2018–19 MPBL season
The 2018–19 MPBL season, also known as the MPBL Datu Cup, was the second season of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. The regular season began on June 12, 2018 and ended on March 11, 2019. The playoffs began on March 12, 2019 and ended on April 25, 2019. This season featured 26 teams, nearly tripling the size compared to the 2018 season. It was also the first season to feature divisions as well as teams from Visayas and Mindanao, giving it a full national scope for the first time.

The opening ceremony took place at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. 

The San Juan Knights became the 2019 MPBL champions, after defeating the Davao Occidental Tigers in the 2019 MPBL Finals, three games to two.

Format 
The format for the season was:
 All 26 teams are divided into two divisions of 13 teams: the North and South Divisions, which consist of 13 teams each.
 In the regular season, teams play in a single round-robin format, with each team playing 25 games, once against each team. Games are played in a team's homecourt, but not all games feature the home team, technically making them neutral site games.
 At the end of the regular season, all teams are ranked based on their winning percentage. The top eight teams in each division advance to the playoffs. Should there be any ties, the following criteria is used: 1) Winning percentage; 2) Head-to-head record; 3) Point differential; 4) Points scored.
 The first three rounds of the playoffs are best-of-three series, while the MPBL Finals is a best-of-five series.
 This season introduced a different way of determining homecourt advantage in the playoffs, as it depends on the team's seed in each round of the playoffs:
 First Round (games alternate between home/away and neutral site):
 1st and 2nd: two games as home team, one game at neutral site
 3rd and 4th: one game as home team, two games at neutral site
 5th and 6th: one game as away team, two games at neutral site
 7th and 8th: two games as away team, one game at neutral site
 Division Semifinals (games alternate between home/away and neutral site):
 Highest seed: two games as home team, one game at neutral site
 Second-highest seed: one game as home team, two games at neutral site
 Second-lowest seed: one game as away team, two games at neutral site
 Lowest seed: two games as away team, one game at neutral site
 Division Finals: 1-1-1 format – higher-seeded team hosts games 1 and 3, lower-seeded team hosts game 2
 National Finals: 2-2-1 format – higher-seeded team hosts games 1, 2, and 5, lower-seeded team hosts games 3 and 4.
 The winning team from each playoff series advances to the next round until one team from each division remains, where the champion is decided in the MPBL Finals.

Roster regulation changes 

To ensure that the league remains balanced, a new rule was added so that teams were limited to only one Filipino-foreigner per roster, that player must also not be taller than 6'4" (193 cm). The player is classified as Filipino-foreigner if the player is a Filipino of foreign descent, regardless of being a Philippine passport holder. The new rule, however, caused some criticism from fans and players alike.

Transactions

Coaching changes

Team changes

League expansion
After a successful inaugural season, sixteen teams joined the league, its biggest expansion to date, for a total of 26 teams. These teams include the Bacoor City Strikers, Basilan Steel, Cebu City Sharks, Davao Occidental Tigers, GenSan Warriors, Laguna Heroes, Makati Skyscrapers, Mandaluyong El Tigre, Manila Stars, Marikina Shoemasters, Pampanga Lanterns, Pasay Voyagers, Pasig Pirates, Rizal Crusaders, San Juan Knights, and Zamboanga Valientes.

Introduction of divisions

Due to the much bigger size of the league, divisions were introduced to divide the teams into the North and South Divisions. Divisions only affected the playoff format, with the two division champions meeting in the Finals.

For the 2018–19 season, the division alignment was as follows:

Name changes
 The Bataan Defenders changed its name to Bataan Risers before the start of the season.
 The Makati Skyscrapers changed their team name to Makati Super Crunch in November 2018.
 The Valenzuela Classic its team name to Valenzuela Idol Cheesedogs in July 2018, but was later reverted back in November 2018.

Notable events

Events
 March 11, 2019 – The Bacoor City–Parañaque replay was forfeited in Bacoor City's favor, marking the first time in which a game was forfeited in any manner.

