2019 MPBL playoffs

2019 MPBL playoffs
MPBL Datu Cup playoffs
Tournament details
Country	Philippines
Dates	March 12 – April 25, 2019
Teams	16
Defending champions	Batangas City Athletics
Final positions
Champions	San Juan Knights
Runner-up	Davao Occidental Tigers
Semifinalists	Manila Stars; Batangas City Athletics;
Tournament statistics
Matches played	39
	← 2018 2020–21 →

The 2019 MPBL playoffs, also known as the MPBL Datu Cup playoffs, was the postseason tournament of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League's 2018–19 season, the league's second overall, and the first under the 16-team playoff format. The postseason tournament began on March 12,^[1] day after the end of regular season on March 11, 2019, and ended at the conclusion of the 2019 MPBL finals.^[2] The 2019 MPBL finals saw the Davao Occidental Tigers battled San Juan Knights for the national championship, with the Knights winning in five games, 3 games to 2.

Overview

The Bataan Risers entered the playoffs for the second consecutive season, and clinched the best record in the league for the first time in team history.
The Davao Occidental Tigers entered the playoffs for the first time, and clinched the best record in the South Division for the first time in team history.
The Batangas City Athletics, Bulacan Kuyas, Muntinlupa Cagers, Navotas Clutch, and Quezon City Capitals entered the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
The Bacoor City Strikers, Caloocan Supremos, Cebu City Sharks, GenSan Warriors, Imus Bandera, Makati Super Crunch, Manila Stars, San Juan Knights, and Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines entered the playoffs for the first time in team history.

Format

Due to the league's expansion, the playoff was expanded to feature sixteen teams instead of eight. The top eight teams from each division advanced to the playoffs. Seeding was based on winning percentage, with tiebreaker rules applied should multiple teams have the same record. The single-elimination bracket consists of four rounds with no reseeding. The first three rounds were best-of-three series and the national finals was a best-of-five series.

During the first two rounds, two games within the same division were played in a gameday, with homecourt advantage alternating between the higher-seeded teams of each series. A traditional homecourt format was then used for the last two rounds, with the division finals using a 1-1-1 format and the national finals using a 2-2-1 format. The designated home team may not be able to play within its home locality. Should it occur, the gameday may take place elsewhere.

Division standings

North Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Bataan Risers	25	23	2	.920	—	Playoffs
2	Makati Super Crunch	25	21	4	.840	2
3	San Juan Knights	25	20	5	.800^[a]	3
4	Manila Stars	25	20	5	.800^[a]	3
5	Bulacan Kuyas	25	14	11	.560	9
6	Navotas Clutch	25	12	13	.480^[b]	11
7	Quezon City Capitals	25	12	13	.480^[b]	11
8	Caloocan Supremos	25	11	14	.440^[c]	12

Source: Standings
Notes:

^ ^a ^b San Juan wins tiebreaker over Manila by head-to-head victory.
^ ^a ^b Navotas wins tiebreaker over Quezon City by head-to-head victory.
^ Caloocan wins tiebreaker over Pampanga by head-to-head victory.

South Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Davao Occidental Tigers	25	20	5	.800	—	Playoffs
2	Batangas City Athletics	25	15	10	.600^[a]	5
3	Muntinlupa Cagers	25	15	10	.600^[a]	5
4	GenSan Warriors	25	14	11	.560	6
5	Bacoor City Strikers	25	13	12	.520	7
6	Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines	25	12	13	.480	8
7	Imus Bandera	25	11	14	.440^[b]	9
8	Cebu City Sharks	25	11	14	.440^[b]	9

Source: Standings
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Batangas City wins tiebreaker over Muntinlupa by head-to-head victory.
^ ^a ^b Imus wins tiebreaker over Cebu City by head-to-head victory.

Playoff qualifying

On January 7, 2019, the Manila Stars clinched the first playoff berth of the season.

North Division

Seed	Team	Record	Clinched
Seed	Team	Record	Playoff berth	Best record in division	Best record in league
1	Bataan Risers	23–2	January 17	February 28	February 28
2	Makati Super Crunch	21–4	January 7	—	—
3	San Juan Knights	20–5	January 12	—	—
4	Manila Stars	20–5	January 8	—	—
5	Bulacan Kuyas	14–11	February 2	—	—
6	Navotas Clutch	13–12		—	—
7	Quezon City Capitals	12–13		—	—
8	Caloocan Supremos	11–14		—	—

South Division

Seed	Team	Record	Clinched
Seed	Team	Record	Playoff berth	Best record in division	Best record in league
1	Davao Occidental Tigers	20–5	January 26	February 9	—
2	Batangas City Athletics	15–10	February 8	—	—
3	Muntinlupa Cagers	15–10	January 31	—	—
4	General Santos Warriors	14–11	March 4	—	—
5	Bacoor Strikers	13–12	February 27	—	—
6	Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines	12–13	March 5	—	—
7	Imus Bandera	11–14	March 9	—	—
8	Cebu City Sharks	11–14	March 9	—	—

Bracket

Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The numbers to the left of each team indicate the team's seeding in its division, and the numbers to the right indicate the number of games the team won in that round. Teams with home court advantage, the higher seeded team, are shown in italics.

