2004 PBA Fiesta Conference

The 2004 PBA Fiesta Conference, or known as the 2004 Gran Matador Brandy-PBA Fiesta Conference for sponsorship reasons, was tournament held by the Philippine Basketball Association and the first ever edition of the PBA Fiesta Conference.[1]

2004 PBA Fiesta Conference
DurationFebruary 22 – July 7, 2004
TV partner(s)ABC
Finals
ChampionsBarangay Ginebra Kings
Runners-upRed Bull Barako
Awards
Best PlayerEric Menk
(Barangay Ginebra Kings)
Best ImportVictor Thomas
(Red Bull Barako)
Finals MVPEric Menk
(Barangay Ginebra Kings)
PBA Fiesta Conference chronology
PBA conference chronology

Prior to the formation of the said conference, the league had two import-laced conferences known as the PBA Commissioner's Cup (with an import height-limit of 6–8), and the PBA Governor's Cup (with an import height-limit of 6–4). However, in 2003, the two conferences were scrapped and was replaced with an Invitational tournament, with an All-Filipino local squad along with foreign teams) and an import-laced Reinforced Conference.

But, in 2004, the league changed its calendar from a calendar year to a fiscal year. As a preparation for the new format, the tournament was institutionalized in 2004 as a transitional tournament. The first Fiesta Conference was played from February–July 2004.[2]

Opening ceremonies

The muses for the participating teams are as follows:

Team Muse
Alaska Aces Iya Villania
Barangay Ginebra Kings Belinda Bright and Maricar de Mesa
Coca-Cola Tigers Iza Calzado
FedEx Express Katarina Perez
Purefoods TJ Hotdogs Jennylyn Mercado
Red Bull Barako
San Miguel Beermen Jenny Manuel
Shell Turbo Chargers Michelle Estevez
Sta. Lucia Realtors
Talk 'N Text Phone Pals Nancy Castiglione

2004 PBA All-Star Game

The league held its All-Star Weekend on August 15, 2004, at the jampacked New Cebu City Coliseum, with the revived North vs South All-Stars format.[3] The South All-Stars defeated the Northern selection, 130–128, in a closely fought contest. Asi Taulava and Jimmy Alapag were named co-MVP of the All-Star Game.

Classification round
Pos Team W L PCT GB Qualification
1 San Miguel Beermen 16 2 .889 — Advance to quarterfinals
2 Alaska Aces 11 7 .611[lower-alpha 1] 5
3 Coca-Cola Tigers 11 7 .611[lower-alpha 1] 5 Advance to wildcard phase
4 Talk 'N Text Phone Pals 11 7 .611[lower-alpha 1] 5
5 Red Bull Barako 10 8 .556 6
6 Sta. Lucia Realtors 8 10 .444 8
7 Barangay Ginebra Kings 7 11 .389[lower-alpha 2] 9
8 Shell Turbo Chargers 7 11 .389[lower-alpha 2] 9
9 FedEx Express 5 13 .278 11
10 Purefoods TJ Hotdogs 4 14 .222 12
Source: PBA.ph
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head differential: Alaska +41, Coca-Cola −14, Talk 'N Text −27
  2. Head-to-head differential: Barangay Ginebra +5, Shell −5

Wildcard phase

Quarterfinals

Groupings
Group A Group B
#1 seeded team #2 seeded team
Winner of #4 vs #9 wildcard playoff Winner of #3 vs #10 wildcard playoff
Winner of #5 vs #8 wildcard playoff Winner of #6 vs #7 wildcard playoff
U.S. Pro-Am Selection UBC Thunderbirds

Group A
Pos Team W L PCT GB Qualification
1 Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters 3 0 1.000 — Advance to semifinals
2 Red Bull Thunder 2 1 .667 1
3 San Miguel Beermen 1 2 .333 2
4 U.S. Pro-Am Selection (G) 0 3 .000 3
Source: PBA.ph
(G) Guests
June 13
U.S. Pro-Am Selection 91, Red Bull Barako 101
June 16
Talk 'N Text Phone Pals 127, U.S. Pro-Am Selection 115
June 20
U.S. Pro-Am Selection 104, San Miguel Beermen 106

Group B
Pos Team W L PCT GB Qualification
1 Coca-Cola Tigers 3 0 1.000 — Advance to semifinals
2 Barangay Ginebra Kings 2 1 .667 1
3 Alaska Aces 1 2 .333 2
4 UBC Thunderbirds (G) 0 3 .000 3
Source: PBA.ph
(G) Guests

Two guest teams participated in the tournament, the University of British Columbia men's basketball team and the US Pro-Am Selection. Both never won a single game in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Bracket
Semifinals (original seed)
(Best-of-3) 		Finals
(Best-of-5)
      
A1 Talk 'N Text (4) 1
B2 Barangay Ginebra (7) 2
A2 Barangay Ginebra (7) 3
B2 Red Bull (5) 1
B1 Coca-Cola (3) 1
A2 Red Bull (5) 2 Third place playoff
A1 Talk 'N Text (4) 113
B1 Coca-Cola (3) 104

Semifinals

(A1) Talk 'N Text vs. (B2) Barangay Ginebra
June 27
Talk 'N Text Phone Pals 103, Barangay Ginebra Kings 111
Barangay Ginebra wins series, 2–1

(B1) Coca-Cola vs. (A2) Red Bull
June 27
Coca-Cola Tigers 91, Red Bull Barako 101
Red Bull wins series, 2–1

Third place playoff

Finals
July 7
Red Bull Barako 86, Barangay Ginebra Kings 103
Barangay Ginebra wins series, 3–1
Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
Attendance: 16,468

The Barangay Ginebra Kings ended their seven-year title drought with a 3–1 series victory over Red Bull Barako in the Finals. They became the lowest seed (7th seed) ever to win a PBA championship, to be followed by the San Miguel Beermen in the 2019 PBA Commissioner's Cup.

Awards

Eric Menk of Barangay Ginebra was named the Best Player of the Conference while Red Bull's Victor Thomas is the conference Best Import.

Broadcast notes
GamePlay-by-playAnalyst
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Game 4Mico HaliliTJ Manotoc

References
  1. "PBA Fiesta Conference reels off". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  2. "It's Barakos against Kings for Fiesta title". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
  3. "All-Star game in Cebu today". Philippine Daily Inquirer.
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