13 teams compete in short D-League

MANILA, Philippines –  Thirteen teams divided into two groups will compete in the inaugural tournament of the Philippine Basketball Association’s Developmental League (PBA D-League) set to be unveiled on March 12 at the Arena in San Juan.

In Group A are Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), Freego Jeans, RnW PacificPipes, Black Water Elite, Pharex Naproxen Sodium and PC Gilmore.Comprising Group B are Maynilad Water, Junior Powerade Tigers, Max Bond SuperGlue Sumos, Cobra Energy Drink Ironmen, Café France and FCA.

“This is a short tournament so every game counts. Obviously, the format adds up to the excitement,” said PBA commissioner Chito Salud of the first D-League tournament to be known as the PBA D-League Foundation Cup.

The eliminations will be a single round robin. But because Group A has only six teams, each of them will play an extra game, the pairings of which has been decided by lottery.

The two bottom-ranked teams in Group B will play a knockout game for the last playoff spot.

The top two teams of each group after the elimination round earn outright passage into the second round of the playoffs while the third to sixth placed teams in Groups A and B will advance to the first round of the playoffs. The first and second round of the playoffs as well as the semifinal will be decided by knockout games while the Finals will be a best-of-three series.