First home games
 June 14, 2018 – The Laguna Heroes played its first home game at Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna.
 June 16, 2018 – The Manila Stars played its first home game at San Andres Sports Complex in Manila, Metro Manila.
 June 20, 2018 – The Pampanga Lanterns played its first home game at AUF Sports and Cultural Center in Angeles City, Pampanga.
 June 26, 2018 – The Pasig Pirates played its first home game at Pasig Sports Center in Pasig, Metro Manila.
 June 28, 2018 – The Rizal Crusaders played its first home game at Ynares Center in Antipolo, Rizal.
 July 4, 2018 – The Marikina Shoemasters played its first home game at Marist School Gymansium in Marikina, Metro Manila.
 July 11, 2018 – The San Juan Knights played its first home game at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan, Metro Manila.
 July 12, 2018 – The Bacoor City Strikers played its first home game at Strike Gymnasium in Bacoor, Cavite.
 July 24, 2018 – The Pasay Voyagers played its first home game at Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay, Metro Manila.
 August 30, 2018 – The Davao Occidental Tigers played its first home game at the USeP Gymnasijm and Cultural Center in Davao City, Davao del Sur.
 September 1, 2018 – The GenSan Warriors played its first home game at Lagao Gymnasium in General Santos, South Cotabato.
 September 18, 2018 – The Mandaluyong El Tigre played its first home game at Jose Rizal University Gymnasium in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila.
 October 6, 2018 – The Cebu City Sharks played its first home game at USJ–R Basak Coliseum in Cebu City, Cebu.
 October 20, 2018 – The Davao Occidental Tigers played its first home game at Rizal Memorial Colleges Gymnasium in Davao City, Davao del Sur. This is also the team's second home arena.
 October 27, 2018 – The Zamboanga Valientes played its first home game at Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Coliseum in Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur.
 November 17, 2018 – The Cebu City Sharks played its first home game at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu. This is also the team's second home arena.
 November 24, 2018 – The Basilan Steel played its first home game at Lamitan Capitol Gymnasium in Lamitan, Basilan.

New arenas 
 September 8, 2018 – The league first played at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig, Metro Manila. The arena was used to temporarily host Makati Super Crunch and Mandaluyong El Tigre home games throughout the season.

Regular season

North Division

South Division

Results

Not all games are in home–away format. Each team plays every team once. Number of asterisks after each score denotes number of overtimes played.

Playoffs 

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 and are marked in asterisks.

First Round
In the First Round, the first- and second-seeded teams host games 1 and 3 of its respective division, while the third- and fourth-seeded teams host game 2.

North Division First Round

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South Division First Round

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Division Semifinals
In the Division Semifinals, the highest seeded team hosts games 1 and 3, while the second-highest seeded team hosts game 2.

North Division Semifinals

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South Division Semifinals
Due to Davao Occidental advancing after game 2, Batangas City instead hosted game 3.

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Division Finals
In the Division Semifinals, the higher-seeded team hosts games 1 and 3 in its respective division, while the lower-seeded team hosts game 2.

North Division Finals

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South Division Finals

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MPBL Finals

In the MPBL Finals, the higher-seeded team hosts games 1, 2, and 5, while the lower-seeded team hosts games 3 and 4.

The Davao Occidental Tigers held the homecourt advantage for the Finals, as they have defeated the San Juan Knights in their regular season matchup, but the San Juan Knights eventually won the championship in 5 games.

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Statistics

Individual statistic leaders

Individual game highs

Team statistic leaders

MPBL All Star Game
 On March 2, 2019, the league held its first ever MPBL All-Star Game at the Mall of Asia Arena where the Southern All-Stars prevailed over the Northern All-Stars, 109–84. Jeff Viernes of the Batangas City Athletics was named as the first ever MPBL All-Star Game MVP.

Game

 MPBL All-star MVP: Jeff Viernes 
 Slam Dunk Contest Champion: David Carlos 
 3-point Shootout Champion: Gary David

Awards 
The individual league awards was given before  Game 4 of the 2019 MPBL Finals at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan. This marks the first time the league gave away end-of-season awards (only the Finals MVP was given last season)

Media coverage 
This season marked the second of three years of ABS-CBN's broadcasting rights of the league, as games were aired on S+A channel. In addition, Fox Sports Philippines started broadcasting games this season. The league also began streaming all of its games on its official Facebook page.

References

2019 MPBL season
2018–19 in Philippine basketball leagues