There are some people who feel nostalgic about the “good old days” of Philippine basketball when the PBA was still the undisputed talk of the town as far as sports is concern. I was born in the 90’s and I appreciate the level of competition when my favorite team and superstars that I idolized played all out like it’s their last game and hard-nosed defense like their life depended on it.
There are some people who feel nostalgic about the “good old days” of Philippine basketball when the PBA was still the undisputed talk of the town as far as sports is concern. I was born in the 90’s and I appreciate the level of competition when my favorite team and superstars that I idolized played all out like it’s their last game and hard-nosed defense like their life depended on it. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find all the full game videos of the classic PBA games unlike those how subscribed to NBA TV for their Greatest Games reruns.
As they say, the glory days of Philippine basketball was in black and white during the time when they play with short shorts and long socks paired with the timeless Chucks and Kaypees. Nowadays, most of the younger generation are familiar with what’s going on in the NBA but don’t know much of the glorious legacy of our country’s basketball history. No one knows about the heated Toyota-Crispa rivalries or the exploits of the greatest Philippine basketball team of all time. Some have become alienated with the way the PBA is run by dinosaurs out of touch of reality that they seem to have boycotted watching the games live in response to the repeated intervention in player call-ups for the national team (Gilas Pilipinas).
I am always been a video gamer and I’m always been fascinated with the modding community wherein I modify an existing game and try to recreate a different aspect of it in a whole new different setting. It is like a creating a new game where you only modify files and retexture graphics. I did it before with the MBA 2K mod for NBA 2K14 and I can play any team in the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association. Although the game is not yet complete, I decided to make it available for everyone to play. Being a history buff, I am very much interested in recreating the Philippine Basketball Association from 1975 to 1999 in a video game. I understand that there is already an existing mod called PBA 2K with up-to-date roster of the league’s current season with complete cyberfaces and updated player ratings and tendencies. It is not easy to compete aganst an established mod with a team of experienced modders. The only thing missing with that game is the absence of classic teams and a separate collegiate mod (NCAA/UAAP). I would be a fun project if I did have a team of dedicated modders that can help me create cyberfaces and wonderful classic basketball courts.
Anyway, this project has been a personal project and I have started it slowly but surely to make sure I covered the best teams in the PBA through the years. The challenge is finding the relevant reference materials from photos of players, jerseys and courts as well crucial information about their roster, statistics and how the players played. I did painstaking work in building everything from scratch. In fact, I even considered doing a 2K Audio Mod that will hopefully replace the default PA announcer, crowd chants, in-game music and individual player chatter to make sure that game will sound like you are watching a real PBA game. Unfortunately, doing a separate Tagalog commentator mod that will be compatible for PBA 2K and any of my mods will be a tall order.
There is a SweetFX patch that will recreate the appeal of old vintage television sets with black and white, sepia and 90s looking screens. Another element that would make it more realistic would be the addition of classic TV broadcast scoreboards, I just hope someone with HEX editing skills would be interested enough to help.
Since this mod covers the 1975 season up to the 1999 season, I decided to create two different roster files and the teams that are in the game would be the following:
Roster 1 – 1975 to 1985
- 1975-76 Seven Up Uncolas
- 1975-76 Noritake Porcelain Makers
- 1975-76 Carrier Weather Makers
- 1976 Quasar TV Makers
- 1977 Nicholas Stoodley - USA (guest team)
- 1977 Adidas Rubberworld - France (guest team)
- 1977 Emtex Sacronels Palmeiras - Brazil (guest team)
- 1977 Ramrod Blocks Melbourne Panthers - Australia (guest team)
- 1977 South Korea National Team (guest team)
- 1978 Honda Panthers
- 1978 Flimanbank Bankers
- 1979 Royal Tru-Orange Orangemen
- 1980 Tanduay Esquires
- 1980 Galleon Shippers
- 1980 Tefilin Fibermakers
- 1980 U/Tex Wranglers
- 1981 Presto Ice Cream Makers
- 1981 CDCP Road Builders
- 1981 Finance Funders
- 1981 St. George Whiskies
- 1982 Gilbey’s Gin Tonics
- 1982 Galerie Dominique Artists
- 1982 N-Rich Coffee Makers
- 1983 Crispa Redmanizers
- 1983 San Miguel Beermen
- 1983 Winston Kings
- 1983 Toyota Super Corollas
- 1984 Country Fair Hotdogs
- 1984 Great Taste Coffee Makers
- 1984 Gold Eagle Beermen
- 1984 Northern Consolidated
- 1984 Beer Hausen Brewmasters
- 1985 Ginebra San Miguel
- 1985 Shell Azodrin Bugmasters
- 1985 Magnolia Quench Plus
Roster 2 – 1986 to 1999
- 1986 Manila Beer Brewmasters
- 1986 Shell Oilers
- 1986 Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings
- 1986 Magnolia Cheesemakers
- 1987 Great Taste Coffee Masters
- 1987 Hills Bros. Coffee Kings
- 1988 Añejo Rum 65ers
- 1989 San Miguel Beermen
- 1990 Shell Rimula-X
- 1991 Tivoli Milkmasters
- 1991 Pepsi Hotshots
- 1991 Diet Sarsi Sizzlers
- 1992 Swift Mighty Meaties
- 1992 Presto Ice Cream Kings
- 1992 Seven-Up Uncolas
- 1993 Coney Island Ice Cream Stars
- 1994 Tondeña 65 Rhum Masters
- 1994 Purefoods TJ Hotdogs
- 1995 Sunkist Orange Juicers
- 1996 Alaska Milkmen
- 1996 Pepsi Mega Bottlers
- 1997 Gordon’s Gin Boars
- 1997 Purefoods Carne Norte
- 1998 Pop Cola 800s
- 1998 PBA Centennial Team
- 1998 Mobiline Phone Pals
- 1998 Sta. Lucia Realtors
- 1998 San Miguel Beermen
- 1998 Formula Shell Zoom Masters
- 1999 Tanduay Rhum Makers
- 1936 Philippines Olympic Team
- 1948 Philippines Olympic Team
- 1952 Philippines Olympic Team
- 1952 Philippines Olympic Team
- 1954 Philippines World Cup Team
- 1956 Philippines Olympic Team
- 1959 Philippines World Cup Team
- 1960 Philippines Olympic Team
- 1968 Philippines Olympic Team
- 1972 Philippines Olympic Team
- 1974 Philippines World Cup Team
- 1978 Philippines World Cup Team
- 1985 Philippines FIBA Asia Cup Team
- 1986 Philippines Asian Games Team
- 1987 Philippines FIBA Asia Cup Team
- 1990 Philippines Asian Games Team
- 1994 Philippines Asian Games Team
- 1998 Philippines Asian Games Team
If ever this game will be completed, it would be interesting to see recreating scenarios like the Toyota-Crispa rivalry or capturing the Asian Games gold medal for the PBA Centennial Team. Maybe I will create a developer diary series if ever I feel like doing.
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