LOS ANGELES - PBA Season 43 is readopting the exciting calendar in the past season that culminated with the Governors Cup finale played before record crowds at the Philippine Arena.
The local pro league is also reimplementing the same exciting formats used last season where San Miguel Beer emerged as the Philippine Cup and Commissioner's Cup champ while Barangay Ginebra came through with a successful title defense in the Governors Cup.
This measure was resolved in the last PBA regular board meeting in Manila.
The same height limits for imports are set - 6-foot-10 in the Commissioner's Cup and 6-foot-5 in the Governors Cup.
This paves the way for the likely return of topnotch imports Justin Brownlee, Charles Rhodes, Ricardo Ratliffe and Allen Durham in PBA Season 43 set to startDec. 17.
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All three tourneys feature a single-round-robin elimination phase, with the best eight teams advancing to the playoffs. Thus each team will be playing a minimum of 33 games in the season.
In the all-Filipino and in the Commissioner's Cup, the Top Two gain a twice-to-beat advantage versus the bottom two in the quarters. The four middle teams, meanwhile, figure in a pair of best-of-three quarterfinals showdowns.
In the Governors Cup, the Top Four will all enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals versus the next four. It's No. 1 versus No. 8, No. 2 opposite No. 7, No.3 against No. 6 and No. 4 versus No. 5.
The Gin Kings are likely to play Brownlee in both the Commissioner's Cup and in the Governors Cup like they did last season.
Meanwhile, San Miguel and Star are likely to bring back Rhodes and Ratliffe in the second conference while Meralco could lean on Durham again in the Governors Cup.
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Rhodes and Durham emerged as the Best Imports in the Commissioner's Cup and Governors Cup, respectively, in PBA Season 42.
