UAAP Season 81 basketball tournaments

UAAP Season 81
It All Begins Here
Host school	National University
Duration	December 1–5, 2018
Arena(s)	Mall of Asia Arena; Smart Araneta Coliseum
Finals MVP	Thirdy Ravena
Winning coach	Tab Baldwin (2nd title)
Semifinalists	Adamson Soaring Falcons; FEU Tamaraws
TV network(s)	ABS-CBN Sports and Action ; Liga ; ABS-CBN
Duration	December 1–5, 2018
Arena(s)	Mall of Asia Arena; Smart Araneta Coliseum
Finals MVP	Jack Animam
Winning coach	Patrick Aquino (5th title)
Semifinalists	UST Tigresses; Adamson Lady Falcons
TV network(s)	ABS-CBN Sports and Action
Duration	February 18–22, 2019
Arena(s)	Filoil Flying V Centre
Finals MVP	Carl Tamayo
Winning coach	Goldwin Monteverde (1st title)
Semifinalists	FEU–D Baby Tamaraws; Adamson Baby Falcons
TV network(s)	ABS-CBN Sports and Action

The UAAP Season 81 basketball tournaments were the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball tournaments for the 2018–19 school year.

Former NU Bulldogs athletic director Junel Baculi replaced Rebo Saguisag as commissioner for the season's basketball tournaments on August 28, 2018. Former Vietnam Basketball Association commissioner Tonichi Pujante was also appointed as assistant commissioner.^[1]

The senior men's and women's tournaments began on September 8, 2018^[2] while the games of the juniors' division began on November 11.^[3]

The Ateneo Blue Eagles and the NU Lady Bulldogs successfully defended their championships this season. Ateneo finished first after the elimination round, followed by Adamson. UP, FEU and La Salle finished tied for third, with UP getting the #3 seed due to tiebreakers. FEU defeated La Salle in the playoff for the #4 seed, and were beaten by Ateneo in the semifinals. Adamson lost out in the semifinals again, losing to UP, who have never been in the semifinals since 1998. Qualifying to its first UAAP Finals since 1986, UP was swept by Ateneo in the latter's second consecutive (and tenth overall) UAAP title. Thirdy Ravena was named Finals MVP, after scoring a still-standing UAAP Finals record of 38 points in the title-clinching Game 2.

The NU Lady Bulldogs won all elimination round games, qualifying to the Finals outright. FEU emerged through the stepladder playoffs that also involved UST and Adamson as NU's Finals opponent, but were still swept by the Lady Bulldogs. NU won its fifth consecutive title, all unbeaten seasons, for a still-standing league record of 80–0 in the last five tournaments.

In the Juniors' Division, the NU Bullpups and the Ateneo Blue Eaglets finished the elimination round with the top two seeds. NU eliminated the Adamson Baby Falcons, the only team that defeated them in the eliminations, while Ateneo defeated FEU Baby Tamaraws. In the rematch of last year's finals, the Bullpups defeated the defending champions, by winning all two Finals games. The Bullpups won their fourth title since 2011.

Teams

All eight member universities of the UAAP fielded teams in all three divisions.

University	Men's team	Women's team	Juniors' team
Adamson University	Soaring Falcons	Lady Falcons	Baby Falcons
Ateneo de Manila University	Blue Eagles	Lady Eagles	Blue Eaglets
De La Salle University	Green Archers	Lady Archers	Junior Archers
Far Eastern University	Tamaraws	Lady Tamaraws	Baby Tamaraws
National University	Bulldogs	Lady Bulldogs	Bullpups
University of the East	Red Warriors	Lady Warriors	Junior Warriors
University of the Philippines Diliman	Fighting Maroons	Lady Maroons	Junior Maroons
University of Santo Tomas	Growling Tigers	Tigresses	Tiger Cubs

Coaches

University	Men's coach	Women's coach	Juniors' coach
Adamson University	Franz Pumaren	Ewon Arayi	Mike Fermin
Ateneo de Manila University	Tab Baldwin	Anthony John Flores	Reggie Varilla^[4]
De La Salle University	Louie Gonzalez	Pocholo Villanueva	Boris Aldeguer
Far Eastern University	Olsen Racela	Bert Flores	Michael Oliver
National University	Jamike Jarin	Patrick Aquino	Goldwin Monteverde
University of the East	Joe Silva	Aileen Lebornio	Florence Conlu
University of the Philippines Diliman	Bo Perasol	Kenneth Marius Raval	Paolo Mendoza
University of Santo Tomas	Aldin Ayo	Haydee Ong	Bonnie Garcia^[5]

