2002 PBA season

The **2002 PBA season** was the 28th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

## Board of governors

### Executive committee

* Emilio Bernardino, Jr. (Commissioner)
* Francisco Alejo III (Chairman, representing Purefoods TJ Hotdogs)
* Casiano Cabalan Jr. (Vice-Chairman, representing Barangay Ginebra Kings)
* Angelito Alvarez (Treasurer, representing FedEx Express)

## Notable occurrences

* The Tanduay Rhum Masters left the league after three seasons. Their franchise was taken over by the FedEx Express.
* Republic Flour Mills (RFM) sold its subsidiary COSMOS Bottlers Corporation to food company giant San Miguel Corporation. The move also absorbed the Pop Cola Panthers, which gave SMC four PBA ballclubs. After the PBA board gave the go-signal to allow the team to remain in the league, it was renamed as the Coca-Cola Tigers before the start of the 2002 season. The league however removed the "voting rights" of Purefoods to retain parity within the Board of Governors.
* The Coca-Cola Tigers became the first-ever PBA team to win a major conference title in its maiden season, winning the Governor's Cup on December 25, 2002.
* The league revised its season calendar to accommodate the participation of its players for the upcoming 2002 Asian Games. The Governors' Cup became the first conference of the season while the All-Filipino became the third and final conference.
* The pool for the national team were divided into two teams: Selecta-RP and Happee-RP. Both teams participated for the Governors' Cup. The teams were later merged to form the final lineup of the national team in the Commissioner's Cup, retaining the Selecta-RP branding.
* The Talk 'N Text wore black patch on the side of their jerseys on March 31, 2002 as a tribute to the late young actor Rico Yan who was the brand's first endorser from 2001-2002.
* Talk 'N Text coach Bill Bayno was fined PHP200,000 after publicly criticizing the league and its official. This came after Bayno branded the league as "San Miguel Basketball Association" and charged the league officials are favoring the four SMC-owned teams (San Miguel Beermen, Barangay Ginebra Kings, Coca Cola Tigers and Purefoods TJ Hotdogs).
* This was the last season in which the Commissioner's and Governors Cup were disputed before the tournaments were reinstated in the 2010-11 season. They were replaced in 2003 by the Invitational and Reinforced Conferences in 2003, and eventually the Fiesta Conference in 2004 after the league reduced the number of conferences in a PBA season to two.

## Awards

* **Most Valuable Player**: Willie Miller (Red Bull)
* **Rookie of the Year**: Ren-Ren Ritualo (FedEx)
* **Sportsmanship Award**: Paolo Mendoza (Sta. Lucia)
* **Most Improved Player**: Rob Duat (Alaska)
* **Defensive Player of the Year**: Davonn Harp (Red Bull)
* **Mythical Five**
	+ Willie Miller (Red Bull)
	+ Davonn Harp (Red Bull)
	+ Jeffrey Cariaso (Coca-Cola)
	+ Victor Pablo (Talk 'N Text)
	+ Don Allado (Alaska)
* **Mythical Second Team**
	+ Asi Taulava (Talk 'N Text)
	+ Gilbert Demape (Talk 'N Text)
	+ Nic Belasco (San Miguel)
	+ Kerby Raymundo (Purefoods)
	+ Rey Evangelista (Purefoods)
* **All Defensive Team**
	+ Davonn Harp (Red Bull)
	+ Chris Jackson (Shell)
	+ Rudy Hatfield (Coca-Cola)
	+ Jeffrey Cariaso (Coca-Cola)
	+ Rey Evangelista (Purefoods)

### Awards given by the PBA Press Corps

* **Coach of the Year**: Ryan Gregorio (Purefoods)
* **Mr. Quality Minutes**: Ato Morano (Coca-Cola)
* **Executive of the Year**: George C. Chua (Red Bull)
* **Comeback Player of the Year**: Ronnie Magsanoc (Purefoods)
* **Referee of the Year**: Mario Montiel