# 2019 PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup

The 2019 PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup is the first conference of the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League (PBA D-League) season. This will be the eighth Aspirants' Cup.

## Format

Twenty teams were included in the tournament. The elimination round will be divided into two groups of ten teams each. Each team will play the teams in its group once. The top four teams per group qualify for the quarterfinals. The higher-seed team in the quarterfinals will have the twice-to-beat advantage against the lower-seeded team from the other group. The quarterfinals winners advance to the semifinals, which is a best-of-3 series. The semifinals winners advance to the Finals, which is a best-of-5 series.

## Venues

Most games will be played at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig. Other venues include the Paco Arena in Manila, JCSGO Gym and the Trinity University of Asia, both in Quezon City.

## Teams

On May 7, the Cha Dao–FEU Tamaraws dropped the sponsorship by Cha Dao Milk Tea for lack of payments. FEU team manager Richie Ticzon said Cha Dao owed them a "substantial amount of money."
The Far Eastern University now plan to press charges against James Machate after FEU and Cha Dao owner James Marcaida convened following their split in the 2019 PBA D-League.

## Elimination round
### Group A
#### Team standings

| Pos | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Cignal-Ateneo Hawkeyes | 8 | 1 | .889 | — | Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals |
| 2 | Virtual Reality-St. Clare Saints | 6 | 3 | .667 | 2 | Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals |
| 3 | Go for Gold-CSB Scratchers | 6 | 3 | .667 | 2 | Twice-to-win in quarterfinals |
| 4 | Che'Lu Bar and Grill Revellers | 6 | 3 | .667 | 2 | Twice-to-win in quarterfinals |
| 5 | Petron-Letran Knights | 6 | 3 | .667 | 2 | Eliminated |
| 6 | Ironcon-UST Growling Tigers | 6 | 3 | .667 | 2 | Eliminated |
| 7 | FamilyMart-Enderun Titans | 2 | 7 | .222 | 6 | Eliminated |
| 8 | Batangas-EAC Generals | 2 | 7 | .222 | 6 | Eliminated |
| 9 | AMA Online Education Titans | 2 | 7 | .222 | 6 | Eliminated |
| 10 | McDavid Apparels | 1 | 8 | .111 | 7 | Eliminated |
* 1 2 3 4 5 Head-to-head quotient: Virtual Reality-St. Clare 1.05, Go for Gold-CSB 1.01, Che'Lu 1.00, Petron-Letran 0.98, Ironcon-UST 0.97
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head quotient: FamilyMart-Enderun 1.11, Batangas-EAC 0.99, AMA 0.92

#### Results

| Teams | AMA | BAT | CHE | CIG | FAM | GFG | MCD | PET | UST | VRE |
| AMA Online Education Titans | — | 122–119 | 77–115 | 81–111 | 94–116 | 91–109 | 80–65 | 91–108 | 108–113 | 89–119 |
| Batangas-EAC Generals | | — | 63–89 | 46–90 | 91–90 | 87–102 | 79–57 | 73–115 | 70–94 | 73–80 |
| Che'Lu Bar and Grill Revellers | | | — | 88–102 | 77–72 | 92–101 | 109–99 | 96–94 | 92–80 | 77–82 |
| Cignal-Ateneo Hawkeyes | | | | — | 82–68 | 103–75 | 106–31 | 83–64 | 98–112 | 88–66 |
| FamilyMart-Enderun Titans | | | | | — | 69–78 | 68–73 | 70–77 | 81–74 | 64–71 |
| Go for Gold-CSB Scratchers | | | | | | — | 119–101 | 107–87 | 82–94 | 78–92 |
| McDavid Apparels | | | | | | | — | 64–89 | 90–111 | 82–93 |
| Petron-Letran Knights | | | | | | | | — | 114–101 | 91–90 |
| Ironcon-UST Growling Tigers | | | | | | | | | — | 78–75 |
| Virtual Reality-St. Clare Saints | | | | | | | | | | — |

