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 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Duration | February 22 – July 7, 2004 |
| TV partner(s) | ABC |
| Finals | |
| Champions | Barangay Ginebra Kings |
| Runners-up | Red Bull Barako |
| Awards | |
| Best Player | Eric Menk (Barangay Ginebra Kings) |
| Best Import | Victor Thomas (Red Bull Barako) |
| Finals MVP | Eric 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[a] | 5 | |
| 3 | Coca-Cola Tigers | 11 | 7 | .611[a] | 5 | Advance to wildcard phase |
| 4 | Talk 'N Text Phone Pals | 11 | 7 | .611[a] | 5 | |
| 5 | Red Bull Barako | 10 | 8 | .556 | 6 | |
| 6 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 8 | 10 | .444 | 8 | |
| 7 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | 7 | 11 | .389[b] | 9 | |
| 8 | Shell Turbo Chargers | 7 | 11 | .389[b] | 9 | |
| 9 | FedEx Express | 5 | 13 | .278 | 11 | |
| 10 | Purefoods TJ Hotdogs | 4 | 14 | .222 | 12 |
Notes:
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 |
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 |
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
(B1) Coca-Cola vs. (A2) Red Bull
Third place playoff
Finals
| ||||||||||
| Dates | June 30–July 7, 2004 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MVP | Eric Menk | |||||||||
| Television | ABC | |||||||||
| Announcers | See broadcast notes | |||||||||
The 2004 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Fiesta Conference finals was the best-of-5 basketball championship series of the 2004 PBA Fiesta Conference, and the conclusion of the conference's playoffs. Barangay Ginebra Kings and Red Bull Barako played for the 87th championship contested by the league.
The Barangay Ginebra won their 5th league championship with a 3–1 series victory over Red Bull. This is their first championship since 1997 Commissioner's.[4]
Scores
Ginebra 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.
Broadcast notes
| Game | Play-by-play | Analyst |
|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | ||
| Game 2 | ||
| Game 3 | ||
| Game 4 | Mico Halili | TJ Manotoc |
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.