2018 MPBL playoffs

2018 MPBL playoffs
MPBL Anta–Rajah Cup Playoffs
Tournament details
Country	Philippines
Dates	March 20 – April 19, 2018
Teams	8
Final positions
Champions	Batangas City Athletics
Runner-up	Muntinlupa Cagers
Semifinalists	Valenzuela Classic; Parañaque Patriots;
Tournament statistics
Matches played	19
	2019 →

The 2018 MPBL playoffs, also known as the MPBL Anta–Rajah Cup playoffs, was the postseason tournament of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League's inaugural 2018 season. This was the league's first postseason tournament, and the only tournament under the eight-team format. It began on March 20, 2018, three days after the regular season, and ended on April 10, 2018 where the Batangas City Athletics beat the Muntinlupa Cagers in the 2018 MPBL finals.^[1]

Overview

The Batangas City Athletics entered the playoffs for the first time in team history and clinched the best record in the league for the first time.
All other qualified teams entered the playoffs for the first time.

Format

The top eight teams overall 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 three rounds with no reseeding. The first two rounds were best-of-three series and the finals was a best-of-five series.

During the first two rounds, two games 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 national finals using a 2-2-1 format.

Standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Batangas City Athletics	9	8	1	.889	—	Playoffs
2	Bulacan Kuyas	9	6	3	.667^[a]	2
3	Muntinlupa Cagers	9	6	3	.667^[a]	2
4	Valenzuela Classic	9	6	3	.667^[a]	2
5	Quezon City Capitals	9	5	4	.556^[b]	3
6	Navotas Clutch	9	5	4	.556^[b]	3
7	Parañaque Patriots	9	4	5	.444	4
8	Bataan Defenders	9	2	7	.222^[c]	6

Source: Standings
Notes:

^ ^a ^b ^c Bulacan (1.032), Muntinlupa (1.006), Valenzuela (0.965) are ranked by head-to-head point quotient.
^ ^a ^b Quezon City wins tiebreaker over Navotas by head-to-head victory.
^ Bataan wins tiebreaker over Imus by head-to-head victory.

Bracket

Quarterfinals (best-of-3)			Semifinals (best-of-3)			Finals (best-of-5)

1	Batangas City	2

8	Bataan	0
			1	Batangas City	2

			4	Valenzuela	0
4	Valenzuela	2

5	Quezon City	1
						1	Batangas City	3

						3	Muntinlupa	1
2	Bulacan	1

7	Parañaque	2
			7	Parañaque	1

			3	Muntinlupa	2
3	Muntinlupa	2

6	Navotas	0

Bataan Defenders	75–88	Batangas City Tanduay Athletics
Scoring by quarter: 14–21, 19–28, 16–23, 26–16
Pts: Gary David 24 Rebs: Arvie Bringas 8 Asts: James Castro 5		Pts: Val Acuña 16 Rebs: Jaymo Eguilos 8 Asts: Lester Alvarez 10

Batangas City Tanduay Athletics	95–82	Bataan Defenders
Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 25–19, 26–16, 23–24
Pts: Lester Alvarez 17 Rebs: Jaymo Eguilos 8 Asts: Lester Alvarez 6		Pts: James Castro 21 Rebs: James Castro 7 Asts: James Castro 7
Batangas wins series, 2–0

Parañaque Patriots	73–83	Bulacan Kuyas
Scoring by quarter: 13–27, 22–8, 16–24, 22–24
Pts: Juneric Baloria 16 Rebs: Harold Arboleda 13 Asts: Harold Arboleda 5		Pts: Stephen Siruma 24 Rebs: Jay-R Taganas 16 Asts: Stephen Siruma 8

Bulacan Kuyas	54–81	Parañaque Patriots
Scoring by quarter: 11–20, 16–20, 12–23, 15–18
Pts: Jorey Napoles 12 Rebs: Jorey Napoles 7 Asts: Jay-R Taganas 3		Pts: Juneric Baloria 26 Rebs: Harold Arboleda 13 Asts: Mark Montilla 6

Overview

Format

Standings

Bracket

Quarterfinals

(1) Batangas City Athletics vs. (8) Bataan Defenders

(2) Bulacan Kuyas vs. (7) Parañaque Patriots

(3) Muntinlupa Cagers vs. (6) Navotas Clutch

(4) Valenzuela Classic vs. (5) Quezon City Capitals

Semifinals

(1) Batangas City Athletics vs. (4) Valenzuela Classic

(3) Muntinlupa Cagers vs. (7) Parañaque Patriots

MPBL finals: (1) Batangas City Athletics vs. (3) Muntinlupa Cagers

Media

References