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date	Replaced by	Date
UST Growling Tigers	Boy Sablan	Fired	November 21, 2017^[6]	Aldin Ayo	January 8, 2018^[7]
UE Red Warriors	Derrick Pumaren	Resigned	November 22, 2017^[8]	Joe Silva	May 2, 2018^[9]
De La Salle Green Archers	Aldin Ayo	Signed with UST Growling Tigers	January 3, 2018^[10]	Louie Gonzalez	January 4, 2018^[11]
UST Tiger Cubs	Chris Cantonjos	Resigned	February 21, 2018^[12]	Bonnie Garcia	April 6, 2018^[5]
Ateneo Blue Eaglets	Joe Silva	Resigned	April 10, 2018^[4]	Reggie Varilla	April 10, 2018^[4]

Venues

The Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay and the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City were the primary venues for the men's tournament, and the venues for the finals series for the women's tournament. The Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan and the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City were the alternate venues for the men's and women's tournament, respectively and the main venue for the women's and juniors' tournaments.^[13]

In the second round of the men's tournament, two game days were scheduled at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.^[14]

Men's tournament

Elimination round

Team standings

Pos	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Ateneo Blue Eagles	12	2	.857	—	Twice-to-beat in the semifinals
2	Adamson Soaring Falcons	10	4	.714	2	Twice-to-beat in the semifinals
3	UP Fighting Maroons	8	6	.571^[a]	4	Twice-to-win in the semifinals
4	FEU Tamaraws	8	6	.571^[a]	4	Twice-to-win in the semifinals
5	De La Salle Green Archers	8	6	.571^[a]	4
6	UST Growling Tigers	5	9	.357	7
7	NU Bulldogs (H)	4	10	.286	8
8	UE Red Warriors	1	13	.071	11

Source: ABS-CBN Sports
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) if tied for #2 or #4, one-game playoff; 3) head-to-head record; 4) head-to-head point differential; 5) overall point differential
(H) Hosts
Notes:

^ ^a ^b ^c Head-to-head record: UP 3–1, FEU 2–2, La Salle 1–3; Fourth-seed playoff: FEU 71–70 La Salle

Match-up results

	Round 1							Round 2
Team ╲ Game	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
Adamson
Ateneo
La Salle
FEU
NU
UE
UP
UST

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
= Win; = OT win; = Loss; = OT loss

Scores

Results on top and to the right of the dashes are for first-round games; those to the bottom and to the left of it are second-round games.

Teams	AdU	AdMU	DLSU	FEU	NU	UE	UP	UST
Adamson Soaring Falcons	—	74–70	78–79*	85–88*	63–58	90–76	69–68	79–71
Ateneo Blue Eagles	62–48	—	71–55	60–63	72–46	89–62	87–79	85–53
De La Salle Green Archers	50–57	62–71	—	61–68	80–76	82–72	61–67	99–72
FEU Tamaraws	82–56	62–82	57–65	—	73–68	65–90	89–73	74–76
NU Bulldogs	58–69	64–79	77–84	74–79	—	88–61	88–89	75–70
UE Red Warriors	72–85	70–90	59–79	61–80	71–79	—	58–87	66–80
UP Fighting Maroons	72–80	66–83	97–81	95–82	82–71	94–81	—	72–86
UST Growling Tigers	83–96	62–102	69–110	78–70	61–69	79–68	69–83	—

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Legend: Blue = left column team win; Red = top row team win.
Matches with lighter background shading were decided after overtime.

Fourth–seed playoff

The Tamaraws and the Green Archers last met in the fourth seed playoff in 2012 in which La Salle won. The winner faces Ateneo in the semifinals while the loser gets eliminated.

S A

November 21
3:30 p.m.PHT

Stats

FEU Tamaraws	71–70	De La Salle Green Archers
Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 14–17, 18–13, 17–19
Pts: Arvin Tolentino15 Rebs: Barkley Eboña 16 Asts: Jasper Parker 5		Pts: Leonard Santillan 20 Rebs: Justine Baltazar 9 Asts: Aljun Melecio 6
FEU advances to the Final Four

