UAAP Season 87 basketball tournaments

UAAP Season 87
Stronger, Better, Together
Host school	University of the Philippines (Collegiate and Junior High School)
Duration	December 8–15, 2024
Arena(s)	Araneta Coliseum (Games 1 & 3); SM Mall of Asia Arena (Game 2);
Finals MVP	JD Cagulangan
Winning coach	Goldwin Monteverde (2nd title)
Semifinalists	UST Growling Tigers; Adamson Soaring Falcons;
TV network(s)	One Sports; UAAP Varsity Channel;
Duration	December 8–15, 2024
Arena(s)	Araneta Coliseum (Games 1 & 3); SM Mall of Asia Arena (Game 2);
Finals MVP	Cielo Pagdulagan
Winning coach	Aris Dimaunahan (2nd title)
Semifinalists	Adamson Lady Falcons; Ateneo Blue Eagles;
TV network(s)	One Sports; UAAP Varsity Channel;
Duration	December 11–20, 2024
Arena(s)	SM Mall of Asia Arena (Game 1); Araneta Coliseum (Game 2); Filoil EcoOil Centre (Game 3);
Finals MVP	Gab Delos Reyes
Winning coach	Andrew Estrella
Semifinalists	FEU–D Baby Tamaraws; NUNS Bullpups;
TV network(s)	UAAP Varsity Channel

The UAAP Season 87 basketball tournaments are the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball tournaments for the 2024–25 school year. The University of the Philippines Diliman are the hosts.

In the men's tournament, the De La Salle Green Archers finished first, with the UP Fighting Maroons second. The UST Growling Tigers finished third, while the Adamson Soaring Falcons eliminated the UE Red Warriors in the 4th seed playoff. Both UP and La Salle won the semifinals match-ups over Adamson and UST, respectively, marking their second overall head-to-head UAAP Finals matchup. For the fourth consecutive season, the men's basketball finals series reached a do-or-die third game - the longest such streak so far for the tournament in UAAP Final Four history. UP defeated La Salle to win their 4th men's championship.

In the women's tournament, the NU Lady Bulldogs advanced to the finals outright after winning all elimination round games. The Adamson Lady Falcons defeated the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the first round of the stepladder. UST defeated Adamson on the next round, setting up a rematch from last year's finals with NU. The series lasted three full games, with NU defeating UST to win their 8th women's championship.

In the junior high school tournament, the UE Junior Warriors finished first, followed by the FEU Diliman Baby Tamaraws; they have the twice-to-beat advantage against the NUNS Bullpups and the UST Tiger Cubs, respectively. While UE defeated NUNS, UST upset FEU Diliman in the semifinals. The Junior Warriors then defeated the Tiger Cubs to win the first junior high school championship, and first basketball championship for UE since 1985.

Tournament format

The UAAP continued to use the UAAP Final Four format.

Xavy Nunag was named basketball commissioner for the third consecutive year. Assisting him are his deputies Mariana Lopa and Marvin Bienvenida who will supervise the women’s and high school basketball tournaments, respectively. The UAAP also announced the return of the girls' tournament, last played in 2020.^[1]

Teams customarily assigned to wear light jerseys during certain games would be allowed to wear dark uniforms instead as long as Commissioner's Office permits. This privilege was not exercised last Season 86 when this change was introduced. The Green Archers is set to be the first team to take advantage of the new rule in their scheduled opening game against Ateneo.^[2]

Teams

Basketball is a mandatory event in the UAAP, where all 8 universities are required to field in teams.

The girls' tournament is a demonstration sport last held in 2020, and is not mandatory.

