FIBA 3x3 and certain Gilas Pilipinas games during the 2018 FIBA World Cup and 2019 Southeast Asian Games. PBA commissioner Eala won the commissionership job in 2002 after a series of interviews by the PBA Board of Governors. He beat former Shell head coach and BCAP chair Chito Narvasa and Pilipinas Shell executive Rey Gamboa for the post. Disappointing first season Eala began his stint as commissioner in 2003, replacing Jun Bernardino as commissioner. Eala's first season was frustrating as the league was involved in several controversies. Early in the season, Talk N' Text's Asi Taulava and San Miguel's Dorian Pena were found to have tested positive of taking illegal substances by the Games and Amusements Board. This suspend both players for two games by the league. After this, Eala imposed a new drug testing policy on all PBA players. It led to massive discovery of less than 10 players testing positive, which drew several criticisms from fans and media alike. Attendance woes also affected the league during the said season. While the All-Filipino Conference had a decent number of attendance, the special Invitational tournament and the import-laiden Reinforced Conference drew disappointing numbers at the gate. One of Eala's plans to revive the league is by holding a tournament with foreign teams matching against PBA squads. This led to the Invitational tournament, in which four foreign squads were invited to join. However, Yonsei University, Novi Sad, Magnolia Jilin Tigers combined to win only a single game in the tournament, that drew another criticism on the league. While the Reinforced Conference had a decent success, the best-of-seven finals series between sister teams Coca Cola and San Miguel had a disappointing attendance during the full seven game series. New format Before the end of the 2003 season, Eala proposed a new format to the PBA Board of Governors. While Eala's plan was to have a one conference season for the league, instead of the usual three conference format, the Board decided to have two conferences in a season. The board also approved Eala's plan to move the league calendar from February to December to October to July, which took effect in 2004. One of the reason's for the move is for the PBA to take an active part in the formation of the national team in future international competitions. As part of the preparation for the new format, the league held a