The 2018–19 Top League Cup was the inaugural edition of the Top League Cup, a cup competition for Japan's Top League teams.
Competition rules
The sixteen Top League teams were divided into four pools for the first stage of the competition; each team played the three other teams in their pools once.
All sixteen teams then progressed to a play-off stage; the top teams in each pool advanced to the cup play-offs, the second-placed teams in each pool to the 5th-place play-offs, the third-placed teams in each pool to the 9th-place play-offs and the bottom teams in each pool to the 13th-place play-offs, which determined the final positions for the season.
Teams
The following teams took part in the 2018–19 Top League Cup competition:
2018–19 Top League Cup Pool A Team name Region Honda Heat Suzuka, Mie Prefecture NTT Communications Shining Arcs Chiba, Chiba, Kanto Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo, Kanto Suntory Sungoliath Fuchu, Tokyo, Kanto
2018–19 Top League Cup Pool B Team name Region Canon Eagles Machida, Tokyo, Kanto Hino Red Dolphins Hino, Tokyo Metropolis NEC Green Rockets Abiko, Chiba, Kanto Panasonic Wild Knights Ota, Gunma, Kanto
2018–19 Top League Cup Pool C Team name Region Kobelco Steelers Kobe, Kansai Kubota Spears Abiko, Chiba, Kanto Munakata Sanix Blues Munakata, Fukuoka, Kyushu Yamaha Júbilo Iwata, Shizuoka, Tokai
2018–19 Top League Cup Pool D Team name Region Coca-Cola Red Sparks Fukuoka, Kyushu Toshiba Brave Lupus Fuchu, Tokyo, Kanto Toyota Industries Shuttles Aichi, Mizuho Toyota Verblitz Toyota, Aichi, Tokai
First Stage : Pool A
Standings
The current standings for the 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool A are:
2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool A standings Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts 1 Suntory Sungoliath 3 3 0 0 102 36 +66 1 0 13 2 NTT Communications Shining Arcs 3 2 0 1 118 88 +30 1 1 10 3 Ricoh Black Rams 3 1 0 2 86 97 −11 1 1 6 4 Honda Heat 3 0 0 3 62 147 −85 0 0 0 Legend: P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points. The top team qualified for the cup play-offs. The second-placed team qualified to the 5th-place play-offs. The third-placed team qualified to the 9th-place play-offs. The bottom-placed teams qualified to the 13th-place play-offs.
Matches
The 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool A fixtures are:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
First Stage : Pool B
Standings
The current standings for the 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool B are:
2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool B standings Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts 1 Panasonic Wild Knights 3 3 0 0 109 88 +21 0 0 12 2 Canon Eagles 3 2 0 1 73 55 +18 0 1 9 3 NEC Green Rockets 3 1 0 2 111 55 +56 1 1 6 4 Hino Red Dolphins 3 0 0 3 28 123 −95 0 0 0 Legend: P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points. The top team qualified for the cup play-offs. The second-placed team qualified to the 5th-place play-offs. The third-placed team qualified to the 9th-place play-offs. The bottom-placed teams qualified to the 13th-place play-offs.
Matches
The 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool B fixtures are:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
First Stage : Pool C
Standings
The current standings for the 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool C are:
2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool C standings Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts 1 Kubota Spears 3 3 0 0 90 50 +40 1 0 13 2 Kobelco Steelers 3 2 0 1 173 41 +132 2 1 11 3 Yamaha Júbilo 3 1 0 2 80 137 −57 1 0 5 4 Munakata Sanix Blues 3 0 0 3 28 143 −115 0 0 0 Legend: P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points. The top team qualified for the cup play-offs. The second-placed team qualified to the 5th-place play-offs. The third-placed team qualified to the 9th-place play-offs. The bottom-placed teams qualified to the 13th-place play-offs.
Matches
The 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool C fixtures are:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
First Stage : Pool D
Standings
The current standings for the 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool D are:
2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool D standings Pos Team P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts 1 Toyota Verblitz 3 3 0 0 107 65 +42 0 0 12 2 Toshiba Brave Lupus 3 2 0 1 122 87 +35 2 0 10 3 Toyota Industries Shuttles 3 1 0 2 74 101 −27 0 0 4 4 Coca-Cola Red Sparks 3 0 0 3 62 112 −50 0 1 1 Legend: P = Games played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, PD = Points difference, TB = Try bonus points, LB = Losing bonus points, Pts = Log points. The top team qualified for the cup play-offs. The second-placed team qualified to the 5th-place play-offs. The third-placed team qualified to the 9th-place play-offs. The bottom-placed teams qualified to the 13th-place play-offs.
Matches
The 2018–19 Top League Cup First Stage Pool D fixtures are:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Second stage
Standings
The final standings for the 2018–19 Top League Cup were:
2018–19 Top League Cup standings Pos Team 1 Toyota Verblitz 2 Suntory Sungoliath 3 Panasonic Wild Knights 4 Kubota Spears 5 Toshiba Brave Lupus 6 Kobelco Steelers 7 NTT Communications Shining Arcs 8 Canon Eagles 9 Ricoh Black Rams 10 NEC Green Rockets 11 Yamaha Júbilo 12 Toyota Industries Shuttles 13 Coca-Cola Red Sparks 14 Honda Heat 15 Munakata Sanix Blues 16 Hino Red Dolphins Top League Cup winners.
Cup play-offs
The two semi-final winners qualified for the final, while the losers qualified for the 3rd-place match.
The final matches determined the final standings.
5th-place play-offs
The two 5th-place semi-final winners qualified for the 5th-place match, while the losers qualified for the 7th-place match.
The final matches determined the final standings.
9th-place play-offs
The two 9th-place semi-final winners qualified for the 9th-place match, while the losers qualified for the 11th-place match.
The final matches determined the final standings.
13th-place play-offs
The two 13th-place semi-final winners qualified for the 13th-place match, while the losers qualified for the 15th-place match.
The final matches determined the final standings.
See also
2018–19 Top League 2018 Top Challenge League
References