2008 PBA Fiesta Conference

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)
Best Import	Chris Alexander (Barangay Ginebra)
Finals MVP	Ronald Tubid and Eric Menk (Barangay Ginebra)
PBA Fiesta Conference chronology
< 2007 2009 >
PBA conference chronology
< 2007–08 Philippine 2008–09 Philippine >

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.

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

• 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

Team standings

Legend: GB = games behind; PCT = winning percentage.

Schedule

Bracket

Wildcard phase

Quarterfinals

Sta. Lucia - Barangay Ginebra series

Coca-Cola - Magnolia series

Semifinals

Air21 - Magnolia series

Red Bull - Barangay Ginebra series

Third place playoff

Finals

Awards

• 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

The 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.

#	Name	Team	Debuted
1	Calvin Cage	Coca-Cola Tigers	March 29 vs. Talk 'N Text
2	Jason Dixon	Coca-Cola Tigers	March 29 vs. Talk 'N Text
3	Aaron McGhee	Talk 'N Text Phone Pals	March 29 vs. Coca-Cola
4	Steve Thomas	Air21 Express	March 30 vs. Welcoat
5	Jason Keep	Welcoat Dragons	March 30 vs. Air21
6	Cory Santee	Welcoat Dragons	March 30 vs. Air21
7	Adam Parada	Red Bull Barako	March 30 vs. Brgy. Ginebra
8	Rahshon Turner	Barangay Ginebra Kings	March 30 vs. Red Bull
9	Wesley Wilson	Sta. Lucia Realtors	April 2 vs. Alaska
10	Randy Holcomb	Alaska Aces	April 2 vs. Sta. Lucia
11	Darius Rice	Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants	April 2 vs. Magnolia
12	Jameel Watkins	Magnolia Beverage Masters	April 2 vs. Purefoods
13	Marquis Gainous	Welcoat Dragons	April 9 vs. Coca-Cola
14	Ernest Brown	Barangay Ginebra Kings	April 12 vs. Sta. Lucia
15	George Gervin, Jr.	Coca-Cola Tigers	April 13 vs. Air21
16	Chris Alexander	Barangay Ginebra Kings	May 2 vs. Purefoods
17	Reda Rhalimi	Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants	May 10 vs. Alaska
18	Donald Copeland	Coca-Cola Tigers	May 23 vs. Red Bull
19	Jamar Brown	Sta. Lucia Realtors	June 1 vs. Air21
20	Lee Benson, Jr.	Sta. Lucia Realtors	June 13 vs. Magnolia
21	Amal McCaskill	Magnolia Beverage Masters	June 13 vs. Sta. Lucia
22	Terrence Leather	Talk 'N Text Phone Pals	June 13 vs. Air21
23	Alex Compton	Welcoat Dragons	June 18 vs. Air21
24	Brandon Dean	Coca-Cola Tigers	July 13 vs. Magnolia

External links

• Philippine Basketball Association official website