Smart Araneta Coliseum
Referees: Allan Manzano, Don Arguelles, Garry Villanueva

Prior to the game both teams were having ups and downs into this match-up, after losing their first four games in the second round FEU manage to win their last three games to salvage their season, while La Salle sitting as the #4 and #3 throughout the season lost their last two games that denied them a chance for the last twice-to-beat advantage and a slot in the semifinals. In the first quarter, the Tamaraws were leading already by seven points, 17–10, towards the end of that period but the Green Archers countered it with an 11–2 run to take the lead by two points, 21–19. An Axel Iñigo buzzer beater 3-point shot regained the lead for FEU as they took a single-point lead. In the second quarter, both teams exchanged blows but La Salle took matters the most to lead by two points at halftime, 38–36. In the third quarter, FEU pounced La Salle into a corner with a five-point lead but La Salle cut the deficit by three points, 54–51, heading into the final period. In the fourth quarter, the Tamaraws were trying to pull away while the Green Archers were trying to catch up. La Salle eventually crept up tying the game and regained the lead. FEU's Prince Orizu fouled out of the game as Barkley Eboña returned to the game despite suffering from cramps earlier. La Salle took advantage of it as they led by four points towards the last two minutes of the game. However, FEU went within striking distance going toe to toe against La Salle cutting the lead by a single basket. The Green Archers swung back the lead by four, 70–66. with less than a minute remaining in the game. In an inbound play, Jasper Parker passed the ball to Ken Tuffin and converted his jumper and cut La Salle's lead by two points with less than 40 seconds remaining. Off a timeout, La Salle inbounded a pass but turned the ball over as it paved the way for FEU to steal the game from them. After the timeout, FEU had the possession with Parker holding the ball as he found a wide open Arvin Tolentino who shot a three-pointer to take the lead for FEU, 71–70, with 3.1 seconds remaining. In La Salle's final possession, Aljun Melecio found an open Leonard Santillan to win the game for them but eventually he was blocked by three FEU defenders winning the Tamaraws the game. Arvin Tolentino, who had a season plagued with controversy, led the scoring for FEU with 15 points with three three-pointers made including the last shot that sealed the game for them, while Barkley Eboña, one of the unsung heroes for FEU, finished with a double-double of 12 points and 16 rebounds.

Bracket


Semifinals (Nos. 1 & 2 have twice-to-beat advantage)				Finals (Best-of-three series)



1	Ateneo		80

4	FEU		61
				1	Ateneo	88	99

				3	UP	79	81
2	Adamson	71	87

3	UP	73	89*

*Game went into overtime.

Semifinals

Ateneo and Adamson had the twice to beat advantage. Ateneo qualified for its fifth consecutive Final Four appearance, and the second consecutive year where they are the first seed. Adamson, the second seed, was in its third consecutive appearance, and improved on last year's third seed. Third seed UP qualified for its first Final Four appearance in 21 years, last appearing in the playoffs in 1997. FEU advanced to the Final Four in its sixth consecutive season, the longest active streak.

(1) Ateneo vs. (4) FEU

Ateneo had the twice-to-beat advantage. Ateneo has faced FEU in the semifinals in three consecutive seasons where the Blue Eagles won the last two series.

S A

November 25
3:30 p.m.PHT

Stats

Ateneo Blue Eagles	80–61	FEU Tamaraws
Scoring by quarter: 17–9, 21–15, 21–12, 21–25
Pts: Thirdy Ravena 22 Rebs: Ange Kouame 11 Asts: Thirdy Ravena 4		Pts: Barkley Eboña 9 Rebs: Ken Tuffin 12 Asts: Axel Iñigo 3
Ateneo wins series in one game

Smart Araneta Coliseum
Referees: Nestor Sambrano, Ariel Bermeo, Emman Faraon

Ateneo started off with all cylinders on fire highlighted by two consecutive dunks by Thirdy Ravena to start the game on an 8–0 start despite FEU finally converted their shots with two consecutive three-pointers to cut the deficit by four points. However, the Tamaraws never had a chance to catch up against the Blue Eagles as they were blown out by as many as 31 points towards the end of the 3rd quarter. Ateneo outscored FEU in every quarter except in the last period as they didn't needed to use their twice to beat advantage after going wire to wire in the past few seasons. They finally marched on to their third consecutive Finals appearance and twelfth overall in the Final Four era.

(2) Adamson vs. (3) UP

Adamson had the twice-to-beat advantage. The Falcons and the Fighting Maroons were in their first playoff match-up against each other. The winner of the series would be the seventh team to qualify in the Finals in the Final Four era.

