2019 MPBL playoffs

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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.

• 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.

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.

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

Seed	Team	Record	Clinched
			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		—	—

Seed	Team	Record	Clinched
			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	—	—

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

Head-to-head matchup
S+A November 27 07:00 pm Boxscore Caloocan Supremos 81–94 Bataan Risers Scoring by quarter: 15–27, 11–20, 28–20, 27–27 Pts: Vosotros 16 Rebs: Mark Sarangay 10 Asts: Vosotros 11 Pts: Raymundo 20 Rebs: Alfred Batino 7 Asts: Villarias, Raymundo 6 each Batangas City Coliseum, Batangas City

This is the first playoff meeting between the Bataan Risers and the Caloocan Supremos.

Head-to-head matchup
S+A February 25 07:00 pm Boxscore Quezon City Capitals 78–102 Makati Super Crunch Scoring by quarter: 20–16, 18–31, 17–30, 23–25 Pts: Jay Collado 15 Rebs: Ramon Mabayo 7 Asts: Hesed Gabo 6 Pts: John Rey Villanueva 20 Rebs: John Rey Villanueva 8 Asts: Lingganay, Apinan 4 each Filoil Flying V Centre, San Juan

This is the first playoff meeting between the Makati and the Quezon City.

Head-to-head matchup
S+A September 25 07:00 pm Boxscore Navotas Clutch 74–81 San Juan Knights Scoring by quarter: 17–10, 19–22, 25–18, 13–31 Pts: Kris Porter 18 Rebs: Javelosa, Sorela 6 each Asts: Joe Trinidad 3 Pts: Wilson 28 Rebs: Wilson Asts: Rodriguez, Jeruta 4 each Strike Gymnasium, Bacoor, Cavite

This is the first playoff meeting between the San Juan Knights and the Navotas Clutch.

Head-to-head matchup
S+A August 16 09:00 pm Boxscore Manila Stars 84–62 Bulacan Kuyas Scoring by quarter: 26–4, 20–20, 20–19, 18–19 Pts: Cervantes 19 Rebs: Maclean Sabellina 11 Asts: Roger Yap 8 Pts: Hernal Escosio 12 Rebs: Escosio, Babilonia 5 each Asts: JR Taganas 8 San Andres Sports Complex, Malate, Manila

This is the first playoff meeting between Kuyas and Stars.

Head-to-head matchup
S+A August 14 07:00 pm Boxscore Cebu City Sharks 64–71 Davao Occidental Tigers Scoring by quarter: 17–13, 19–18, 16–21, 12–19 Pts: Cabahug 14 Rebs: Cesar Catli 11 Asts: John Michael Abad 6 Pts: Billy Robles 14 Rebs: Yee 11 Asts: Custodio 4 Strike Gymnasium, Bacoor, Cavite

This is the first playoff meeting between the Davao Occidental Tigers and Cebu City Sharks.

Head-to-head matchup
S+A January 15 09:00 pm Boxscore Batangas City Athletics 96–93 Imus Bandera Scoring by quarter: 27–22, 27–18, 22–29, 20–24 Pts: Jeff Viernes 19 Rebs: Jhaymo Eguilos 10 Asts: Alvarez 7 Pts: Jonathan Rivera 23 Rebs: Jonathan Rivera 10 Asts: Alberto, Castro 4 each Batangas State University Gymnasium, Batangas City

This is the first playoff meeting between the Batangas City Athletics and the Imus Bandera.

Allan Mangahas who earned 17 assists in the game, broke the previous record of 15 assists previously held jointly by Mikee Reyes and Bobby Ray Parks Jr. to become the league's newest record holder for most assists made in a single game.^[3]

Head-to-head matchup
S+A July 4 07:00 pm Boxscore Zamboanga Valientes 69–85 Muntinlupa Cagers Scoring by quarter: 16–23, 11–23, 20–17, 22–22 Pts: Berame, Parreño 10 each Rebs: Rino Berame 11 Asts: Reed Juntilla 3 Pts: Allan Mangahas 18 Rebs: Felix Apreku 12 Asts: Allan Mangahas 9 Marist School Gymnasium, Marikina

This is the first playoff meeting between the Muntinlupa Cagers and the Zamboanga Valientes.

Head-to-head matchup
S+A March 4 09:00 pm Boxscore Bacoor City Strikers 71–82 General Santos Warriors Scoring by quarter: 19–22, 21–20, 15–19, 16–21 Pts: King Destacamento 16 Rebs: Gabriel Banal 14 Asts: Rocky Acidre 7 Pts: John Orbeta 23 Rebs: John Orbeta 11 Asts: Leomer Losentes 5 Strike Gymnasium, Bacoor, Cavite

This is the first playoff meeting between Bacoor City Strikers and the General Santos Warriors.

Head-to-head matchup
S+A June 16, 2018 09:00 pm Boxscore Manila Stars 89–82 Bataan Risers Scoring by quarter: 19–20, 23–22, 27–22, 20–18 Pts: Aris Dionisio 21 Rebs: Aris Dionisio 7 Asts: Roger Yap 11 Pts: John Villarias 17 Rebs: Alfred Batino 14 Asts: Raymundo 4 San Andres Sports Complex, Malate, Manila

This is the first playoff meeting between the Manila Stars and the Bataan Risers.

Head-to-head matchup
S+A February 11 09:00 pm Boxscore San Juan Knights 68–50 Quezon City Capitals Scoring by quarter: 17–13, 19–8, 14–10, 18–19 Pts: Wilson 13 Rebs: Larry Muyang 9 Asts: CJ Isit 5 Pts: Kim Medina 11 Rebs: Ramon Mabayo 11 Asts: Jomar Santos 4 Filoil Flying V Centre, San Juan

This is the first playoff meeting between San Juan Knights and Quezon City Capitals.

Head-to-head matchup
S+A December 13 09:00 pm Boxscore Bacoor City Strikers 50–69 Davao Occidental Tigers Scoring by quarter: 16–23, 8–10, 13–18, 13–18 Pts: Gabriel Banal 11 Rebs: Leo de Vera 7 Asts: 5 players tied at 2 each Pts: Yee 17 Rebs: Yee 11 Asts: Yee, Custodio 5 each Strike Gymnasium, Bacoor, Cavite

This is the first playoff meeting between the Bacoor City Strikers and the Davao Occidental Tigers.

Head-to-head matchup
S+A November 27, 2018 09:00 pm Boxscore Batangas City Athletics 104–93 Zamboanga Valientes Scoring by quarter: 33–25, 18–20, 28–21, 25–27 Pts: Jeff Viernes 26 Rebs: Villamor, Viernes 8 each Asts: Jeff Viernes 11 Pts: Juntilla 18 Rebs: Berame, de Leon 6 each Asts: Joemari Lacastesantos 7 Batangas City Coliseum, Batangas City

This is the first playoff meeting between the Zamboanga Valientes and the Batangas City Athletics.

Head-to-head matchup
S+A Fox Sports November 21 09:00pm Manila Stars 80–84 (OT) San Juan Knights Scoring by quarter: –, –, –, – Filoil Flying V Centre, San Juan

This is the first playoff meeting between the Manila Stars and the San Juan Knights.

Head-to-head matchup
S+A Fox Sports February 9 09:00 pm Davao Occidental Tigers 71–70 Batangas City Athletics Scoring by quarter: 19–19, 31–39, 55–56, 70–71 Batangas City Coliseum

This is the first playoff meeting between Davao Occidental Tigers and Batangas City Athletics.

The San Juan Knights and the Davao Occidental Tigers will battle for the national championship to become the first ever Datu Cup Champion and the second MPBL Champions.