Ateneo falls in D-League ‘tough’ group
Credit to Author: JEREMIAH M. SEVILLA| Date: Sun, 03 Feb 2019 16:14:03 +0000
Ateneo de Manila University will face an early test after getting drawn into a tough group in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League (PBA D-League).
The back-to-back University Athletic Association of the Philippines champion, backed by Cignal, will take on 2018 D-League Foundation Cup titlist Go For Gold-College of St. Benilde and two-time runner-up Chélu Bar & Grill in Group A.
Cignal-Ateneo will also battle National Athletic Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities king St. Clare College-Virtual Reality along with league mainstays AMA Online Education and Batangas-Emilio Aguinaldo College.
Completing the first bracket are newcomers Family Mart-Enderun College, Ironcon-University of Santo Tomas, Petron-Colegio de San Juan de Letran and McDavid.
Meanwhile, National Collegiate Athletic Association three-peat champ San Beda University will have its mettle tested against amateur powerhouse Marinerong Pilipino, Universities and Colleges Basketball League titlist Diliman College and heavyweight Centro Escolar University in Group B.
San Beda, which partnered with Metropac Movers, will also duel Chadao-Far Eastern University, University of Perpetual Help, SMDC-National University, Valencia City Bukidnon-San Sebastian College, The Masterpiece-Trinity University of Asia and Wangs Basketball.
The league record 20 teams will play in a round robin format, giving each squad a nine-game elimination campaign. The top four teams in each group will advance to the crossover quarterfinals, with the top two having twice-to-beat bonuses.
Winners in the last eight will enter the best-of-three semifinals while the finals will be played in a best-of-five series.
The 2019 PBA D-League will begin on February 14 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
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