# 2019 MPBL Finals

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. 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.

## Road to the Finals

| San Juan Knights (Northern Division Champion) | San Juan Knights (Northern Division Champion) | | Davao Occidental Tigers (Southern Division Champion) |
| Pos Teamvte 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 3 4 Manila Stars 25 20 5 .800 3 5 Bulacan Kuyas 25 14 11 .560 9 6 Navotas Clutch 25 12 13 .480 11 7 Quezon City Capitals 25 12 13 .480 11 8 Caloocan Supremos 25 11 14 .440 12 9 Pampanga Lanterns 25 11 14 .440 12 10 Valenzuela Classic 25 10 15 .400 13 11 Mandaluyong El Tigre 25 8 17 .320 15 12 Pasay Voyagers 25 8 17 .320 15 13 Pasig Pirates 25 4 21 .160 19 Source: Standings Notes: 1 2 San Juan wins tiebreaker over Manila by head-to-head victory.1 2 Navotas wins tiebreaker over Quezon City by head-to-head victory.1 2 Caloocan wins tiebreaker over Pampanga by head-to-head victory.1 2 Mandaluyong wins tiebreaker over Pasay by head-to-head victory. 3rd seed in the North, 4th best league record | Regular season | Regular season | Pos Teamvte Pld W L PCT GB Qualification 1 Davao Occidental Tigers 25 20 5 .800 — Playoffs 2 Batangas City Athletics 25 15 10 .600 5 3 Muntinlupa Cagers 25 15 10 .600 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 9 8 Cebu City Sharks 25 11 14 .440 9 9 Laguna Heroes 25 10 15 .400 10 10 Parañaque Patriots 25 8 17 .320 12 11 Marikina Shoemasters 25 8 17 .320 12 12 Basilan Steel 25 7 18 .280 13 13 Rizal Crusaders 25 7 18 .280 13 Source: Standings Notes: 1 2 Batangas City wins tiebreaker over Muntinlupa by head-to-head victory.1 2 Imus wins tiebreaker over Cebu City by head-to-head victory.1 2 Parañaque wins tiebreaker over Marikina by head-to-head victory.1 2 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 | First Round | Defeated 8th-seeded Cebu City Sharks, 2–0 |
| Defeated 7th-seeded Quezon City Capitals, 2–0 | Division Semifinals | Division Semifinals | Defeated 5th-seeded Bacoor City Strikers, 2–0 |
| Defeated 4th-seeded Manila Stars, 2–1 | Division Finals | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | S+A & Fox Sports Philippines | 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.