1990 PBA Third Conference

The 1990 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Third Conference was the third and last conference of the 1990 PBA season. It started on September 30 and ended on December 20, 1990. The tournament is a two-import format, which requires each team to have two American reinforcements.

Format

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

The teams were divided into 2 groups.

Group A: Shell Rimula X Pepsi Hotshots Presto Tivolis San Miguel Beermen

Group B: Alaska Air Force Añejo Rum 65ers Purefoods Hotdogs Sarsi Sizzlers

Teams in a group will play against each other twice and against teams in the other group once; 10 games per team; Teams are then seeded by basis on win–loss records. Ties are broken among point differentials of the tied teams. Standings will be determined in one league table; teams do not qualify by basis of groupings.
The top five teams after the eliminations will advance to the semifinals.
Semifinals will be two round robin affairs with the remaining teams. Results from the elimination round will be carried over. A playoff incentive for a finals berth will be given to the team that will win five of their eight semifinal games.
The top two teams (or the top team and the winner of the playoff incentive) will face each other in a best-of-five championship series. The next two teams will qualify for a best-of-three playoff for third place.

Elimination round

Team standings

Pos	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Alaska Air Force	8	2	.800	—	Semifinal round
2	Formula Shell Zoom Masters	7	3	.700	1
3	Presto Tivolis	6	4	.600	2
4	Purefoods Hotdogs	6	4	.600	2
5	Sarsi Sizzlers	5	5	.500	3
6	San Miguel Beermen	4	6	.400	4
7	Añejo Rum 65ers	4	6	.400	4
8	Pepsi Hotshots	0	10	.000	8

Semifinal round

Team standings

Overall standings
Pos	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
Overall standings Pos Team W L PCT GB Qualification 1 Alaska Air Force 12 6 .667 — Advance to the Finals 2 Purefoods Hotdogs 11 7 .611 1 3 Shell Rimula X 11 7 .611 1 Proceed to third place playoffs 4 Presto Tivolis 11 7 .611 1 5 Sarsi Sizzlers 7 11 .389 5Source: [citation needed] Notes:	Semifinal round standings Pos Team W L 1 Purefoods Hotdogs 5 3 2 Presto Tivolis 5 3 3 Shell Rimula X 4 4 4 Alaska Air Force 4 4 5 Sarsi Sizzlers 2 6Source: [citation needed]
1	Alaska Air Force	12	6	.667	—	Advance to the Finals
2	Purefoods Hotdogs	11	7	.611	1
3	Shell Rimula X	11	7	.611	1	Proceed to third place playoffs
4	Presto Tivolis	11	7	.611	1
5	Sarsi Sizzlers	7	11	.389	5
Pos	Team	W	L
1	Purefoods Hotdogs	5	3
2	Presto Tivolis	5	3
3	Shell Rimula X	4	4
4	Alaska Air Force	4	4
5	Sarsi Sizzlers	2	6

Second seed playoffs

Three teams finished tied for second. The three teams were ranked via head-to-head quotient, with the best performing team drawing a bye to the second round.