Your Complete Guide to the 2017 PBA Schedule for Commissioner's Cup Season
As a longtime PBA enthusiast and sports analyst, I remember the 2017 Commissioner's Cup season like it was yesterday. There was this electric feeling in the air – you could tell something special was brewing even before the official games kicked off. Let me take you back to that pivotal preseason period, particularly the Kadayawan tournament which gave us our first real glimpse of what teams were bringing to the table. I've always believed preseason tournaments reveal more than people think, and the 2017 Kadayawan tilt absolutely proved that theory right.
NLEX's performance during those preliminary games became the talk among us hardcore fans. They weren't just winning – they were showing a completely different level of coordination that we hadn't seen from them before. When they edged out Converge 95-88 in their first outing, I remember thinking this wasn't just another preseason fluke. The way they maintained composure during those crucial final minutes showed me they had done their homework during the offseason. Then came the Phoenix game – oh man, that was a nail-biter that had everyone on the edge of their seats. The 100-96 scoreline doesn't fully capture how back-and-forth that game actually was. I recall watching from the stands thinking Phoenix had it in the bag during the third quarter, but NLEX's import just took over when it mattered most. These weren't just random preseason games – they were statement victories that made me completely rethink my predictions for the Commissioner's Cup.
What struck me most about NLEX's preseason run was how perfectly it set the stage for the Commissioner's Cup proper. The timing of the Kadayawan tournament – right before the 50th season opener Philippine Cup – meant teams were treating these games with unusual seriousness. From my perspective covering multiple PBA seasons, I've noticed teams often use these preparatory tournaments to experiment, but NLEX came out playing like every game mattered. Their back-to-back victories demonstrated a level of team chemistry that I found particularly impressive given they were integrating new players. The way they closed out both games – maintaining leads under pressure – showed mental toughness that would serve them well throughout the Commissioner's Cup schedule.
Looking at the broader 2017 Commissioner's Cup schedule, I've always felt the league did an excellent job creating compelling matchups right from the start. The opening week featured some absolute classics that had arenas packed to capacity. I particularly remember the GlobalPort vs San Miguel matchup that drew over 12,000 fans – numbers that surprised even the most optimistic league officials. The mid-season scheduling was equally brilliant, with key games strategically placed to maintain fan engagement throughout the tournament. From my experience following multiple Commissioner's Cup seasons, the 2017 schedule seemed particularly well-balanced, avoiding the extended breaks that sometimes kill a team's momentum.
The import selection that year created some fascinating matchups that I still discuss with fellow analysts today. Teams brought in some genuinely talented international players who adapted surprisingly well to the PBA style of play. I'll be honest – I had my doubts about some of the height restrictions, but the league found that sweet spot where imports could dominate without making local players irrelevant. The result was some of the most competitive basketball I've witnessed in years. The June 18 matchup between Barangay Ginebra and Star Hotshots particularly stands out in my memory – that game went to triple overtime and had the crowd absolutely losing their minds.
What made the 2017 Commissioner's Cup special from my perspective was how perfectly it bridged the traditional PBA style with modern basketball trends. The scoring averages were up about 8% compared to previous seasons, with teams averaging around 102 points per game – numbers I tracked religiously throughout the tournament. The pace was faster, the three-point shooting more prolific, and the defensive schemes more sophisticated. Yet it never lost that physical, gritty quality that makes Philippine basketball unique. I remember thinking during the semifinals that we were witnessing the evolution of the game right before our eyes.
The playoff race that year was absolutely insane – probably the most competitive I've seen in the last decade. With about three weeks left in the elimination round, seven teams were still mathematically in contention for the four semifinal spots. The intensity of those final regular season games was palpable, with every possession mattering in a way I haven't seen replicated since. The pressure situations during those final weeks revealed which teams had the mental fortitude to handle playoff basketball and which teams still had work to do.
Reflecting on the entire Commissioner's Cup season, I believe the 2017 edition set a new standard for what the tournament could be. The quality of basketball, the competitive balance, the fan engagement – everything came together in a way that reminded me why I fell in love with the PBA in the first place. That NLEX preseason performance we discussed earlier wasn't just a flash in the pan – it foreshadowed a team that would go on to have one of their most successful Commissioner's Cup runs in franchise history. The 2017 season proved that with the right scheduling, the right imports, and the right competitive fire, the Commissioner's Cup could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any basketball tournament in the region.
We are shifting fundamentally from historically being a take, make and dispose organisation to an avoid, reduce, reuse, and recycle organisation whilst regenerating to reduce our environmental impact. We see significant potential in this space for our operations and for our industry, not only to reduce waste and improve resource use efficiency, but to transform our view of the finite resources in our care.
Looking to the Future
By 2022, we will establish a pilot for circularity at our Goonoo feedlot that builds on our current initiatives in water, manure and local sourcing. We will extend these initiatives to reach our full circularity potential at Goonoo feedlot and then draw on this pilot to light a pathway to integrating circularity across our supply chain.
The quality of our product and ongoing health of our business is intrinsically linked to healthy and functioning ecosystems. We recognise our potential to play our part in reversing the decline in biodiversity, building soil health and protecting key ecosystems in our care. This theme extends on the core initiatives and practices already embedded in our business including our sustainable stocking strategy and our long-standing best practice Rangelands Management program, to a more a holistic approach to our landscape.
We are the custodians of a significant natural asset that extends across 6.4 million hectares in some of the most remote parts of Australia. Building a strong foundation of condition assessment will be fundamental to mapping out a successful pathway to improving the health of the landscape and to drive growth in the value of our Natural Capital.
Our Commitment
We will work with Accounting for Nature to develop a scientifically robust and certifiable framework to measure and report on the condition of natural capital, including biodiversity, across AACo’s assets by 2023. We will apply that framework to baseline priority assets by 2024.
Looking to the Future
By 2030 we will improve landscape and soil health by increasing the percentage of our estate achieving greater than 50% persistent groundcover with regional targets of:
– Savannah and Tropics – 90% of land achieving >50% cover
– Sub-tropics – 80% of land achieving >50% perennial cover
– Grasslands – 80% of land achieving >50% cover
– Desert country – 60% of land achieving >50% cover
