The 2015–16 PBA season will be the 41st season of the Philippine Basketball Association.
The league will continue to use the three-conference format, starting with the Philippine Cup.
The Commissioner’s Cup and the Governors’ Cup are the second and third conferences in the upcoming season.
This season will also be the first season of Chito Narvasa as the PBA commissioner Chito Salud announced his resignation at the end of the 2014–15 season.
PHILIPPINE CUP 2015-2016: NLEX VS BLACKWATER
EVENTS: Live Streaming & Full Game Replay
Where: Smart Araneta Coliseum
When: FRIDAY October 23, 2015
STREAM & REPLAY: CLICK HERE
Salud, however, will remain with the PBA as he will be the new President and CEO of the league.[1]
The first event of the season was the 2015 PBA draft which was held on August 23
MANILA, Philippines – Asi Taulava is not about to slow down at 42 and in his 17th PBA season.
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To start the new season, the ageless warrior churned out a clutch performance, grabbing a big offensive rebound and knocking down four charities in the last 37 seconds as NLEX outfought Blackwater, 90-86, in the 2015-16 Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.
Taulava made big plays at endgame to cap a double-double game with 19 points and 12 rebounds and help preserve NLEX’s unbeaten record in head-on matches with Blackwater.
“It’s a tough win, and credit goes to Blackwater who made it really tough for us in this game,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez.
Last season, NLEX swept Blackwater in three games by a whopping average margin of 20 points.
In this game, the Road Warriors had to fight back from an early double-digit deficit and buck Keith Agovida’s nine-point fourth-quarter flurry.
Meanwhile, the Petron Blaze PBA road series hits the road, bringing an interesting match between two-conference champ San Miguel Beer and a beefed-up Globalport side in the UTEP Gym in Davao City Saturday night.
The Beermen, led by back-to-back MVP winner Junmar Fajardo, and the Batang Pier, bannered by their exciting backcourt rotation of Terrence Romeo, Stanley Pringle, Joseph Yeo, Jonathan Uyloan, Roi Sumang, clash at 5 p.m.
“This is a good lesson for us. We must learn from this and hopefully we improve as the tournament goes on,” said Fernandez of their close win over the Elite.
The Road Warriors, who trailed most of the way, pulled through as Taulava brought down a key offensive rebound, nailed two charities then Reil Cervantes muffed a game-tying three-point attempt.
Trade acquisition Sean Anthony, rookie draftee Simon Enciso and old mainstay Mark Borboran delivered the buckets as NLEX seized control at 85-78 with time down to five minutes.
Final Scores Results:
NLEX 90 — Taulava 19, Enciso 15, Anthony 14, Borboran 10, J. Villanueva 8, Apinan 6, Cardona 5, Reyes 5, Alas 4, Khobuntin 4, Arboleda 0.
Blackwater 86 — Agovida 15, Reyes 13, Cervantes 12, Ballesteros 10, Lastimosa 7, Gamalinda 6, Sena 6, Cortez 5, Canada 3, Erram 2, Golla 2, Bulawan 0, Vosotros 0.
Quarters:17-26; 41-42; 60-59; 90-86.
Cervantes and Agovida, however, brought Blackwater back into the fight, and Taulava needed to come through at endgame.
The Elite sizzled with a remarkable 7-of-11 three-pointers as they got off to a hot start, leading by 11 at 28-17 before settling for a 42-41 halftime lead.
Agovida, a rookie draftee from Arellano U, top scored for Blackwater with 15 points with Raphy Reyes and Cervantes adding 13 and 12, respectively.
Scoring more than 80 points in a game as a high school baller with JRU in 2008, Agovida flashed his scoring prowess in his personal spurt in the payoff period.
Fresh from another stint as a national player, Taulava also came up with three assists, one steal and one block on top of his double-double numbers for NLEX.