The 2008 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Fiesta Conference, also known as the 2008 Smart PBA Fiesta Conference for sponsorship reasons, was the last conference of the 2007-08 PBA season. The tournament began on March 29 with a game between the Coca-Cola Tigers and the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals at Panabo, Davao del Norte. Opening ceremonies were held the day after at the Araneta Coliseum.
| 2008 PBA Fiesta Conference | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Duration | March 29 – August 20, 2008 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC/TV5 (Local) The Filipino Channel (International) |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Barangay Ginebra Kings |
| Runners-up | Air21 Express |
| Awards | |
| Best Player | Jayjay Helterbrand (Barangay Ginebra Kings) |
| Best Import | Chris Alexander (Barangay Ginebra Kings) |
| Finals MVP | Eric Menk and Ronald Tubid (Barangay Ginebra Kings) |
| PBA Fiesta Conference chronology | |
| PBA conference chronology | |
All ten teams are permitted to acquire one non-Filipino (the "import") of unlimited height as reinforcement. Furthermore, the two worst performers in the elimination round of the previous conference (the Coca-Cola Tigers and the Welcoat Dragons), will also be able to acquire another import but with a height limit of 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m).
Tournament format
edit- Double round eliminations. Worst team would be eliminated.
- Sixth- to ninth-best teams figure in the one-game wildcard playoffs.
- Sixth seed vs. Ninth seed
- Seventh seed vs. Eighth seed
- Winners will figure in a playoff to advance to the quarterfinals.
- Third- to fifth-best teams, and the winner of the wildcards advance to the best-of-three quarterfinals.
- Third seed vs. winner of wildcards.
- Fourth seed vs. fifth seed.
- The two best teams and the winners of the quarterfinals advance to the best-of-seven semifinals.
- First seed vs. winner of the third seed/wildcard winner quarterfinal series
- Second seed vs. winner of the fourth seed/fifth seed quarterfinal series
- The winners of the semifinals advance to the best-of-seven Finals; the losers figure in a one-game third-place playoff.
Elimination round
editTeam standings
edit| Pos | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Air21 Express | 12 | 6 | .667 | — | Advance to semifinals |
| 2 | Red Bull Barako | 11 | 7 | .611 | 1 | |
| 3 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 10 | 8 | .556[a] | 2 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 4 | Coca-Cola Tigers | 10 | 8 | .556[a] | 2 | |
| 5 | Magnolia Beverage Masters | 10 | 8 | .556[a] | 2 | |
| 6 | Alaska Aces | 9 | 9 | .500[b] | 3 | Advance to wildcard round |
| 7 | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | 9 | 9 | .500[b] | 3 | |
| 8 | Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants | 8 | 10 | .444 | 4 | |
| 9 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 7 | 11 | .389 | 5 | |
| 10 | Welcoat Dragons | 4 | 14 | .222 | 8 |
Notes:
Schedule
editBracket
edit| Wildcard phase (Single elimination) | Wildcard phase (Single elimination) | Quarterfinals (Best-of-3) | Semifinals (Best-of-7) | Finals (Best-of-7) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Alaska | 85 | 3 | Brgy. Ginebra | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Sta. Lucia | 99 | 3 | Brgy. Ginebra | 2 | 2 | Red Bull | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| 9 | Sta. Lucia | 111 | 9 | Sta. Lucia | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Talk 'N Text | 96 | 3 | Brgy. Ginebra | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Talk 'N Text | 98 | 1 | Air21 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Purefoods | 83 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Air21 | 4 | Third place | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Coca-Cola | 1 | 5 | Magnolia | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Magnolia | 2 | 2 | Red Bull | 102 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Magnolia | 90 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wildcard phase
editFirst round
editSecond round
editQuarterfinals
edit(3) Barangay Ginebra vs. (9) Sta. Lucia
edit(4) Coca-Cola vs. (5) Magnolia
editSemifinals
edit(1) Air21 vs. (5) Magnolia
edit(2) Red Bull vs. (3) Barangay Ginebra
editThird place playoff
editAugust 6
|
| Red Bull Barako 102, Magnolia Beverage Masters 90 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28-22, 15-26, 27-37, 20-17 |
Finals
editAwards
edit- Finals Most Valuable Player: Ronald Tubid and Eric Menk (Barangay Ginebra)
- Best Player of the Conference: Jayjay Helterbrand (Barangay Ginebra)
- Best Import of the Conference: Chris Alexander (Barangay Ginebra)
- Players of the Week:
- March 29-April 6: Kelly Williams (Sta. Lucia)
- April 7–13: Danny Seigle (Magnolia)
- April 14–20: Cyrus Baguio (Red Bull)
- April 22-May 4: Mark Cardona (Talk 'N Text)
- May 5–11: Asi Taulava (Coca-Cola) & Rob Wainwright (Welcoat)
- May 12–18: Willie Miller (Alaska)
- May 19–25: Mark Caguioa (Barangay Ginebra)
- May 26-June 1: Gary David (Air21)
- June 2–8: Jayjay Helterbrand (Barangay Ginebra)
- June 9–15: Jayjay Helterbrand (Barangay Ginebra)
- June 16–22: Lordy Tugade (Magnolia) & Ren-Ren Ritualo (Talk 'N Text)
- June 23–29: Jayjay Helterbrand (Barangay Ginebra)
- June 30–July 6: Gary David (Air21) & Mark Caguioa (Barangay Ginebra)
- July 7–July 13: Joseph Yeo (Sta. Lucia)
- July 14–July 20: none
- July 21–July 27: Mark Caguioa (Barangay Ginebra)
- July 28–August 3: Gary David (Air21)
Imports
editThe following is the list of imports, which had played for their respective teams at least once, with the returning imports in italics. Highlighted are the imports who stayed with their respective teams for the whole conference.
