The 1988 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Reinforced Conference was the third and last conference of the 1988 PBA season. It started on October 2 and ended on December 13, 1988. The tournament is an import-laden format, which requires two imports with a combined ceiling of 12 ft. 8 in. for each team.

Format

The following format will be observed for the duration of the conference:

  • Double-round robin eliminations; 10 games per team; Teams are then seeded by basis on win–loss records.
  • Team with the worst record after the elimination round will be eliminated.
  • Semifinals will be two round robin affairs with the five remaining teams. Results from the elimination round will be carried over.
  • The top two teams in the semifinals advance to the best of seven finals. The last two teams dispute the third-place trophy in a best-of-five playoff.

Imports

Each team was allowed two imports. The first line in the table are the original reinforcements of the teams. Below the name are the replacement of the import above. Same with the third replacement that is also highlighted with a different color. GP is the number of games played.

TeamNameGPNameGP
Alaska MilkmenEddie Cox5Willie Bland12
David Boone13
Añejo Rum 65Billy Ray Bates4Kevin Gamble5
Tommy Davis18Joe Ward17
Presto Ice CreamGeorge Almones6Lewis Jackson22
Tony White15
Purefoods HotdogsRay Hall5Tim McCalister3
Kenny Travis3Perry Young6
San Miguel BeermenMichael Phelps23Norman Black23
Shell Rimula-XBobby Parks23Derrick Rowland23

Elimination round

PosTeamWLPCTGBQualification
1San Miguel Beermen73.700Semifinal round
2Presto Ice Cream Makers73.700
3Shell Rimula X Oilers55.5002
4Alaska Milkmen55.5002
5Añejo Rum 65ers55.5002
6Purefoods Hotdogs19.1006

Semifinal round

Overall standings
PosTeamWLPCTGBQualification
Overall standings Pos Team W L PCT GB Qualification 1 San Miguel Beermen 13 5 .722 — Advance to the Finals 2 Shell Rimula X Oilers 11 7 .611 2 3 Presto Ice Cream Makers 10 8 .556 3 Proceed to third place playoffs 4 Añejo Rum 65ers 9 9 .500 4 5 Alaska Milkmen 6 12 .333 7Source: [citation needed]Semifinal round standings Pos Team W L 1 San Miguel Beermen 6 2 2 Shell Rimula X Oilers 6 2 3 Añejo Rum 65ers 4 4 4 Presto Ice Cream Makers 3 5 5 Alaska Milkmen 1 7Source: [citation needed]
1San Miguel Beermen135.722Advance to the Finals
2Shell Rimula X Oilers117.6112
3Presto Ice Cream Makers108.5563Proceed to third place playoffs
4Añejo Rum 65ers99.5004
5Alaska Milkmen612.3337
PosTeamWL
1San Miguel Beermen62
2Shell Rimula X Oilers62
3Añejo Rum 65ers44
4Presto Ice Cream Makers35
5Alaska Milkmen17

Third place playoffs

Vintage
December 4
Presto Ice Cream 141, Añejo Rum 65ers 150
Scoring by quarter: 37-34, 32–38, 35–43, 46-26
Pts: Lewis Jackson 41 Tony White 41Pts: Tommy Davis 73
The ULTRA, Pasig
Vintage
December 6
Presto Ice Cream 138, Añejo Rum 65ers 147
Scoring by quarter: 27–34, 42-31, 43-41, 35-32
Pts: Lewis Jackson 42 Allan Caidic 31Pts: Joe Ward 59 Tommy Davis 46
The ULTRA, Pasig
Vintage
December 8
Presto Ice Cream 138, Añejo Rum 65ers 131
Scoring by quarter: 38-28, 36-29, 27–33, 30–48
Pts: Lewis Jackson 49Pts: Tommy Davis 51 Joe Ward 43
The ULTRA, Pasig
Vintage
December 11
Presto Ice Cream 145, Añejo Rum 65ers 171
Scoring by quarter: 40-21, 30–36, 41-35, 60-53
Pts: Lewis Jackson 33 Tony White 31Pts: Tommy Davis 65 Joe Ward 61
Añejo Rum wins series, 3–1
The ULTRA, Pasig

Finals

Vintage
December 4
San Miguel Beermen 134, Shell Rimula X 111
The ULTRA, Pasig
Vintage
December 6
San Miguel Beermen 119, Shell Rimula X 111
The ULTRA, Pasig
Vintage
December 8
San Miguel Beermen 126, Shell Rimula X 137
The ULTRA, Pasig
Vintage
December 11
San Miguel Beermen 144, Shell Rimula X 119
The ULTRA, Pasig
Vintage
December 13
San Miguel Beermen 151, Shell Rimula X 142
San Miguel wins series, 4–1
The ULTRA, Pasig