoya, A. Nubla
* ESPN 5
* March 7 7:00 pm
* Box score
Alaska Aces 83, NLEX Road Warriors 87 :
| Scoring by quarter: 23–24, 20–25, 28–19, 12–19 |||
| Pts: Abueva 17 Rebs: Abueva 16 Asts: Casio 6 | Pts: Alas 18 Rebs: Alas 9 Asts: Ravena 7 |
| NLEX wins series, 2–0 |||
* Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: J. Mariano, R. Yante, M. Flordeliza, M. Orioste

### (4) Barangay Ginebra vs. (5) Rain or Shine

* ESPN 5
* March 5 7:00 pm
* Box score
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 88, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 80 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 23–20, 24–21, 20–16 |||
| Pts: Tenorio 16 Rebs: Thompson 15 Asts: Thompson 7 | Pts: Belga 17 Rebs: Norwood, Ponferada 6 Asts: Ahanmisi, Tiu 3 |
* Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Referees: P. Balao, S. Pineda, R. Yante, N. Ranido
* ESPN 5
* March 7 4:30 pm
* Box score
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 99, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 91 :
| Scoring by quarter: 28–19, 15–27, 34–26, 22–19 |||
| Pts: J. Aguilar 27 Rebs: J. Aguilar 12 Asts: Mercado, Thompson 6 | Pts: Ahanmisi 18 Rebs: Almazan 13 Asts: Ahanmisi 5 |
| Barangay Ginebra wins series, 2–0 |||
* Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: N. Quilinguen, N. Guevarra, M. Montoya, J. Narandan

## Semifinals
### (1) San Miguel vs. (4) Barangay Ginebra

* ESPN 5
* March 9 7:00 pm
* Box score
San Miguel Beermen 102, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 90 :
| Scoring by quarter: 26–20, 24–21, 28–22, 24–27 |||
| Pts: Santos 23 Rebs: Santos 9 Asts: Ross 8 | Pts: three players 17 Rebs: Mariano 9 Asts: Ferrer 5 |
* Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: N. Quilinguen, N. Guevarra, S. Pineda, M. Orioste
* ESPN 5
* March 11 6:30 pm
* Box score
San Miguel Beermen 104, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 102 (OT) :
| Scoring by quarter: 25–30, 17–25, 28–18, 25–22, Overtime: 9–7 |||
| Pts: Fajardo 33 Rebs: Fajardo 19 Asts: Santos 5 | Pts: J. Aguilar 28 Rebs: Thompson 9 Asts: Tenorio 7 |
* Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: P. Balao, S. Pineda, R. Yante, J. Narandan
* ESPN 5
* March 13 7:00 pm
* Box score
San Miguel Beermen 87, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 95 :
| Scoring by quarter: 15–19, 24–26, 26–34, 22–16 |||
| Pts: Fajardo 23 Rebs: Fajardo 16 Asts: Lassiter 4 | Pts: J. Aguilar 25 Rebs: J. Aguilar 12 Asts: Thompson 6 |
* Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Referees: N. Quilinguen, E. Tangkion, R. Gruta, M. Flordeliza
* ESPN 5
* March 15 7:00 pm
* Box score
San Miguel Beermen 102, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 81 :
| Scoring by quarter: 32–22, 26–19, 26–17, 18–23 |||
| Pts: Lassiter 23 Rebs: Fajardo 13 Asts: Ganuelas-Rosser 10 | Pts: J. Aguilar 31 Rebs: J. Aguilar 13 Asts: Devance, Ferrer 5 |
* Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Referees: P. Balao, N. Guevarra, S. Pineda, M. Orioste
* ESPN 5
* March 17 6:30 pm
* Box score
San Miguel Beermen 100, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 94 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25–34, 30–21, 28–21, 17–18 |||
| Pts: Fajardo 25 Rebs: Santos 13 Asts: Cabagnot 5 | Pts: J. Aguilar 34 Rebs: Thompson 15 Asts: Thompson 16 |
| San Miguel wins series, 4–1 |||
* Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay

### (2) Magnolia vs. (6) NLEX

* ESPN 5
* March 10 6:30 pm
* Box score
Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok 87, NLEX Road Warriors 88 :
| Scoring by quarter: 12–14, 15–18, 34–28, 26–28 |||
| Pts: Sangalang 21 Rebs: Sangalang 9 Asts: Jalalon 6 | Pts: Baguio 17 Rebs: Quiñahan 9 Asts: Quiñahan 7 |
* Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: N. Quilinguen, N. Guevarra, R. Gruta, M. Orioste
* ESPN 5
* March 12 7:00 pm
* Box score
Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok 99, NLEX Road Warriors 84 :
| Scoring by quarter: 27–20, 21–19, 22–23, 29–22 |||
| Pts: Lee 27 Rebs: Sangalang 8 Asts: Jalalon 10 | Pts: Mallari, Quiñahan 13 Rebs: Soyud 6 Asts: Ravena 7 |
* Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Referees: P. Balao, N. Guevarra, R. Gruta, M. Montoya
* ESPN 5
* March 14 7:00 pm
* Box score
Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok 106, NLEX Road Warriors 99 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–27, 29–24, 26–27, 27–21 |||
| Pts: Jalalon 25 Rebs: Reavis 10 Asts: Lee 6 | Pts: Ravena 20 Rebs: Alas 9 Asts: Quiñahan, Ravena 5 |
* Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: J. Mariano, S. Pineda, M. Flordeliza, J. Narandan
* ESPN 5
* March 16 7:00 pm
* Box score
Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok 79, NLEX Road Warriors 91 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–25, 19–16, 20–28, 20–22 |||
| Pts: Sangalang 15 Rebs: Sangalang 14 Asts: Barroca 7 | Pts: Ravena 20 Rebs: Alas, Miranda 6 Asts: Alas, Ravena 5 |
* Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Referees: J. Mariano, E. Tangkion, M. Flordeliza, J. Narandan
* ESPN 5
* March 18 6:30 pm
* Box score
Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok 87, NLEX Road Warriors 78 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–20, 17–16, 22–22, 28–20 |||
| Pts: Barroca 18 Rebs: Sangalang 11 Asts: Sangalang 6 | Pts: Ravena 21 Rebs: Mallari, Soyud 9 Asts: Baguio 7 |
* Ynares Center, Antipolo Referees: P. Balao, E. Tangkion, R. Yante, M. Orioste
* ESPN 5
* March 20 7:00 pm
* Box score
Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok 96, NLEX Road Warriors 89 :
| Scoring by quarter: 20–29, 29–17, 22–22, 25–21 |||
| Pts: Sangalang 15 Rebs: Sangalang 11 Asts: Jalalon 13 | Pts: Miranda 20 Rebs: Miranda 8 Asts: Baguio 6 |
| Magnolia wins series, 4–2 |||
* Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: J. Mariano, N. Guevarra, R. Gruta, J. Narandan