S A

November 24
3:30 p.m.PHT

Stats

Adamson Soaring Falcons	71–73	UP Fighting Maroons
Scoring by quarter: 16–17, 13–11, 14–26, 28–19
Pts: Papi Sarr 23 Rebs: Papi Sarr 9 Asts: Jerrick Ahanmisi 4		Pts: Desiderio, Ju. Gómez de Liaño, 19 each Rebs: Bright Akhuetie 14 Asts: Paul Desiderio 4

Mall of Asia Arena
Attendance: 14,657
Referees: Ariel Bermeo, Allan Manzano, Don Arguelles

S A

November 28
3:30 p.m.PHT

Stats

Adamson Soaring Falcons	87–89 (OT)	UP Fighting Maroons
Scoring by quarter: 16–26, 26–25, 25–13, 11–14, Overtime: 9–11
Pts: Jerrick Ahanmisi 20 Rebs: Papi Sarr 15 Asts: Jerom Lastimosa 5		Pts: Juan Gómez de Liaño 30 Rebs: Bright Akhuetie 17 Asts: Jun Manzo 4
UP wins series in two games

Smart Araneta Coliseum
Attendance: 20,944
Referees: Garry Villanueva, Emman Faraon, Ribel Cañelas

In the first game of the series, both teams exchanged leads in the 1st half with UP taking the 1st quarter while Adamson taking the 2nd to nudge by a point at halftime. But the Fighting Maroons outscored the Falcons in the 3rd quarter 26–14 to take an 11-point lead heading into the 4th quarter. Adamson refused to lose as they countered them with a 26-11 scoring run to lead by 4 but UP countered it back with a 6–0 run of their own to take a 71-69 heading into regulation. A costly foul by UP sends Sean Manganti to the free throw line as he converted both of his free throws. UP called a timeout with 3.7 seconds remaining in the game to strategize the play as Juan Gómez de Liaño from the inbound found an open Bright Akhuetie to seal the game for them as they forced a rubber match.

In the second game, the Fighting Maroons kept their guns ablaze as they led by ten points in the first quarter and nine points at half time. Their lead later ballooned already by 16 points, 60–44, but the Falcons countered it with their own scoring with a 23–4 run to take the lead at the end of the third quarter, 67–64. Both teams exchanged leads towards regulation as UP led by three points with less than ten seconds remaining, 78–75. Jerom Lastimosa shot a three-point shot to tie the game once again at 78-all with UP in ball possession. Paul Desiderio missed a shot as the game went into overtime. In the extra period Adamson took a six-point lead already, 84–78, with 2:39 remaining in overtime, but UP scored 6 straight points to tie once again at 84-all with 58.2 seconds remaining. Adamson's top gunner Jerrick Ahanmisi went down with cramps after a contested layup against Bright Akhuetie was waved off by the referee, instead calling it a foul on JD Tungcab on the floor. Ahanmisi missed the remainder of the game. Two free throws were awarded to Adamson because they were already in the penalty. Jonathan Espeleta came in to take the shots in place of Jerrick Ahanmisi but split his freethrows to lead by a point. A three-point shot by Paul Desiderio swang back the lead to UP 87–85 with forty seconds remaining but a foul by UP sent another Adamson player back into the free throw line and tied for one last time at 87-all. Desiderio's jumper over Sean Manganti however put UP back on top 89–87 with 6.6 seconds remaining with Adamson calling its last time out. The ball was given to Jerom Lastimosa to win the game but he missed a three-point shot that would give Adamson the victory, as UP won the game and entered the Finals for the first time since 1986.

Finals

The best-of-three finals began on December 1. It would be the first Finals match-up between the two teams. This marks UP's first UAAP Finals stint since 1986 and its first in the Final Four era, while defending champions Ateneo were in its third consecutive Finals appearance. The winner qualified for the 2018 PCCL National Collegiate Championship.

ABS-CBN
S A

December 1
3:30 p.m.PHT

Stats

Ateneo Blue Eagles	88–79	UP Fighting Maroons
Scoring by quarter: 26–18, 13–20, 24–23, 25–18
Pts: Matt Nieto 27 Rebs: Ange Kouame 12 Asts: Thirdy Ravena 9		Pts: Jun Manzo 19 Rebs: Juan Gómez de Liaño 8 Asts: Paul Desiderio 8

Mall of Asia Arena
Attendance: 21,608
Referees: Allan Manzano, Don Arguelles, Sam del Rosario

S A

December 5
3:30 p.m.PHT

Stats

Ateneo Blue Eagles	99–81	UP Fighting Maroons
Scoring by quarter: 25–13, 23–24, 22–19, 29–25
Pts: Thirdy Ravena 38 Rebs: Ange Kouame 20 Asts: Thirdy Ravena 6		Pts: Juan Gómez de Liaño 24 Rebs: Bright Akhuetie 8 Asts: 4 players, 3 each
Ateneo wins series, 2–0

Smart Araneta Coliseum
Attendance: 23,471
Referees: Ronwaldo de Luna, Garry Villanueva, Ribel Cañelas

Finals Most Valuable Player: Thirdy Ravena (Ateneo Blue Eagles)

Awards

UAAP Season 81 men's basketball champions
Ateneo Blue Eagles Tenth title, second consecutive title

