2009–10 PBA Philippine Cup finals

Team Coach Wins (3) Purefoods TJ Giants Ryan Gregorio 4 (1) Alaska Aces Tim Cone 0
Dates	February 24 – March 3, 2010
MVP	James Yap
Television	Solar TV, BTV
Announcers	See broadcast notes
Radio network	DZRJ-AM
Announcers	See broadcast notes
Referees
Game 1: Quilinguen, Balao, Sambrano, N. Game 2: Maurillo, Ngo, Aldaba Game 3: Mangibin R., Quilinguen, Herrera Game 4: Aldaba, Balao, Pascual
PBA Philippine Cup finals chronology
<  2008–09 2010–11 >
PBA finals chronology
<  2009 Fiesta 2010 Fiesta >

The 2009–10 PBA Philippine Cup finals was the championship basketball best-of-7 series of the 2009–10 PBA Philippine Cup, and the conclusion of the conference's playoffs. The Alaska Aces and the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants played for the 98th championship contested by the league.

The two franchises were in their seventh finals match-up, with both teams splitting the six finals series winning three each. However, Purefoods swept Alaska 4–0 to win their eighth PBA title, and only the third best-of-seven sweep in league history. James Yap was named Best Player of the Conference and finals MVP.

Background

Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants

The Giants finished third in the elimination round, outlasted the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the quarterfinals in five games, and defeated the #2 seed and sister team San Miguel Beermen in six games after trailing the series 1–2.

Alaska Aces

The Aces qualified after beating the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the semifinals via a 4–0 sweep; they previously qualified to the semifinals after posting the best record after the elimination round.

Road to the finals

Purefoods		Alaska Aces
Finished 12–6 (.667)–tied for 3rd	Elimination round		Finishes 13–5 (.722)—1st
1–1 and even point differential vs. Barangay Ginebra, +85 in overall point differential over Ginebra's +75	Tiebreaker
Bye	Wildcard phase		Bye
Def. Rain or Shine, 3–2	Quarterfinals
Def. San Miguel, 4–2	Semifinals		Def. Barangay Ginebra, 4–0

Series summary

Team	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Wins
Purefoods	81	86	79	86	4
Alaska	77	85	78	76	0
	Araneta	Araneta	Araneta	Araneta

Game 1

The first half was contested tightly, Alaska led 19–15 after the first, then the two teams ending up tied at halftime. Purefoods star players James Yap and Kerby Raymundo had to sit the majority of the third quarter due to foul trouble, but the Giants only trailed by three after the third period. In the fourth quarter, Purefoods had an early surge to put them up by seven; Alaska cut the lead and tied the game midway the quarter at 72–all off a Reynel Hugnatan lay-up. Rafi Reavis scored all of his six points in the succeeding possessions to put the Giants up 78–74, then he blocked Willie Miller's shot at the other end. Roger Yap missed a jumpshot, but Reavis scored in a tip-in to put Purefoods up by six. Miller scored a three-pointer to cut the lead by three with eleven seconds left, but Niño Canaleta split his free throws to put Purefoods up for good. ^[1]

Game 2

Purefoods had a good first half, racing to a nine-point lead at halftime, with Reavis scoring 13 of his 17 points during the first half. The Aces stormed back in the third quarter, leading 62–57, then padding their lead to 14 with five minutes left in the final period, capped off by a Brandon Cablay three-pointer. James Yap then spearheaded a 19–6 run to take over the game; Yap scored two consecutive three-pointers to cut Alaska's lead to six, 78–72. Raymundo also scored his own three-pointer during the run, while LA Tenorio maintained Alaska's 82–76 six-point lead with a jumper. James Yap converted both of his free throws to give Purefoods their first taste of the lead with 14 seconds left. Joe Devance was fouled and split his free throws to tie the game at 85–all. In the ensuing play, referee Raymundo Maurillo called a foul on Devance that elicited furious protests from Alaska head coach Tim Cone and team manager Joaqui Trillo. With 1.7 seconds left, Raymundo converted the first, and intentionally missed the second, leading to a long rebound as time expired. ^{[2] [3]}

Alaska team owner Wilfred Steven Uytengsu sent a text message to league commissioner Sonny Barrios, saying "I cannot condone Talk 'N Text's walkout (in the semifinals), but I can certainly feel their pain and point of view after that last call. It was most disappointing." ^[4]

