In the context of basketball in the Philippines, the NCAA final four is the playoffs of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) (NCAA) seniors' basketball tournament.
The term "final four" came from the United States National Collegiate Athletic Association's men's Division I basketball tournament which was colloquially called the "final four" ("Final Four" is now the American NCAA's registered trademark).
The NCAA instituted the final four format in 1997, discarding the split season format that they have used for the previous 73 years. The change was done due to the TV coverage of Vintage Sports, mimicking the change done by the UAAP four years earlier when Silverstar Sports started covering their tournaments, and to allow more teams to win the championship. The old format reportedly discouraged teams that had experienced early losses to improve their form as the season progresses. [1]
Team | Semifinal appearances | Last semis appearance | First semis appearance | Finals appearances | Highest seed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arellano | 2 | 2016 | 2014 | 2 | 2nd |
Letran | 18 | 2022 | 1997 | 11 | 1st |
Benilde | 5 | 2023 | 2000 | 3 | 1st |
JRU | 13 | 2017 | 1999 | 3 | 1st |
Lyceum | 5 | 2023 | 2018 | 2 | 1st |
Mapúa | 12 | 2023 | 1997 | 2 | 1st |
PCU* | 4 | 2006 | 2002 | 3 | 2nd |
San Beda | 20 | 2023 | 1997 | 16 | 1st |
San Sebastian | 15 | 2019 | 1997 | 9 | 1st |
Perpetual | 10 | 2021 | 1998 | 1 | 1st |
Notes:
Champion | |
1st Runners-up | |
2nd Runners-up, won in the third place playoff | |
Semifinalist, lost with twice to beat advantage | |
Semifinalist, lost with twice to win disadvantage | |
Lost in 4th-seed playoff | |
Lost in play-in tournament | |
Suspended | |
Not in the league | |
C | Tournament cancelled |
1 | group stage ranking |
? | unknown ranking |
Guest school | |
Under probation |
School | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 [a] | 21 [b] | 22 | 23 | 24 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUF [c] | -- | 10 | -- | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arellano | -- | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 10 | C | 6 | 7 | 10 | 7 | |||||||||||
Letran | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 6 | |
Benilde | -- | ? | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | ||
EAC | -- | 7 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 7 | |||||||||||||
JRU | 6 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 6 | ||
Lyceum | -- | 6 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 2 | |||||||||||||||
Mapúa | 4 | ? | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 1 | ||
PCU [d] | 7 | ? | 8 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | -- | ||||||||||||||||
San Beda | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | C | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
San Sebastian | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 8 | ||
Perpetual | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 8 |
Semifinals and knockout games
| Finals
| Entire playoffs
|
The most frequently played matchups are:
Matchup | Semifinals | Finals | Total |
---|---|---|---|
San Beda vs. Letran | 3 | 5 | 8 |
San Sebastian vs. Letran | 6 | 2 | 8 |
San Sebastian vs. JRU | 6 | 1 | 7 |
San Beda vs. Perpetual | 6 | 0 | 6 |
San Beda vs. San Sebastian | 1 | 4 | 5 |
Mapúa vs. San Beda | 4 | 1 | 5 |
Letran vs. Mapúa | 3 | 1 | 4 |
San Beda vs. Lyceum | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Letran vs. JRU | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Letran vs. PCU | 2 | 1 | 3 |
San Beda vs. JRU | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Letran vs. Lyceum | 3 | 0 | 3 |
San Beda vs. Arellano | 0 | 2 | 2 |
San Sebastian vs. Benilde | 0 | 2 | 2 |
In the 26 tournaments the final four format has been applied, the higher seed has beaten the lower seeds in the semifinals due to their twice to beat advantage, for the most part:
A victory of the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in a series are considered big upsets considering that the No. 3 and No. 4 seed have to win twice, not to mention the perceived superiority of the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds when compared to the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds.
In the finals, the advantage of the No. 1 seed isn't as pronounced since the competing teams have to win the same number of games:
Stats since the 2001 season.
Statistic | Name | Total | School | Opponent | Stage |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Most points | Kevin Alas | 43 | Letran | San Sebastian | 2012 Semifinals |
Most rebounds | Allwell Oraeme | 24 | Mapúa | Arellano | 2016 Semifinals |
Most assists | Roldan Sara | 11 | San Beda | Arellano | 2016 Finals |
Most steals | Roldan Sara | 11 | San Beda | Arellano | 2016 Finals |
Most blocks | Raymond Almazan Mark Andaya | 9 | Letran | San Sebastian | 2013 Semifinals 2005 Semifinals |
Team | Semifinal appearances | Last semis appearance | First semis appearance | Finals appearances | Highest seed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AU | 0 | - | - | 0 | - |
CSJL | 0 | - | - | 0 | - |
LSGH | 0 | - | - | 0 | - |
EAC–ICA | 0 | - | - | 0 | - |
JRU | 0 | - | - | 0 | - |
MIT/MHSS | 0 | - | - | 0 | - |
PCU | 0 | - | - | 0 | - |
SBU–R | 0 | - | - | 0 | - |
SSC–R | 0 | - | - | 0 | - |
UPHSD | 0 | - | - | 0 | - |
Notes:
Champion | |
Runner-up | |
Twice to beat advantage | |
Semifinalist | |
Lost in 4th-seed playoff | |
Suspended | |
Not in the league | |
C | Tournament cancelled |
1 | group stage ranking |
? | unknown ranking |
Guest school | |
Under probation |
School | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 [a] | 23 [b] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AUF | -- | 10 | -- | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Arellano | -- | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 5 | C | C | 7 | 10 | ||||||||||
Letran | 3 | 4 | ? | 1 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 2 | ||
EAC–ICA | -- | 9 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 | ||||||||||||
JRU | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 8 | ||
LSGH | -- | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 | ||
Lyceum–Cavite | -- | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 9 | ||||||||||||||
Mapúa [c] | ? | 1 | 1 | ? | ? | ? | ? | 8 | 8 | 7 | -- | |||||||||||||||
Malayan [d] | -- | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | C | C | 4 | 4 | |||||||||
PCU | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 3 | 3 | 1 | -- | ||||||||||||||||
San Beda–Rizal | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | C | C | 2 | 5 |
San Sebastian | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 3 | ||
Perpetual | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 1 |
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