## Finals

* ESPN 5
* March 23 7:00 pm
* Box score
* Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* ESPN 5
* March 25 6:30 pm
* Box score
* Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay
* ESPN 5
* April 1 6:30 pm
* Box score
* Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* ESPN 5
* April 4 7:00 pm
* Box score
* Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
* ESPN 5
* April 6 7:00 pm
* Box score
San Miguel Beermen 108, Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok 99 (2OT) :
* San Miguel wins series, 4–1 ||
* Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay

## Awards
### Conference

* Best Player of the Conference: June Mar Fajardo (San Miguel Beermen)
* Finals MVP: June Mar Fajardo (San Miguel Beermen)

### Players of the Week

| Week | Player |
| December 17–24 | Kiefer Ravena (NLEX Road Warriors) |
| December 25 – January 7 | Greg Slaughter (Barangay Ginebra San Miguel) |
| January 8–14 | Paul Lee (Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok) |
| January 15–21 | Roger Pogoy (TNT KaTropa) |
| January 22–28 | Willy Wilson (Phoenix Fuel Masters) |
| January 29 – February 4 | Vic Manuel (Alaska Aces) |
| February 5–11 | Kiefer Ravena (NLEX Road Warriors) |
| February 12–18 | Garvo Lanete (Meralco Bolts) |
| February 19–24 | JVee Casio (Alaska Aces) |
| February 25 – March 4 | Jericho Cruz (TNT KaTropa) |
| March 6–11 | Marcio Lassiter (San Miguel Beermen) |
| March 12–18 | June Mar Fajardo (San Miguel Beermen) |

## Statistics
### Individual statistical leaders

| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
| Points per game | June Mar Fajardo | San Miguel Beermen | 23.8 |
| Rebounds per game | John Paul Erram | Blackwater Elite | 13.8 |
| Assists per game | Scottie Thompson | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 6.2 |
| Steals per game | Chris Ross | San Miguel Beermen | 2.2 |
| Blocks per game | John Paul Erram | Blackwater Elite | 3.0 |
| Turnovers per game | June Mar Fajardo | San Miguel Beermen | 4.2 |
| Fouls per game | Chris Newsome | Meralco Bolts | 3.7 |
| Fouls per game | Calvin Abueva | Alaska Aces | 3.7 |
| Minutes per game | Arwind Santos | San Miguel Beermen | 39.7 |
| FG% | Matt Ganuelas-Rosser | San Miguel Beermen | 62.1% |
| FT% | Chris Newsome | Meralco Bolts | 91.3% |
| 3FG% | Michael DiGregorio | Blackwater Elite | 48.1% |
| 3FG% | Gelo Alolino | Phoenix Fuel Masters | 48.1% |
| Double-doubles | June Mar Fajardo | San Miguel Beermen | 16 |
| Triple-doubles | JVee Casio | Alaska Aces | 1 |
| Triple-doubles | Scottie Thompson | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 1 |
| Triple-doubles | Chris Ross | San Miguel Beermen | 1 |

### Individual game highs

| Category | Player | Team | Statistic |
| Points | June Mar Fajardo | San Miguel Beermen | 42 |
| Rebounds | John Paul Erram | Blackwater Elite | 21 |
| Rebounds | June Mar Fajardo | San Miguel Beermen | 21 |
| Assists | Scottie Thompson | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 16 |
| Steals | Chris Ross | San Miguel Beermen | 8 |
| Blocks | John Paul Erram | Blackwater Elite | 7 |
| Three point field goals | Paul Lee (twice) | Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok | 6 |
| Three point field goals | Sean Anthony | GlobalPort Batang Pier | 6 |
| Three point field goals | Troy Rosario | TNT KaTropa | 6 |
| Three point field goals | KG Canaleta | Meralco Bolts | 6 |
| Three point field goals | Ronald Tubid | Kia Picanto | 6 |
| Three point field goals | Arwind Santos | San Miguel Beermen | 6 |

### Team statistical leaders

| Category | Team | Statistic |
| Points per game | San Miguel Beermen | 98.9 |
| Rebounds per game | GlobalPort Batang Pier | 56.8 |
| Assists per game | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 24.7 |
| Steals per game | Phoenix Fuel Masters | 10.4 |
| Blocks per game | San Miguel Beermen | 6.5 |
| Turnovers per game | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 19.7 |
| FG% | San Miguel Beermen | 44.4% |
| FT% | Meralco Bolts | 76.4% |
| 3FG% | Meralco Bolts | 34.8% |