While the game was ongoing, an Alaska fan suffered a heart attack with under two minutes left that caused the game to be delayed momentarily. ^[2] After the game, Trillo said they won't protest the result of the game. ^[5]

Game 3

The Aces erected a 13-point lead midway the third quarter, but Purefoods had a fourth quarter rally to close the gap. Niño Canaleta opened the fourth quarter with a slam dunk and a three pointer to cut the lead to three points; John Ferriols and Tony dela Cruz both converted jump shots to add Alaska lead but Purefoods then scored the next seven points to tie game. Miller beat the 24-second shot clock with a jumper to put Alaska up by three, but then Canaleta scored on a three-point shot to tie the game anew; then Canaleta missed a hurried three-pointer with Purefoods now leading by a point. Joe Devance missed a forced shot, and Miller's drive to basket was well-contested leading to another miss as Purefoods held on to take a 3–0 lead. ^[6]

Game 4

Prior to the game, James Yap was awarded his first Best Player of the Philippine Cup award. ^[7]

Purefoods raced to two 13-point leads in the third period, but Alaska had a 10–0 run, with LA Tenorio scoring seven points to tie the score with 2.1 seconds left at the second quarter. With seven minutes left in the third quarter, Purefoods had their own 9–0 run to lead 57–48. Alaska managed to cut the lead to three, but Purefoods replied with their own with a 9–2 run to lead by 12 points with 4:27 left in the game. Purefoods will not relinquish the lead, and they won their seventh consecutive game since game 4 of the semifinals to clinch the championship. ^[8]

Awards

• Philippine Cup holders: Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants
• Finals MVP: James Yap
• Best Player of the Conference James Yap

Rosters

Alaska Aces roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # POB Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G 5 Tenorio, LA 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 151 lb (68 kg) Ateneo C 7 Thoss, Sonny 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) James Cook G 8 dela Peña, Kelvin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Mapúa F 10 Borboran, Mark 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) UE G/F 12 Fonacier, Larry 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Ateneo G 13 Miller, Willie 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Letran G 18 Capus, Ariel 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 210 lb (95 kg) José Rizal F 21 Hugnatan, Reynel 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Manila G 22 Cariaso, Jeffrey (C) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sonoma State G 24 Cablay, Brandon 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Vanguard C 30 Sotto, Ervin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Saint Francis of Assisi F 35 dela Cruz, Tony 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 209 lb (95 kg) UC Irvine F/C 38 Devance, Joe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) UTEP F/C 55 Ferriols, John 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) USJ–R F 63 Burtscher, Michael 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) San Beda C 21 Eman, Samigue 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 239 lb (108 kg) Mindanao	Head coach Tim Cone ( James Madison) Assistant coach(es) Joel Banal ( Mapúa) Dickie Bachmann ( De La Salle) Jojo Lastimosa ( Ateneo) Luigi Trillo ( De La Salle) Bong Hawkins ( UPHSD) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Purefoods TJ Giants roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # POB Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From F 1 Maierhofer, Rico 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) De La Salle C 4 Reavis, Rafi 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Coppin State F/C 5 Raymundo, Kerby (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Letran G 8 Simon, Peter June 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Mindanao G/F 9 Canaleta, Niño 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) UE F/C 10 Adducul, Rommel 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) San Sebastian G 11 Artadi, Paul 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 150 lb (68 kg) UE G/F 12 Fernandez, Jonathan 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) National-U G 13 Yap, Roger 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) USJ–R F 15 Pingris, Marc 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) PSBA G/F 18 Yap, James 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) UE G 31 Timberlake, Chris 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 167 lb (76 kg) North Florida F/C 41 Allado, Don 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) De La Salle F/C 61 Salvador, Jondan 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) St. Benilde	Head coach Ryan Gregorio ( UP Diliman) Assistant coach(es) Ronnie Magsanoc ( UP Diliman) Koy Banal ( Mapúa) Jorge Gallent ( Far Eastern) Rey Evangelista ( UST) Dayong Mendoza ( UP Diliman) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Broadcast notes

Game	Play-by-play	Analyst	Courtside reporters
Game 1	Mico Halili	Alex Compton and Quinito Henson	Magoo Marjon
Game 2	Richard del Rosario	Norman Black	Magoo Marjon and Chiqui Reyes
Game 3	Vitto Lazatin	Danny Francisco	Patricia Bermudez-Hizon and Jinno Rufino
Game 4	Sev Sarmienta	Andy Jao	Dominic Uy and Chiqui Reyes

References

External links

• PBA official website