Notable events • The conditional dispersal draft of the
Barako Bull players was held in the PBA office in Libis, Quezon City on February 7. Out of the 14 players, only
Lordy Tugade and Escobal were drafted by
San Miguel and
B-Meg Derby Ace respectively. • The Board of Governors approved Solar Entertainment's proposal to change its broadcast television partner from
RPN to
ABS-CBN's
Studio 23 for the remainder of its contract with the league, beginning with the 2011 Commissioner's Cup. • The PBA D-League will start on March 12 at the
Filoil Flying V Arena in
San Juan. The league will be composed of 14 teams, with three teams (Powerade-UP, Metro Pacific, Maynilad) having affiliation with existing PBA teams. Four teams (Cobra Energy Drink, Agri-Nature Inc./FCA, Pharex, and Cafe France) that supposed to be part of the revival of the dormant
Philippine Basketball League filed for application in the PBA D-League, hours after the PBL held its press conference regarding its revival. • The sale of the Barako Bull Energy Boosters' franchise to Phoenix Petroleum did not push through after they failed to get the required number of votes (seven out of ten) from the PBA Board of Governors. Due to this development, Barako Bull's leave of absence was extended up to the end of the Governors' Cup.
Player movement Key transactions: Trades: • On January 20, Rain or Shine, Meralco and Air21 were involved in a three-way trade. Rain or Shine was able to get
Ronjay Buenafe,
Ronnie Matias, the 2011 and 2013 1st-round picks from Air21 and
Beau Belga from Meralco. Meralco will now have
Solomon Mercado and
Paolo Bugia from Rain or Shine and
Erick Rodriguez of Air21. Air21 will now have
Jay-R Reyes from Rain or Shine,
Reed Juntilla from Meralco and the 2011 and 2013 second-round picks from Meralco. • On January 28, Air21 traded
J.R. Quiñahan to Powerade in exchange for the team's 2014 1st-round pick. The said trade was revised by Commissioner Chito Salud on January 31 and Air21 will instead get Powerade's
2012 second round and
2013 first round picks. •
Alaska traded
Reynel Hugnatan to
Meralco in exchange for
Hans Thiele and
Paolo Bugia. • On March 2, Commissioner Chito Salud approves the trade between Air21 and San Miguel. Air21 traded top rookie picks
Nonoy Baclao,
Rabeh Al-Hussaini, and
Rey Guevarra in exchange for
Danny Seigle,
Dondon Hontiveros,
Dorian Peña and
Paul Artadi. The proposed trade was disapproved by Commissioner Salud when San Miguel initially offered
Danny Seigle,
Mick Pennisi,
Joseph Yeo and a 2011 first-round pick in exchange for the three Air21 rookies. Signing: •
Meralco signs
Marlou Aquino and will assume his Barako Bull contract until the end of the Commissioner's Cup. •
Smart Gilas has listed
Borgie Hermida in their line-up for the Commissioner's Cup and will return to Barako Bull after the tournament. However, Barako Bull announced that they will not play for the remainder of the season. Eventually, Hermida was released from Gilas. •
San Miguel Beermen has added
Paolo Hubalde to their roster for the Commissioner's Cup and will return to Barako Bull after the tournament. However, Barako Bull announced that they will not play for the remainder of the season.
Coaching changes • On January 10, the
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters hired
Air21 Express coach
Yeng Guiao as head coach, after Guiao's contract with Air21 expired on December 31, 2010. Guiao will be replacing
Caloy Garcia, who will slide down as assistant coach. • On January 19, the
Air21 Express hired
Bong Ramos as head coach, replacing head Yeng Guiao whose contract expired on December 31, 2010.
Elimination round Playoffs Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals •
Finals MVP: Jimmy Alapag and
Jayson Castro (
Talk 'N Text) •
Best Player of the Conference: Jimmy Alapag (
Talk 'N Text) •
Best Import of the Conference: Nate Brumfield (
Barangay Ginebra) ==2011 PBA All-Star Weekend==