Most Valuable Player: Bright Akhuetie (UP Fighting Maroons)^[15]
Rookie of the Year: Ange Kouame (Ateneo Blue Eagles)
Mythical Team:^[15]
- Bright Akhuetie (UP Fighting Maroons)
- Juan Gómez de Liaño (UP Fighting Maroons)
- Alvin Pasaol (UE Red Warriors)
- Justine Baltazar (De La Salle Green Archers)
- Jerrick Ahanmisi (Adamson Soaring Falcons)

Players of the Week


Week ending	Player	Team
September 9^[16]	Jerrick Ahanmisi	Adamson Soaring Falcons
September 12^[17]	Renzo Subido	UST Growling Tigers
September 23^[18]	Justine Baltazar	De La Salle Green Archers
September 30^[19]	Sean Manganti	Adamson Soaring Falcons
October 8^[20]	Wendell Comboy	FEU Tamaraws
October 15^[21]	CJ Cansino	UST Growling Tigers
October 22^[22]	Ange Kouame	Ateneo Blue Eagles
October 29^[23]	CJ Cansino	UST Growling Tigers
November 5^[24]	Aljun Melecio	De La Salle Green Archers
November 12^[25]	Bright Akhuetie	UP Fighting Maroons
November 19^[26]	Juan Gómez de Liaño	UP Fighting Maroons

Statistics

Players' statistical points

#	Player	Team	Total
1	Bright Akhuetie	UP Fighting Maroons	82.5000
2	Ange Kouame	Ateneo Blue Eagles	76.2143
3	Alvin Pasaol	UE Red Warriors	74.5714
4	Juan Gómez de Liaño	UP Fighting Maroons	63.8571
5	Justine Baltazar	De La Salle Green Archers	58.3846

Season player highs

Statistic	Player	Team	Average
Points	Alvin Pasaol	UE Red Warriors	24.4
Rebounds	Bright Akhuetie	UP Fighting Maroons	14.6
Assists	Juan Gómez de Liaño	UP Fighting Maroons	5.5
Steals	Alvin Pasaol	UE Red Warriors	1.9
Blocks	Ange Kouame	Ateneo Blue Eagles	3.2

Game player highs

Statistic	Player	Team	Total	Opponent
Points	John Lloyd Clemente Thirdy Ravena	NU Bulldogs Ateneo Blue Eagles	38	FEU Tamaraws UP Fighting Maroons
Rebounds	Ange Kouame	Ateneo Blue Eagles	27	FEU Tamaraws
Assists	Philip Manalang Juan Gómez de Liaño	UE Red Warriors UP Fighting Maroons	12	FEU Tamaraws UE Red Warriors
Steals	Raffy Verano Alvin Pasaol	Ateneo Blue Eagles UE Red Warriors	5	UP Fighting Maroons FEU Tamaraws
Blocks	Issa Gaye	NU Bulldogs	8	UST Growling Tigers UE Red Warriors

Game team highs

Statistic	Team	Total	Opponent
Points	De La Salle Green Archers	110	UST Growling Tigers
Rebounds	UST Growling Tigers	59	NU Bulldogs
Assists	UP Fighting Maroons	28	NU Bulldogs
Steals	Adamson Soaring Falcons	12	De La Salle Green Archers
Blocks	Adamson Soaring Falcons De La Salle Green Archers	18	Ateneo Blue Eagles FEU Tamaraws

Season team highs

Statistic	Team	Average
Points	UP Fighting Maroons	80.3
Rebounds	Ateneo Blue Eagles	47.1
Assists	UP Fighting Maroons	19.9
Steals	Adamson Soaring Falcons	7.2
Blocks	Ateneo Blue Eagles	5.6

Broadcast notes

ABS-CBN Sports is the official broadcaster of the UAAP Season 81 Men's Basketball games.

Game	Play-by-play	Analyst	Courtside Reporters
4th seed playoff	Boom Gonzales	Ronnie Magsanoc	Sydney Crespo and Aiyana Perlas
Semis #1 vs. #4	Mico Halili	Christian Luanzon	Frannie Reyes and Sydney Crespo
Semis #2 vs. #3, Game 1	Boom Gonzales	TJ Manotoc	Sam Corrales and Cor Catibayan
Semis #2 vs. #3, Game 2	Nikko Ramos	TJ Manotoc	Sam Corrales and Cor Catibayan
Finals, Game 1	Mico Halili	Ronnie Magsanoc	Frannie Reyes and Sam Corrales
Finals, Game 2	Nikko Ramos	Christian Luanzon	Frannie Reyes and Sam Corrales