### Group B
#### Team standings

| Pos | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Valencia City-San Sebastian Stags | 8 | 1 | .889 | — | Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals |
| 2 | CEU Scorpions | 7 | 2 | .778 | 1 | Twice-to-beat in quarterfinals |
| 3 | Metropac Movers-San Beda Red Lions | 6 | 3 | .667 | 2 | Twice-to-win in quarterfinals |
| 4 | Cha Dao-FEU Tamaraws | 6 | 3 | .667 | 2 | Twice-to-win in quarterfinals |
| 5 | Marinerong Pilipino Skippers | 5 | 4 | .556 | 3 | Eliminated |
| 6 | Diliman Blue Dragons | 4 | 5 | .444 | 4 | Eliminated |
| 7 | SMDC-NU Bulldogs | 4 | 5 | .444 | 4 | Eliminated |
| 8 | Wangs Basketball Couriers | 3 | 6 | .333 | 5 | Eliminated |
| 9 | Perpetual Help Altas | 2 | 7 | .222 | 6 | Eliminated |
| 10 | CD14 Designs-Trinity White Stallions | 0 | 9 | .000 | 8 | Eliminated |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Cha Dao-FEU 1–0 Metropac Movers-San Beda
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Diliman 1–0 SMDC-NU

#### Results

| Teams | CDD | CEU | DIL | FEU | MAR | MET | SMDC | UPHD | VAL | WAN |
| CD14 Designs-Trinity White Stallions | — | 69–93 | 51–88 | 81–106 | 72–91 | 70–119 | 75–107 | 75–86 | 82–105 | 69–89 |
| CEU Scorpions | | — | 93–76 | 69–74 | 93–76 | 80–77 | 67–74 | 90–65 | 71–65 | 116–72 |
| Diliman-Gerry's Grill Blue Dragons | | | — | 81–88 | 86–85 | 55–67 | 82–70 | 65–71 | 80–91 | 108–95 |
| Cha Dao-FEU Tamaraws | | | | — | 63–87 | 51–75 | 84–62 | 83–64 | 53–75 | 71–63 |
| Marinerong Pilipino Skippers | | | | | — | 88–85* | 86–71 | 90–76 | 104–110* | 78–88 |
| Metropac Movers-San Beda Red Lions | | | | | | — | 94–86 | 85–75 | 92–96* | 94–70 |
| SMDC-NU Bulldogs | | | | | | | — | 100–74 | 73–82 | 102–71 |
| Perpetual Altas | | | | | | | | — | 75–106 | 64–75 |
| Valencia City-San Sebastian Stags | | | | | | | | | — | 96–64 |
| Wangs Basketball Couriers | | | | | | | | | | — |

## Playoff bracket

| Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals (Best-of-3 series) | Semifinals (Best-of-3 series) | Semifinals (Best-of-3 series) | Finals (Best-of-5 series) | Finals (Best-of-5 series) | Finals (Best-of-5 series) |
| (A1 twice-to-beat) | (A1 twice-to-beat) | (A1 twice-to-beat) | (A1 twice-to-beat) | | | | | | |
| A1 | Cignal-Ateneo | Cignal-Ateneo | 67 | | | | | | |
| B4 | Cha Dao-FEU | Cha Dao-FEU | 60 | | | | | | |
| B4 | Cha Dao-FEU | Cha Dao-FEU | 60 | A1 | Cignal-Ateneo | 2 | | | |
| (B1 twice-to-beat) | (B1 twice-to-beat) | (B1 twice-to-beat) | (B1 twice-to-beat) | A1 | Cignal-Ateneo | 2 | | | |
| (B1 twice-to-beat) | (B1 twice-to-beat) | (B1 twice-to-beat) | (B1 twice-to-beat) | B1 | Valencia City-San Sebastian | 0 | | | |
| B1 | Valencia City-San Sebastian | Valencia City-San Sebastian | 93 | B1 | Valencia City-San Sebastian | 0 | | | |
| A4 | Che'Lu | Che'Lu | 87 | | | | | | |
| A4 | Che'Lu | Che'Lu | 87 | | | | A1 | Cignal-Ateneo | 3 |
| (B2 twice-to-beat) | (B2 twice-to-beat) | (B2 twice-to-beat) | (B2 twice-to-beat) | | | | A1 | Cignal-Ateneo | 3 |
| (B2 twice-to-beat) | (B2 twice-to-beat) | (B2 twice-to-beat) | (B2 twice-to-beat) | | | | B2 | CEU | 1 |
| B2 | CEU | 81 | 84 | | | | B2 | CEU | 1 |
| A3 | Go for Gold-CSB | 84 | 74 | | | | | | |
| A3 | Go for Gold-CSB | 84 | 74 | B2 | CEU | 2 | | | |
| (A2 twice-to-beat) | (A2 twice-to-beat) | (A2 twice-to-beat) | (A2 twice-to-beat) | B2 | CEU | 2 | | | |
| (A2 twice-to-beat) | (A2 twice-to-beat) | (A2 twice-to-beat) | (A2 twice-to-beat) | A2 | Virtual Reality-St. Clare | 1 | | | |
| A2 | Virtual Reality-St. Clare | Virtual Reality-St. Clare | 65 | A2 | Virtual Reality-St. Clare | 1 | | | |
| B3 | Metropac Movers-San Beda | Metropac Movers-San Beda | 60 | | | | | | |

