The 2019 MPBL playoffs, also known as the MPBL Datu Cup playoffs, was the postseason tournament of the

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's regional professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of 30 teams. Founded in 2017 by eight-division boxing world champion and then-Senator Manny Pacquiao, the MPBL is ...

'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, day after the end of regular season on March 11, 2019, and ended at the conclusion of the 2019 MPBL finals. The 2019 MPBL finals saw the

Davao Occidental Tigers The Davao Occidental Tigers (also known as Davao Occidental Tigers – Cocolife due to sponsorship reasons) are a Filipino professional basketball team based in the Davao metropolitan area and representing the province of Davao Occidental. The ...

battled

San Juan Knights The San Juan Knights (also abbreviated as SJK) are a Filipino professional basketball team based in San Juan. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. The team plays its ...

for the national championship, with the Knights winning in five games, 3 games to 2.

Overview

* The

Bataan Risers The 1Bataan Risers, more commonly known as the Bataan Risers, are a Filipino professional basketball team based in the province of Bataan. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North ...

entered the playoffs for the second consecutive season, and clinched the best record in the league for the first time in team history. * The

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 The Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters are a professional basketball team based in Batangas City, Batangas. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's South Division. The team splits its h ...

, Bulacan Kuyas, Muntinlupa Cagers, Navotas Clutch, and

Quezon City Capitals The Quezon City Galeries Taipan is a Filipino professional basketball team based in Quezon City. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's North Division. The team plays its home games a ...

entered the playoffs for the second consecutive season. * The

Bacoor City Strikers The Bacoor City Strikers were a Filipino professional basketball team, based in Bacoor, Cavite. The team last competed in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and played their home games at Strike Gymnasium. The Strikers also prev ...

, Caloocan Supremos,

Cebu City Sharks The Cebu Classic is a Filipino professional basketball team based in the Cebu metropolitan area. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's South Division. The team has played its home g ...

GenSan Warriors The GenSan Warriors are a Filipino professional basketball team based in General Santos. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's South Division. The team most recently played their home ...

Imus Bandera The Imus Braderhood (also known as the Imus Grumpy Joe Braderhood for sponsorship reasons) is a Filipino professional basketball team based in Imus, Cavite. The team currently competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a m ...

Makati Super Crunch The Makati Super Crunch was a Filipino professional basketball team based in Makati. The team last competed in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) from 2018 to 2023 and played its home games at Makati Coliseum. The team began pl ...

, Manila Stars,

, and

Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines The Zamboanga Sikat (stylized as Zamboanga SiKAT), alternatively known as Sikat Zamboanga, is a Filipino professional basketball team based in Zamboanga City. The team currently competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a ...

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 There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

series and the national finals was a

best-of-five There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

series. During the first two rounds, two games within the same division were played in a gameday, with

homecourt advantage In team sports, the term home advantage – also called home ground, home field, home-field advantage, home court, home-court advantage, defender's advantage or home-ice advantage – describes the benefit that the home team is said to gai ...

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 South Division

Playoff qualifying

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

North Division

South Division

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''.

First round

Northern Division

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

This is the first playoff meeting between the

and the Caloocan Supremos.

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

This is the first playoff meeting between the

Makati Makati ( ; ), officially the City of Makati (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, known for being one of the leading financial centers in the country. As of 2013, the city has the highest concent ...

and the

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

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

This is the first playoff meeting between the

and the Navotas Clutch.

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

This is the first playoff meeting between Kuyas and

Stars A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by self-gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night; their immense distances from Earth make them appear as fixed points of ...

Southern Division

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

This is the first playoff meeting between the

and

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

This is the first playoff meeting between the

and the

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

Allan Mangahas who earned 17 assists in the game, broke the previous record of 15 assists previously held jointly by

Mikee Reyes Miguel Antonio "Mikee" Reyes (born October 30, 1990) is a Filipino former professional basketball player who is a podcaster, media personality and sports analyst for One Sports. He was selected 24th overall by the TNT KaTropa in the 2016 PBA dr ...

and Bobby Ray Parks Jr. to become the league's newest record holder for most assists made in a single game. This is the first playoff meeting between the Muntinlupa Cagers and the

Zamboanga Valientes The Zamboanga Valientes, also known as the Zamboanga Peninsula Valientes MLV, are a Filipino professional basketball team based in the Zamboanga Peninsula. The team has competed in numerous leagues since its founding in 2006. The team first com ...

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

This is the first playoff meeting between

and the General Santos Warriors.

Divisional semifinals

Northern Division semifinals

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

This is the first playoff meeting between the Manila Stars and the

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

This is the first playoff meeting between

and

Southern Division semifinals

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

This is the first playoff meeting between the

and the

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

This is the first playoff meeting between the

and the

Divisional finals

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

This is the first playoff meeting between the Manila Stars and the

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

This is the first playoff meeting between

and

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

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.

References

{{2018–19 MPBL season by team

Playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

MPBL playoffs 2019 in Philippine sport