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 transitional conference known as the Fiesta Conference , which was held from February 22 , 2004 until July 7 , which was won by crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra Kings , which drew a crowd of over 10,000 in the four games played at the Araneta Coliseum . The league 's format during the said conference is to give the top two teams after the classification phase an outright quarterfinals berth , while the bottom eight will compete in a wildcard phase , with the winners facing off in the round robin quarterfinals format , joining two foreign teams , the University of British Columbia and a US-led squad . However , the format was criticized after the two foreign teams showed up losing all of their games in the quarterfinals . Aside from this , San Miguel , who had 16-2 record , was eliminated from the tournament
Fiesta Conference
2004 PBA Fiesta Conference
Noli Eala