## Quarterfinals

Higher seeded teams has the twice-to-beat advantage against the lower seeded teams of the other group.

### (A1) Cignal-Ateneo vs. (B4) Cha Dao-FEU

* 5 Plus
* May 27 2:00 p.m.
Cignal-Ateneo Hawkeyes 67, Cha Dao-FEU Tamaraws 60 :
| Scoring by quarter: 11–17, 21–19, 16–10, 19–14 |||
| Pts: Ange Kouame 14 Rebs: Ange Kouame 14 | Pts: Cade Flores 14 Rebs: Cade Flores 7 |
| Cignal-Ateneo wins series in one game |||
* Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig

### (B1) Valencia City-San Sebastian vs. (A4) Che'Lu

* 5 Plus
* May 27 4:00 p.m.
Valencia City-San Sebastian Stags 93, Che'Lu Bar and Grill Revellers 87 (OT) :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–18, 23–12, 17–23, 19–27, Overtime: 13-7 |||
| Pts: JM Calma 19 Rebs: JM Calma 11 | Pts: Rey Suerte 18 Rebs: Rey Suerte 9 |
| Valencia City-San Sebastian wins series in one game |||
* Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig

### (A2) Virtual Reality-St. Clare vs. (B3) Metropac Movers-San Beda

* 5 Plus
* May 28 4:00 p.m.
Virtual Reality-St. Clare Saints 65, Metropac Movers-San Beda Red Lions 60 :
| Scoring by quarter: 10–10, 19–15, 22–13, 14–22 |||
| Pts: Joshua Fontanilla 12 Rebs: Mohammad Pare 10 | Pts: James Canlas 14 Rebs: Donald Tankoua 12 |
| Virtual Reality-St. Clare wins series in one game |||
* Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig

### (B2) CEU vs. (A3) Go for Gold-CSB

* 5 Plus
* May 28 2:00 p.m.
CEU Scorpions 81, Go for Gold-CSB Scratchers 84 :
| Scoring by quarter: 21–26, 14–24, 28–23, 20–11 |||
| Pts: Judel Fuentes 22 Rebs: Maodo Malick Diuof 17 | Pts: Roosevelt Adams 26 Rebs: Roosevelt Adams 13 |
* Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig
* 5 Plus
* May 30 4:00 p.m.
CEU Scorpions 84, Go for Gold-CSB Scratchers 74 :
| Scoring by quarter: 24–20, 20–16, 22–15, 18–23 |||
| Pts: Maodo Malick Diuof 25 Rebs: Maodo Malick Diuof 29 | Pts: Roosevelt Adams 26 Rebs: Roosevelt Adams 11 |
| CEU wins series in two games |||
* Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig

## Semifinals

This round is in a best-of-3 format. The winner advances to the finals.

