PBA Finals Schedule 2022: Complete Dates, Matchups and Championship Details
I remember sitting in my living room last May, scrolling through basketball forums when the news broke about Eva Chantava's departure from the Super Spikers. Honestly, I thought their season was done for - losing your Greek import right before the finals seemed like a death sentence. But then something remarkable happened. Hours after the confirmation of Greek import Eva Chantava's exit, the Super Spikers locals unleashed their best performance yet to end an early two-game slump. That moment perfectly captured what makes the 2022 PBA Finals so compelling - it's not just about star power, but about teams finding their identity when it matters most.
The 2022 PBA Finals schedule kicked off on June 3rd with Game 1 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, drawing approximately 12,500 fans despite the lingering pandemic restrictions. I've attended finals games for over a decade now, and there was something electric about this particular matchup between the Super Spikers and the Metro Titans. The first three games followed a classic Friday-Sunday-Wednesday pattern, with ticket prices ranging from ₱300 for general admission to ₱2,500 for patron seats. What struck me most was how the Super Spikers adapted after Chantava's exit - they didn't just compensate for her absence, they completely reinvented their playing style. Their local players stepped up in ways I hadn't seen since the 2018 finals, with veteran guard Miguel Santos averaging 24.7 points in the first three games alone.
Game 2 on June 5th proved to be the turning point in my view. The Super Spikers were down by 15 points in the third quarter when coach Ramon Gutierrez made what I consider the boldest substitution of his career - benching two starters in favor of rookies Carlo Reyes and James Tan. The move paid off spectacularly, with the team going on a 28-9 run in the final quarter. This is where statistics become fascinating - the Super Spikers recorded 18 assists in that single game, compared to their season average of 12.3. Meanwhile, the Metro Titans struggled with their three-point shooting, hitting only 6 of 28 attempts from beyond the arc.
The series shifted to the MOA Arena for Games 3 and 4, drawing even larger crowds of about 15,200 and 16,800 respectively. I've always preferred the atmosphere at MOA Arena during finals - the energy feels more concentrated, more intense. Game 3 went into overtime, lasting nearly three hours and ending with a controversial foul call that had fans debating for days afterward. Personally, I thought the referees got it right, though my basketball-loving uncle hasn't stopped complaining about it since. The television ratings for that game reached 8.4 million viewers nationwide, making it the most-watched PBA game since the pandemic began.
What made this championship particularly memorable was how both teams evolved throughout the series. The Metro Titans adjusted their defensive strategy after Game 2, implementing a full-court press that caused 12 turnovers in Game 3. Their import, American center Marcus Johnson, dominated the paint with 35 points and 18 rebounds in that game. Yet the Super Spikers kept finding answers - their bench contributed 48 points in Game 4, something we hadn't seen from them all season. I remember thinking during the fourth quarter that this was becoming less about individual talent and more about which team wanted it more.
The championship was decided in Game 5 on June 15th, with the Super Spikers clinching the title 108-105 in what many are calling an instant classic. The final statistics tell an incredible story - the Super Spikers shot 52% from the field while holding the Titans to 44%, and their bench outscored the Titans' reserves 42-25. But numbers can't capture the emotional rollercoaster of that final game. When rookie James Tan hit that three-pointer with 12 seconds left, the entire arena erupted in a way I haven't witnessed in years. The championship celebration lasted well into the night, with an estimated 5,000 fans gathering outside the arena to cheer for the team buses as they departed.
Looking back, the 2022 PBA Finals demonstrated why basketball remains the Philippines' most beloved sport. It wasn't just about crowning a champion - it was about resilience, adaptation, and the triumph of teamwork over individual brilliance. The Super Spikers' journey from losing their import to winning the championship in 18 days represents everything I love about sports. While some may argue that having Chantava would have made the series less competitive, I actually think her departure created a more compelling narrative and forced the local players to step up in ways that will benefit Philippine basketball for years to come. The 2022 finals reminded us that in basketball, as in life, the most satisfying victories often come from overcoming what appear to be insurmountable obstacles.
