The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of ten company-branded franchised teams. It was the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the second oldest in the world after the NBA. The league's regulations are a hybrid of rules from FIBA and the NBA.

The league played its first game at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on April 9, 1975. Its individual team offices are directed out of PBA head offices located in Eastwood City in Quezon City. The league is currently headed by Commissioner Chito Salud.

The Philippine Basketball Association was founded when nine teams left the now-defunct Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA), which was tightly controlled by the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP; now defunct), the FIBA-recognized national association at the time. With the BAP controlling the MICAA, the league was de jure amateur, as players were only paid allowances. This is much like what was done in other countries to circumvent the amateur requirement and to play in FIBA-sanctioned tournaments such as the Olympics. With the PBA out of the BAP's control, they could freely pay salaries to their players, making the PBA the oldest professional basketball league outside the United States. However, this also led to the league's players being barred from playing in FIBA-sanctioned tournaments.

Alan Vito Flores Caidic (born June 15, 1963, Pasig City, Philippines) is a retired professional basketball player from the Philippines and is currently an assistant coach of the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the PBA. He is considered by many to be the greatest shooter the country has ever produced, thus, earning the moniker the "Triggerman" .

He played college hoops at the University of the East before joining the Philippine Basketball Association in 1987, where he broke several Philippine and PBA all-time records—including the most points scored in a single game (79 points), the most three-point field goals made in a single game (17 triples; breaking his previous record of 15 triples), the most three-point field goals in a career (1,242 triples) and the most consecutive freethrows in a row (76). He has played with several PBA teams and won numerous championships. He played for the Philippine national basketball team including the 1998 Philippine Centennial Team.

While in the league, he was considered one of the best three-point shooters in Asia. The vaunted Chinese national basketball team recognized his ability by always reminding their players to be on the lookout for "Philippine No. 8", referring to Caidic's regular jersey number while playing for the National Team.

James Carlos Agravante Yap, (born February 15, 1982 in Escalante City, Negros Occidental) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the B-Meg Llamados in the Philippine Basketball Association. Yap enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Bacolod Tay Tung High School and then at Iloilo Central Commercial High School, where he sparked his team to three consecutive Iloilo PRISAA titles. He then went on to play at the collegiate level for the UE Red Warriors and helped the team to the Final Four in 2002 after years of absence. However, the Red Warriors lost to the Blue Eagles, the eventual champions. In the following season of UAAP, Yap led the Red Warriors to the Final Four for the second straight time. Eventually in the semifinals series, the Warriors lost to the Far Eastern University Tamaraws. Nevertheless, Yap was named as the Most Valuable Player in 2003.

Yap also played for the Philippine Basketball League from 2001 to 2004. He decided to declare his eligibility for the PBA Draft, and was selected with the 2nd overall pick in the 2004 PBA Draft by the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants. One of the focal points of the Purefoods offense, he is the 2005-2006 and 2009-2010 season's Most Valuable Player and he is also 2009-2010 Philippine Cup Conference MVP. Yap is also a nine-time PBA South All-Star team starter through 2004 to 2012 and a many-time member of the RP Basketball Team.

Avelino B. Lim, Jr. (born April 1, 1962), better known as Samboy Lim, is a former basketball player of the Philippine Basketball Association. As a shooting guard, the iconic Lim distinguished himself with Magic Johnson-like ball handling skills and Julius "Dr. J" Erving leaping and dunking abilities, he is best remembered as a player who would leap towards the basket, switch the ball from one hand to the other while in mid-air, and finish off with a dunk.

In the early 80s, former San Beda Red Cub Samboy Lim, played heads up college basketball in Letran in the NCAA and led the Knights win three straight NCAA seniors championships from 1982 to 1984, under the able leadership of Coach Laurentino "Larry" Albano. This "3 Time Winning" Letran Knights team surpassed the success of the 1950 team, emerging from the championship having won nine games out of ten.

In the amateur league during 1986, Lim played for Lhuillier in the Philippine Basketball League, then known as the Philippine Amateur Basketball League. His hardcourt presence in the PBL games resulted in a sell out crowds and jampacked audiences. With Lhuillier, Lim teamed up with another future PBA star, Jojo Lastimosa and they led their team to the PABL championship.

Emmanuel "Manny" Dapidran Pacquiao, PLH (English pronunciation: /ˈpæki.aʊ/ PAK-ee-ow; Tagalog: [pɐkˈjaʊ]; born December 17, 1978) is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is the first eight-division world champion; having won six world titles, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 2000s (decade) by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). He is also a three-time The Ring and BWAA "Fighter of the Year," winning the award in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

As of 2012, Pacquiao is the WBO Welterweight Champion. He was long rated as the best pound for pound boxer in the world by some sporting news and boxing websites, including BoxRec.com, Sporting Life and The Ring. However, in April 2012, Pacquiao dropped to number two in the rankings, behind Floyd Mayweather Jr. In their ratings ending May 7, 2012, Ring Magazine declared the top position vacant and jointly ranked Pacquiao and Mayweather in the number two spot.