Philippine Basketball Association opening ceremonies

The Philippine Basketball Association opening ceremonies marks the start of the league's season.[1] Since 1995, a single game is held, preceded by an entertainment program and parade of participating teams. The ceremonies is usually held at the third Sunday of October.

Overview
The parade of teams during the opening ceremonies of the 2014-15 PBA season at the Philippine Arena.

An opening ceremonies is held to mark the start of the season since the league's maiden season in 1975. The ceremonies typically start with an entertainment show, depending on the theme for that year. Usual highlights are performances of Filipino artists and speeches from the league commissioner and other invited guests. A parade of participating teams follows afterwards. Each team marches into the venue together with their muses. After all of the teams have paraded, the season's chairman of the PBA Board of Governors gives a speech and afterwards, he will officially declare the season open.

After the opening ceremonies, a lone game, the first game for the season, will be played. From 1975 to 1994, two games were played immediately following the ceremonies.

Venue

From 1975 to 1984, the league opened its season at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, the league's primary venue for its games. After the league transferred its operations at the University of Life Theater and Recreational Arena (ULTRA) in Pasig, the opening ceremonies were exclusively held there from 1985 to 1992. After the fallout between the PBA and the Philippine Sports Commission, which operates the ULTRA, the league transferred its operations at the then newly built Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay in 1993. The league's opening ceremonies and the majority of its games were held at the Astrodome from 1993 to 1998. After the exclusive contract in the Cuneta Astrodome expired in 1999, the league returned to its previous home, The ULTRA, now renamed as the PhilSports Arena and held its opening ceremonies there for the first time in six years. When the league celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2000, the opening ceremonies were held at the Araneta Coliseum, where the league was inaugurated. The ceremonies were held at the venue exclusively until 2013.

For the 2013–14 season, the league's opening ceremonies was held at three different locations covering Luzon (Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City), Visayas (Cebu Coliseum), and Mindanao (USEP Gymnasium, Davao City).[2]

The league opened its 2014–15 season at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan; this was the first time that the league had its opening ceremonies outside Metro Manila and it was the first non-Iglesia ni Cristo and commercial event that was held in the arena.

The 2015–16 season opener was supposed to be held on October 18, 2015, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum[3] but was suspended due to the onslaught of Typhoon Lando (international name: Kuppo). Instead, the opening was held on October 21 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. This was the first time for the following: suspension of opening ceremonies due to bad weather, an opening ceremonies that was held on a weekday, and the first opening ceremonies held in the Mall of Asia Arena.

Due to COVID-19 related restrictions, the 2021 opening ceremonies were held at the Ynares Sports Arena with no audience in the venue. The traditional parade of teams with muses was not done and a “simple” opening ceremonies were held instead. Players were present virtually.[4]

Venues
Season Date Venue Ref.
1975April 9Araneta Coliseum
1976March 21Araneta Coliseum
1977April 17Araneta Coliseum
1978April 16Araneta Coliseum
1979April 1Araneta Coliseum
1980March 16Araneta Coliseum
1981March 8Araneta Coliseum
1982March 7Araneta Coliseum
1983March 6Araneta Coliseum
1984March 25Araneta Coliseum
1985March 3The ULTRA
1986April 6The ULTRA
1987March 22The ULTRA
1988March 20The ULTRA
1989March 5The ULTRA
1990February 18The ULTRA
1991February 17The ULTRA
1992February 9PSC-NASA
1993February 28Cuneta Astrodome
1994March 6Cuneta Astrodome
1995February 19Cuneta Astrodome
1996February 18Cuneta Astrodome
1997February 16Cuneta Astrodome
1998February 1Cuneta Astrodome
1999February 7PhilSports Arena
2000February 20Araneta Coliseum
2001January 28Araneta Coliseum
2002February 10Araneta Coliseum
2003February 23Araneta Coliseum
2004 FiestaFebruary 22Araneta Coliseum
2004–05October 3Araneta Coliseum
2005–06October 2Araneta Coliseum
2006–07September 28Araneta Coliseum
2007–08October 14Araneta Coliseum
2008–09October 4Araneta Coliseum
2009–10October 11Araneta Coliseum
2010–11October 3Araneta Coliseum
2011–12October 2Smart Araneta Coliseum
2012–13September 30Smart Araneta Coliseum
2013–14November 17Smart Araneta Coliseum (main venue)
Cebu Coliseum
USEP Gymnasium, Davao City		[5]
2014–15October 19Philippine Arena[6]
2015–16October 21Mall of Asia Arena[7]
2016–17November 20Smart Araneta Coliseum[8]
2017–18December 17Smart Araneta Coliseum[9]
2019January 13Philippine Arena[10]
2020 (Season 45)March 8Smart Araneta Coliseum[11]
2021 (Season 46)July 16Ynares Sports Arena[12]
2022–23 (Season 47)June 5Smart Araneta Coliseum
2023–24 (Season 48)November 5Smart Araneta Coliseum[13]

References
  1. Star-filled PBA Opening Ceremonies at Smart Araneta Coliseum, Kaye Estoista-Koo, Philippine Entertainment Portal, October 3, 2011
  2. Ginebra-San Mig duel to highlight unique three-game bill on PBA opening day, Snow Badua, Spin.ph, October 30, 2013
  3. "PBA opens 'Liga ng mga Bida'". Manila Standard Today. 2015-10-18. Retrieved 2015-10-19.
  4. Terrado, Reuben (July 11, 2021). "Everything you need to know about coming PBA season". spin.ph. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  5. Ginebra-San Mig duel to highlight unique three-game bill on PBA opening day, Snow Badua, Spin.ph, October 30, 2013
  6. Salud says it's 'all systems go' for staging of PBA opening games at Philippine Arena, Snow Badua, spin.ph, September 18, 2014
  7. PBA moves opening ceremonies, RoS-Star game to Wednesday, PBA.ph, October 18, 2015
  8. A parade of beauty in PBA Sunday Opening, PBA.inquirer.net, November 18, 2016
  9. San Miguel starts Philippine Cup title defense as PBA Season 43 kicks off, Paul Lintag, ABS-CBN Sports, December 17, 2017
  10. In break from tradition, PBA Leo Awards to kick off season on January 13, Reuben Terrado, spin.ph, December 26, 2018
  11. "PBA PBA, D-League 2020 season opening postponed due to novel coronavirus". Rappler. 10 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  12. Terrado, Reuben (July 11, 2021). "Everything you need to know about coming PBA season". spin.ph. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  13. "Magnolia-TNT tiff kicks off Season 48 on Nov. 5". PBA.ph. October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
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