NCAA Philippines Basketball Championship
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The National Collegiate Athletic Association Basketball Tournament is held every first semester of the academic year (from June up to October).Contents |
Tournament format
Since 1996, the eight member schools field in their varsity teams in a double round eliminations, where the schools play each other twice. The four teams with the best records advance to the crossover semifinals, dubbed by the press as the Final Four.
The two top teams have a twice to beat advantage. The lower ranked teams need to win twice against the higher ranked teams to advance to the best-of-three Finals, where the first team to reach two wins becomes the NCAA basketball champion.
Tie-breakers
- If two teams are tied, the statistic that would be looked upon is the regular season series between the two teams. If a team sweeps the regular season series (that is, won the two games against the other team), no playoff will be held, and the team which swept the series automatically gets the higher seed. (Example: 2004-05 Season when PCU and UPHDS were tied with 10-4 records for the 1st seed. UPHDS swept their regular season series, which led to UPHDS taking the first seed, while PCU settled for the second seed.)
- Exemption: If the teams are tied for the 4th seed, a playoff will be held, regardless of the regular season series outcome.
- If there are more than two teams tied, the statistic that well be looked upon is the total quotient (points scored minus points conceded, much like the goal difference statistic used in association football). The two teams with the strongest quotients will play the playoff and all other team/s are automatically eliminated. (Example: 2004-05 Season when the Cardinals, Stags and Red Lions were all had 7-7 records for the 4th seed. By virtue of weaker quotient, San Sebastian was eliminated, and Mapua & San Beda played the playoff game.)
Elimination Round sweep
If any event a team finishes the elimination round undefeated, that team will advance outright to the Finals. The third and fourth seed will have a sudden-death game to determine the opponent of the second seed. Then, the winner of the sudden-death match between the second seed and third/fourth seed advances to the Finals to face the first seed. The first seed holds a twice to beat advantage in the Finals (the Finals would not be a best of three affair).
NCAA Basketball Champions
Basketball, as the most popular sport in the Philippines, receives the most attention from the press and the sports-minded public. As a result, the NCAA Seniors Basketball championship is the most coveted title among the NCAA sports.
Colegio de San Juan de Letran won the Seniors Basketball title a record 15 times. Ateneo de Manila University (now with the University Athletics Association of the Philippines) is second with 14 titles.
There is a separate division for high school student-athletes, the Juniors division. The defunct Mapua High School has the most championships, with nineteen. San Beda High School is second, with seventeen titles.
Number of Championships by School
| School | Jrs | Srs | All | Last Seniors C'ship |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Beda | 17 | 11 | 28 | 1978-79 |
| Letran | 10 | 16 | 26 | 2005-06 |
| Mapua | 19 | 5 | 24 | 1991-92 |
| Ateneo* | 6¹ | 14 | 20 | 1976-77 |
| San Sebastian | 2 | 11 | 13 | 2002-03 |
| La Salle* | 5 | 6 | 11 | 1974-75 |
| JRU | 7 | 4² | 11 | 1972-73 |
| UP* | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1929-30 |
| UST* | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1930-31 |
| PCU | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2004-05 |
| St. Benilde | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2000-01 |
| Trinity* | 1 | 0 | 1 | never |
| UPHSD | 0 | 0 | 0 | never |
Notes: Teams marked with an asterisk (*) have pulled out of the NCAA.
¹ Includes Midgets title
² Excludes championships won on Loose Conference seasons.
Facts and trivia
- Scoring Records
- Lim Eng Beng of the La Salle Green Archers currently holds the most points scored in an NCAA game. He scored 55 points in the 1974 season when he led the Green Archers to the championship. He scored an average of 32 points in that season.
- Brawls
- In 1977, the Ateneo and San Beda had their own melee at the Araneta Coliseum. This led to a closed-door match, wherein Ateneo's Pons Valdez's last shot was disallowed [1], giving San Beda the victory. This was also a time of much violence, perpetrated by different schools. This violence led to the Ateneo's leaving the NCAA. Ateneo went to the UAAP. San Beda withdrew in 1982 but come back after three years.
- La Salle and Letran engaged themselves in a brawl during the 1980 season. The Rizal Memorial Coliseum was wrecked apart as the two sides ripped apart the chairs bolted to the ground and threw them as weapons. The NCAA aborted the 1980 Season and suspended Letran in all events. In 1981, the league readmitted Letran, while La Salle withdrew to the NCAA. La Salle went to the UAAP, but was denied membership on their first try (with a vote of 5-2, with Ateneo and UST voting against). La Salle was finally admitted to the UAAP in 1986.
- Origin of Team Monickers
- CSB Blazers: As homage to the school which introduced several pioneering courses in the country.
- JRU Heavy Bombers: World War II Japanese vintage bombs on their campus.
- Mapua Cardinals: From Major League Baseball's franchise, the St. Louis Cardinals.
- Letran Knights: The founder was a Knight of Malta.
- PCU Dolphins: Originally, the PCU administration chose a killer whale, but they instead chose a mammal close to their heart, the dolphin.
- San Beda Red Lions: From the school colors (Red), and the symbolization of a Bedan (Lion).
- San Sebastian Stags: A stag symbolizes a Christian who, filled with moral ideas, runs fast to God swiftly yet quietly in pursuit of his goals.
- UPHSD Altas: The monicker ‘Altas’ comes from the Latin word “height,” symbolizing UPHSD's aspirations for further greatness.
- Championship droughts
- Jose Rizal University has not won the Seniors basketball championship since 1972.
- San Beda College has not won the Seniors basketball championship since 1978.
- Championship streaks
- The San Sebastian Stags owns the longest championship run in NCAA Seniors Basketball, with five straight championships, from 1993 to 1997.
- The Mapua Red Robins owns the longest championship run in NCAA Juniors Basketball, with five straight championships, from 1969 to 1972.
- Membership:
- San Beda College is the only remaining founding member of the league.
- San Beda, along with JRU, are the schools with the longest span of membership, with 79 years.
- The newest school to join the league is College of Saint Benilde which joined the league in 1999.
See also