Division quarterfinals
(best-of-3)

Division semifinals
(best-of-3)

Division finals
(best-of-3)

National finals
(best-of-5)

N1

Bataan

2

N8

Caloocan

0

N1

Bataan

1

N4

Manila

2

N4

Manila

2

N5

Bulacan

0

N4

Manila

1

North Division

N3

San Juan

2

N2

Makati

0

N7

Quezon City

2

N7

Quezon City

0

N3

San Juan

2

N3

San Juan

2

N6

Navotas

0

N3

San Juan

3

S1

Davao Occidental

2

S1

Davao Occidental

2

S8

Cebu City

0

S1

Davao Occidental

2

S5

Bacoor City

0

S4

General Santos

0

S5

Bacoor City

2

S1

Davao Occidental

2

South Division

S2

Batangas City

1

S2

Batangas City

2

S7

Imus

1

S2

Batangas City

2

S6

Zamboanga

1

S3

Muntinlupa

1

S6

Zamboanga

2

First round

Northern Division

(N1) Bataan Risers vs. (N8) Caloocan Supremos

S+A
iWant Sports

March 12
09:00 pm

Bataan Risers	91–71	Caloocan Supremos
Scoring by quarter: 28–9, 22–24, 30–17, 11–21
Pts: John Byron Villarias 18 Rebs: Alfred Batino 11 Asts: Raymundo 11		Pts: Damian Lasco 14 Rebs: Pacquiao, Custodio 9 each Asts: Pedrosa, Labing-isa 5 each

Caloocan Supremos	71–83	Bataan Risers
Scoring by quarter: 8–20, 19–20, 22–22, 22–21
Pts: Rene Pacquiao 14 Rebs: Sarangay, Pacquiao 9 each Asts: Vosotros 8		Pts: Russel Escoto 17 Rebs: Batino, Escoto 9 each Asts: Raymundo 6
Bataan wins series, 2–0

Makati Super Crunch	77–88	Quezon City Capitals
Scoring by quarter: 13–23, 23–18, 21–22, 20–25
Pts: Cedric Ablaza 19 Rebs: Joseph Sedurifa 15 Asts: Lingganay 9		Pts: Jay Collado 27 Rebs: Jay Collado 7 Asts: Andrew Estrella 8

Quezon City Capitals	77–74	Makati Super Crunch
Scoring by quarter: 15–20, 27–15, 14–14, 21–25
Pts: Andrew Estrella 19 Rebs: Jay Collado 11 Asts: Andrew Estrella 6		Pts: Ablaza, Asuncion 15 each Rebs: Jeckster Apinan 10 Asts: Lingganay 9
Quezon City wins series, 2–0

Overview

Format

Division standings

Playoff qualifying

North Division

South Division

Bracket

First round

Northern Division

(N1) Bataan Risers vs. (N8) Caloocan Supremos

(N2) Makati Super Crunch vs. (N7) Quezon City Capitals

(N3) San Juan Knights vs. (N6) Navotas Clutch

(N4) Manila Stars vs. (N5) Bulacan Kuyas

Southern Division

(S1) Davao Occidental Tigers vs. (S8) Cebu City Sharks

(S2) Batangas City Athletics vs. (S7) Imus Bandera

(S3) Muntinlupa Cagers vs. (S6) Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines

(S4) General Santos Warriors vs. (S5) Bacoor City Strikers

Divisional semifinals

Northern Division semifinals

(N1) Bataan Risers vs. (N4) Manila Stars

(S7) Quezon City Capitals vs. (S3) San Juan Knights

Southern Division semifinals

(S1) Davao Occidental Tigers vs. (S5) Bacoor City Strikers

(S2) Batangas City Athletics vs. (S6) Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines

Divisional finals

Northern Division finals: (N4) Manila Stars vs. (N3) San Juan Knights

Southern Division finals: (S1) Davao Occidental Tigers vs. (S2) Batangas City Athletics

MPBL finals: (S1) Davao Occidental Tigers vs. (N3) San Juan Knights

References