The Friendship Cup Basketball Tournament came to being in October 9, 1999. At first, the league was comprised of teams coming from China Bank. The tournament was held at Aquinas Gym in San Juan, Metro Manila. During that time the league would have an opening ceremony parade. Their would be muses for each participating teams. That tradition continued up to the 2002 season. In 1999, the league was made up of eight teams namely: Head Office Binondo A, Head Office Binondo B, Account Management Group, International Dept., Branches Group, Credit Dept., Marketing Dept., Legal Dept. In that innaguaral season, Head Office Binondo A became the champions. They battled the Credit Dept. for the championship.

The second Friendship Cup was held in Dumlao Gym. It was held around September 2000. There were new teams that joined this league. Head Office Binondo B, Credit Dept., Branches Group were replaced by the following teams: Greenhills Branch,  Marikina Branch, and the Treasury Dept. The Binondo team was able to defend their championship against the International Dept. team.

The third Friendship Cup returned to the Aquinas Gym in San Juan, Metro Manila. This was held around May 2001. There were new teams that joined the league. Greenhills Branch and the Marketing Dept. were replaced by Yasuda Insurance Co., Bank of the Phil. Islands, and Metrobank. This time around the International Dept. became champions. They battled the Bank of the Phil. Islands for the championship. They were undefeated throughout the whole tournament.

The fourth Friendship Cup was held again in Aquinas Gym in San Juan,  Metro Manila. It was held around August 2002.  There were new teams that joined the league. This time around only the International Dept. which changed its name into Goldtech and the AMG dept. were the original holdovers. Goldtech defended their championship from the previous year and for the second time in a row was undefeated throughout the tournament.

The fifth Friendship Cup was held around October 2003. This time around there were no opening ceremonies. New teams that joined the league were GNC, Ateneo - Dr. P, Ateneo - Macayan, and Prudential Guarantee. Making a comeback was the Head Office Binondo team. Unfortunately, the Binondo team was not able to get back its form. They were eliminated in the regular season. GNC defeated Goldtech in a best of three affair. There were a lot of first in this fifth edition of the Frienship Cup. There were cash prizes for the champion team, the championship game was made into a best of three affair.

The sixth edition of the Friendship Cup would open on November 13, 2004. It would be held again at the Aquinas Gym in San Juan, Metro Manila. Good luck to all the teams that would participate in this league.