### (A1) Cignal-Ateneo vs. (B1) Valencia City-San Sebastian

* 5 Plus
* June 3 4 p.m.
Cignal-Ateneo Hawkeyes 105, Valencia City-San Sebastian Stags 67 :
| Scoring by quarter: 17-19, 17-16, 32-19, 39-13 |||
| Pts: Ange Kouame 19 Rebs: Ange Kouame 20 | Pts: RK Ilagan 14 Rebs: Allyn Bulanadi 7 |
* Paco Arena, Manila
* 5 Plus
* June 6 2 p.m.
Cignal-Ateneo Hawkeyes 100, Valencia City-San Sebastian Stags 73 :
| Scoring by quarter: 19-28, 31-17, 28-7, 22-21 |||
| Pts: Thirdy Ravena 19 Rebs: Ange Kouame 18 | Pts: RK Ilagan 22 Rebs: RK Ilagan 11 |
| Cignal-Ateneo wins series 2–0 |||
* Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig

### (B2) CEU vs. (A2) Virtual Reality-St. Clare

* 5 Plus
* June 3 2 p.m.
CEU Scorpions 76, Virtual Reality-St. Clare Saints 75 :
| Scoring by quarter: 15-9, 17-22, 22-17, 22-27 |||
| Pts: Maodo Diouf 19 Rebs: Maodo Diouf 33 | Pts: Irven Palencia 18 Rebs: Irven Palencia 8 |
* Paco Arena, Manila
* 5 Plus
* June 6 4 p.m.
CEU Scorpions 50, Virtual Reality-St. Clare Saints 84 :
| Scoring by quarter: 7-14, 12-22, 11-24, 20-24 |||
| Pts: Franz Diaz 17 Rebs: Maodo Diouf 22 | Pts: Mohammed Pare 17 Rebs: Mohammed Pare 15 |
* Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig
* June 11 4 p.m.
CEU Scorpions 89, Virtual Reality-St. Clare Saints 72 :
| Scoring by quarter: 16-21, 22-18, 29-13, 22-20 |||
| Pts: Rich Guinitaran 23 Rebs: Dave Bernabe 14 | Pts: Junjie Hallare 19 Rebs: Joshua Fontanilla 6 |
| CEU wins series 2–1 |||
* Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig

## Finals: (A1) Cignal-Ateneo vs. (B2) CEU

This round is in a best-of-5 format. The winner wins the championship.
* 5 Plus
* June 13 4 p.m.
Cignal-Ateneo Hawkeyes 101, CEU Scorpions 66 :
| Scoring by quarter: 25-16, 29-15, 26-14, 21-21 |||
| Pts: Isaac Go 17 Rebs: Thirdy Ravena 7 | Pts: Maodo Diouf 21 Rebs: Maodo Diouf 11 |
* Filoil Flying V Arena, San Juan
* 5 Plus
* June 18 4 p.m.
Cignal-Ateneo Hawkeyes 74, CEU Scorpions 77 :
| Scoring by quarter: 13-16, 26- 18, 13-19, 22-24 |||
| Pts: Adrian Wong 17 Rebs: Ange Kouame 10 | Pts: Jerome Santos 28 Rebs: Maodo Diouf 16 |
* Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig
* 5 Plus
* June 20 4 p.m.
Cignal-Ateneo Hawkeyes 67, CEU Scorpions 52 :
| Scoring by quarter: 17-13, 15-14, 17-10, 18-15 |||
| Pts: Thirdy Ravena 12 Rebs: Thirdy Ravena 8 | Pts: Maodo Diouf 19 Rebs: Maodo Diouf 20 |
* Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig
* 5 Plus
* June 25 4 p.m.
Cignal-Ateneo Hawkeyes 98, CEU Scorpions 66 :
| Scoring by quarter: 38-10, 10-17, 31-20, 19-19 |||
| Pts: Ange Kouame 18 Rebs: Ange Kouame 16 | Pts: Rich Guinitaran 20 Rebs: Rich Guinitaran 4 |
| Cignal-Ateneo wins series 3-1 |||
* Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig