2019 MPBL Finals

2019 MPBL Finals
Dates	April 11–25, 2019
MVP	Mike Ayonayon
Northern finals	San Juan def. Manila, 2–1
Southern finals	Davao Occidental def. ; Batangas City, 2–1

The 2019 MPBL Finals, also known as the MPBL Datu Cup Finals, was the championship series of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League's (MPBL) 2018–19 season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The North Division champion San Juan Knights defeated the South Division champion Davao Occidental Tigers, 3–2, as they were crowned the league's second champions. Mike Ayonayon is also named the season's Finals MVP.^[1]^[2] This Finals matchup would go on to ignite a rivalry between the two teams.

Both the first-seeded Davao Occidental and third-seeded San Juan held the same regular season record (20–5), but the former held homecourt advantage as they beat San Juan in their regular season match-up. It is the first of back-to-back Finals between the two teams.

Background

San Juan Knights

The San Juan Knights entered the season as heavy favorites to win the national championship, as they are loaded with a mix of ex-pro players, collegiate players and homegrown players. They finished the regular season with a 20–5 win-loss record, tying with the Manila Stars for third place as both teams had an identical record. The Knights were able to clinch the third seed as they defeated the Stars in the eliminations. In the first two rounds of the playoffs, The Knights easily dealt the Navotas Clutch and the Quezon City Capitals both in just two games each series. The Division Finals saw their sister team, Manila Stars battling them for the Northern Division title. The series went to a decider, where the team would eventually defeat the Stars in Game 3 to clinch North Division title and move to their first ever MPBL Finals appearance.

Davao Occidental Tigers

Davao Occidental Tigers came in to the tournament as the 2018 Preseason Champions winning over the Manila Stars in the finals. The Tigers ended their regular season with 20–5 win-loss record, to become the top seed in the South Division and clinch homecourt advantage for the division playoffs. They easily defeated the Cebu City Sharks and the Bacoor City Strikers in the first round and in the division semifinals, both sweeping in two games each series. In the division finals, they faced the defending champions Batangas City Athletics but were pushed to the limits, even forcing a Game 3 decider before escaping the Athletics, to claim its division title and advance to its first ever MPBL Finals appearance.^[3]

Road to the Finals

San Juan Knights (Northern Division Champion)

Davao Occidental Tigers (Southern Division Champion)

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
9	Pampanga Lanterns	25	11	14	.440^[c]	12
10	Valenzuela Classic	25	10	15	.400	13
11	Mandaluyong El Tigre	25	8	17	.320^[d]	15
12	Pasay Voyagers	25	8	17	.320^[d]	15
13	Pasig Pirates	25	4	21	.160	19

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.
^ ^a ^b Caloocan wins tiebreaker over Pampanga by head-to-head victory.
^ ^a ^b Mandaluyong wins tiebreaker over Pasay by head-to-head victory.

3rd seed in the North, 4th best league record

Regular season

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
9	Laguna Heroes	25	10	15	.400	10
10	Parañaque Patriots	25	8	17	.320^[c]	12
11	Marikina Shoemasters	25	8	17	.320^[c]	12
12	Basilan Steel	25	7	18	.280^[d]	13
13	Rizal Crusaders	25	7	18	.280^[d]	13

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.
^ ^a ^b Parañaque wins tiebreaker over Marikina by head-to-head victory.
^ ^a ^b Basilan wins tiebreaker over Rizal by head-to-head victory.

1st seed in the South, 3rd best league record

Defeated 6th-seeded Navotas Clutch, 2–0

First Round

Defeated 8th-seeded Cebu City Sharks, 2–0

Defeated 7th-seeded Quezon City Capitals, 2–0

Division Semifinals

Defeated 5th-seeded Bacoor City Strikers, 2–0

Defeated 4th-seeded Manila Stars, 2–1

Division Finals

Defeated 2nd-seeded Batangas City Athletics, 2–1

Head-to-head matchup

Since both teams have an identical 20–5 win-loss record, the Davao Occidental Tigers will hold the homecourt advantage for the title series as they defeated the San Juan Knights in the eliminations.

S+A
Fox Sports

December 18
09:00 pm

Boxscore

Davao Occidental Tigers	87–75	San Juan Knights
Scoring by quarter: 19–17, 21–17, 24–17, 23–24
Pts: Emman Calo 23 Rebs: Calo, Raymundo 9 each Asts: Terso, Robles 5 each		Pts: Larry Rodriguez 14 Rebs: Larry Muyang 10 Asts: Larry Rodriguez 5

Rizal Memorial College Gymnasium, Davao City
Referees: Dan Marabe, Julius Tiquio, Jojo Belnas

Series summary

Game	Date	Away team	Result	Home team	Venue
1	April 11	San Juan Knights	84–74 (1–0)	Davao Occidental Tigers	Davao City Recreation Center
2	April 13	San Juan Knights	60–67 (1–1)	Davao Occidental Tigers	Rizal Memorial College Gym
3	April 16	Davao Occidental Tigers	62–67 (1–2)	San Juan Knights	Filoil Flying V Centre
4	April 22	Davao Occidental Tigers	77–66 (2–2)	San Juan Knights	Filoil Flying V Centre
5	April 25	San Juan Knights	87–86 (3–2)	Davao Occidental Tigers	Rizal Memorial College Gym

Game summaries

Game 1

S+A
Fox Sports
iWant Sports

April 11
9:00 pm

Boxscore

Davao Occidental Tigers	74–84	San Juan Knights
Scoring by quarter: 17–25, 15–24, 24–17, 18–18
Pts: Emman Calo 27 Rebs: Yee 8 Asts: Custodio 6		Pts: Wilson 21 Rebs: Wilson, Clarito 8 each Asts: Cardona 5
San Juan leads series, 1–0

Davao City Recreation Center, Davao City
Referees: Jovet Ocfemia, Dan Marabe, Michael Quinay

Game 2

ABS-CBN
Fox Sports
iWant Sports

April 13
3:30 pm

Davao Occidental Tigers	67–60	San Juan Knights
Scoring by quarter: 21–13, 16–16, 16–11, 14–20
Pts: Billy Robles 17 Rebs: Bogs Raymundo, Yee 10 Asts: Yee 5		Pts: Ayonayon 17 Rebs: Rodriguez 8 Asts: Wilson 4
Series tied, 1–1

Rizal Memorial College Gymnasium, Davao City

Game 3

S+A
Fox Sports
iWant Sports

April 15
9:00 pm

Boxscore

San Juan Knights	67–62	Davao Occidental Tigers
Scoring by quarter: 13–20, 18–9, 20–24, 16–9
Pts: Ayonayon 15 Rebs: Jhonard Clarito 18 Asts: Cardona, Isit 3 each		Pts: Bogs Raymundo 15 Rebs: Yee 13 Asts: Custodio 4
San Juan leads series, 2–1

Filoil Flying V Centre, San Juan

Game 4

S+A
Fox Sports
iWant Sports

April 22
9:00pm

Boxscore

San Juan Knights	66–77	Davao Occidental Tigers
Scoring by quarter: 17–12, 17–17, 19–16, 13–32
Pts: Orlan Wamar 19 Rebs: Wilson 12 Asts: Ayonayon 5		Pts: Billy Robles 22 Rebs: Billy Robles 18 Asts: BIlly Robles 3
Series tied, 2–2

Filoil Flying V Centre, San Juan
Referees: Bert Gica, Jay Castroverde, Carol Guay

Game 5

S+A
Fox Sports
iWant Sports

April 25
9:00 pm

Boxscore

Davao Occidental Tigers	86–87	San Juan Knights
Scoring by quarter: 15–21, 20–28, 33–14, 18–24
Pts: Yee 27 Rebs: Yee 7 Asts: Robles 4		Pts: Ayonayon 33 Rebs: Larry Rodriguez 13 Asts: Cardona, Wamar 5 each
San Juan wins series, 3–2

Rizal Memorial College Gymnasium, Davao City
Referees: Jay Castroverde, Michael Quinay, Carol Guay

Broadcast notes

ABS-CBN Sports and ABS-CBN Regional Network Group is the official broadcaster of the Datu Cup Finals that were aired via S+A, ABS-CBN and on Fox Sports Philippines.

Fox Sports Philippines provided the English-language coverage of the title series.

Game	S+A & Fox Sports Philippines
Game	Play-by-play	Analyst	Courtside reporter
Game 1	Martin Antonio	Christian Luanzon	Shiela Salaysay
Game 2	Martin Antonio	Christian Luanzon	Shiela Salaysay
Game 3	Cedelf Tupas	Rodney Santos	Sel Guevara
Game 4	Martin Javier	Christian Luanzon	Nikki Viola
Game 5	Cedelf Tupas	Jayvee Gayoso	Sel Guevara

Additional Game 5 crew:
- Trophy presentation: Dyan Castillejo

Prizes

The San Juan Knights won the P10 million pesos worth of 18-karat gold trophy, similar to that NBA's Larry O'Brien Trophy, and ball rings which will await the National Champions as per league founder Sen. Manny Pacquiao and Commissioner Kenneth Duremdes.^[4]

References

^ "MPBL: San Juan downs Davao Occidental captures title in dramatic fashion". ABS-CBN Sports. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
^ Llanes, Gianna (26 April 2019). "San Juan Knights are MPBL Datu Cup Champions". Philippine Canadian Inquirer. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
^ Joble, Rey (8 April 2019). "MPBL: Davao Occidental devours Batangas, books trip to MPBL National Finals". Fox Sports Philippines. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
^ "MPBL: National Champions to get trophy worth ten million pesos". 12 June 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}

[table_hth_SJ0.99065657518369-4] San Juan wins tiebreaker over Manila by head-to-head victory.

[table_hth_NAV0.99065657518369-5] Navotas wins tiebreaker over Quezon City by head-to-head victory.

[table_hth_CAL0.99065657518369-6] Caloocan wins tiebreaker over Pampanga by head-to-head victory.

[table_hth_MDL0.99065657518369-7] Mandaluyong wins tiebreaker over Pasay by head-to-head victory.

[table_hth_BTG0.41448441958729-8] Batangas City wins tiebreaker over Muntinlupa by head-to-head victory.

[table_hth_IMS0.41448441958729-9] Imus wins tiebreaker over Cebu City by head-to-head victory.

[table_hth_PAR0.41448441958729-10] Parañaque wins tiebreaker over Marikina by head-to-head victory.

[table_hth_BAS0.41448441958729-11] Basilan wins tiebreaker over Rizal by head-to-head victory.

[1] "MPBL: San Juan downs Davao Occidental captures title in dramatic fashion". ABS-CBN Sports. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.

[2] Llanes, Gianna (26 April 2019). "San Juan Knights are MPBL Datu Cup Champions". Philippine Canadian Inquirer. Retrieved 7 March 2024.

[3] Joble, Rey (8 April 2019). "MPBL: Davao Occidental devours Batangas, books trip to MPBL National Finals". Fox Sports Philippines. Retrieved 8 April 2019.

[12] "MPBL: National Champions to get trophy worth ten million pesos". 12 June 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2019.^{[permanent dead link]}

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