1996 PBA Commissioner's Cup
The 1996 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner's Cup was the second conference of the 1996 PBA season. It started on June 14 and ended on September 10, 1996. The tournament is an Import-laden format, which requires an import or a pure-foreign player for each team with a 6'7" height limit.
Format
The following format will be observed for the duration of the conference:- The teams were divided into 2 groups.
- Alaska Milkmen
- Ginebra San Miguel
- Formula Shell Zoom Masters
- Mobiline Cellulars
- Purefoods TJ Hotdogs
- San Miguel Beermen
- Sta. Lucia Realtors
- Sunkist Orange Bottlers
- Teams in a group will play against each other once and against teams in the other group twice; 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 five teams. Results from the eliminations will be carried over. A playoff incentive for a finals berth will be given to the team that will win at least five of their eight semifinal games.
- The top two teams will face each other in a best-of-seven championship series. The next two teams dispute the third-place trophy in a one-game playoff.
Elimination round
Team standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Playoff |
| 1 | Alaska Milkmen | 8 | 2 | .800 | -- | |
| 2 | Sta. Lucia Realtors | 6 | 4 | .600 | 2 | |
| 3 | Ginebra San Miguel | 6 | 4 | .600 | 2 | |
| 4 | Formula Shell Zoom Masters | 5 | 5 | .500 | 3 | |
| 5 | Purefoods TJ Hotdogs | 5 | 5 | .500 | 3 | |
| 6 | Sunkist Orange Bottlers | 5 | 5 | .500 | 3 | |
| 7 | San Miguel Beermen | 4 | 6 | .400 | 4 | |
| 8 | Mobiline Cellulars | 1 | 9 | .100 | 7 |
Note: Shell automatically advanced to the semifinals due to a higher winning quotient
Seeding playoffs
Semifinal round
Team standings
Finals seed playoff
Bal David sank a three-point shot, putting the Gins on with the lead, 86-83 with 17 seconds left in the game. Richie Ticson however also made a three pointer tying the game again, 86-all with 10.5 seconds left.After calling a timeout to design the last play, Henry James opted to try a three pointer after an inbound pass from Vince Hizon. James' shot was blocked by Benjie Paras and picked up by Kenny Redfield, making a buzzer beating three point shot, thus winning the game for them, 89-86.