2012 PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup explained

The 2012 PBA D-League Aspirant's Cup is the first of the two conferences of the 2012-13 PBA Developmental League season. There are three new teams participating the league: JRU Heavy Bombers, Fruitas Shakers and Informatics Icons.

Format

The following format will be observed for the duration of the tournament:^[1]

Single-round robin eliminations; 10 games per team; Teams are then seeded by basis on win–loss records. In case of tie, playoffs will be held only for the #2 and #6 seeds.
The top two teams after the elimination round will automatically advance to the semifinals.
Quarterfinals:
- QF1: #3 team vs. #6 team (#3 seed twice-to-beat)
- QF2: #4 team vs. #5 team (#4 seed twice-to-beat)
The winners of the quarterfinals will challenge the top two teams in a best-of-three semifinals series. Matchups are:
- SF1: #1 vs. QF2
- SF2: #2 vs. QF1
The winners in the semifinals advance to the best of three Finals.

Wins	Losses	PCT		PD
9	1	0.900	--
8	2	0.800	1.0
6	4	0.600	3.0	+18
6	4	0.600	3.0	−18
5	5	0.500	4.0	+32
5	5	0.500	4.0	+3
5	5	0.500	4.0	−35
4	6	0.400	5.0	+4
4	6	0.400	5.0	−4
2	8	0.200	7.0
1	9	0.100	8.0

^{^} Fruitas eventually won the game, 88-82 but their win was forfeited because of fielding an ineligible player that gave the win to the Bakers.^[2]