PBA Season 49 Governor’s Cup returns with new format

The Philippine Basketball Association announced the new format for the upcoming Governor’s Cup for PBA Season 49 which is set to kick off on August 18.

PBA commissioner Willie Marcial had long revealed that the league is adopting a format where the 12 teams are divided into two groups for the elimination round.

The Top 4 finishers of each group will advance to the crossover finals quarterfinals, slated to be a best-of-five series. The semifinals and finals of the season-opening conference would be in a best-of-seven series.

Teams, however, are still only allowed to tap imports no taller than 6-foot-6.

With PBA finally unveiling the groupings for the new tournament format, Group A will be led by the most-recent Philippine Cup champion Meralco and defending Governor’s Cup winners TNT Tropang Giga along with Magnolia, NorthPort, Converge, and Terrafirma.

On the other hand, Group B will be spearheaded by Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel. NLEX, Rain or Shine, Phoenix and Blackwater are joining them as well.

The change of the conference format was made as part of the league’s effort to garner fans’ interest and enthusiasm as they try to spice things up ahead of its 50th season.