Collegiate division
University	Men		Women		Uniform manufacturer
University	Team	Coach	Team	Coach	Uniform manufacturer
Adamson University (AdU)	Soaring Falcons	Nash Racela	Lady Falcons	Ryan Monteclaro	Anta^[3]
Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU^[a])	Blue Eagles	Tab Baldwin	Blue Eagles	LA Mumar	Jordan Brand (Nike)^[5]
De La Salle University (DLSU)	Green Archers	Topex Robinson	Lady Archers	Pocholo Villanueva	Nike^[6]
Far Eastern University (FEU)	Tamaraws	Sean Chambers	Lady Tamaraws	Raiza Palmera-Dy	Puma^[7]
National University (NU)	Bulldogs	Jeff Napa	Lady Bulldogs	Aries Dimaunahan	Adidas^[8]
University of the East (UE)	Red Warriors	Jack Santiago	Lady Warriors	Aileen Lebornio	Anta^[9]
University of the Philippines (UP)	Fighting Maroons	Goldwin Monteverde	Fighting Maroons	Paul Ramos	STATS (Men's)^[10] Titan 22 (Women's)
University of Santo Tomas (UST)	Growling Tigers	Pido Jarencio	Tigresses	Haydee Ong	Delta Sportswear^[11]

High school division
High schools	Team	Coach
Adamson University (AdU)	Baby Falcons	Mike Fermin
Ateneo de Manila University High School (ADMU^[a])	Blue Eagles	Reggie Varilla
De La Salle Santiago Zobel School (DLSZ)	Junior Archers	Boris Aldeguer
Far Eastern University Diliman (FEU-D)	Baby Tamaraws	Allan Albano
National University Nazareth School (NUNS)	Bullpups	Kevin De Castro
University of the East (UE)	Junior Warriors	Karl Santos
University of the Philippines Integrated School (UPIS)	Junior Fighting Maroons	Paolo Mendoza
University of Santo Tomas Senior High School (UST)	Tiger Cubs	Manu Iñigo

^ ^a ^b Since 2017, Ateneo de Manila University is the only member school that does not use an acronym for official communications and graphics, according to their branding guide.^[4]

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date	Replaced by	Date
FEU Lady Tamaraws^[12]	Bert Flores	Fired	February 29, 2024	Raiza Palmera-Dy	February 29, 2024
FEU Tamaraws^[13]	Denok Miranda	Promoted as head of basketball programs	March 19, 2024	Sean Chambers	March 19, 2024

Venues

MOA Arena

Filoil EcoOil
Centre

Adamson Gym

UST Q-Pavilion

Araneta Coliseum

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Venues in Metro Manila

The opening ceremonies and opening day men's doubleheader shall be held at Araneta Coliseum. Subsequent men's, women's and junior high school first round games are scheduled to be held there, and in the SM Mall of Asia Arena, mostly in sextupleheaders. In game days where only the men's teams are to play in either arena, the women's and junior high school games are held in the Adamson University gym on the same day.^[14]

For the second round, there are 5 games per day held in one venue, with the Filoil EcoOil Centre and the Quadricentennial Pavilion hosting games. The affected women's and junior high school games will be done after the men's elimination round concludes, and will be held at the Filoil EcoOil Centre. This was done to have earlier start times for men's games.^[15] For the postponed games due to Tropical Storm Kristine (Trami), it was included in the games that will be held at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

Arena	Location	Tournament					Capacity
Arena	Location	M	W	B	G	JHS	Capacity
Araneta Coliseum	Quezon City	Y	Y			Y	14,429
Filoil EcoOil Centre	San Juan	Y	Y			Y	6,000
Quadricentennial Pavilion (UST Gym)	Manila	Y	Y			Y	5,792
SM Mall of Asia Arena	Pasay	Y	Y			Y	15,000
St. Vincent Gym (Adamson Gym)	Manila		Y			Y

Squads

Each team has a 16-player roster. Only one "foreign student-athlete", non-Filipinos who are otherwise known as "imports" elsewhere, is allowed to be on the active roster.

Men's team rosters
Adamson	Ateneo	La Salle	FEU	NU	UE	UP	UST
Carl Alexander	Mike Asoro	Earl Abadam	Royce Alforque	Edmund Dela Cruz	John Abate	Gerry Abadiano	Amiel Acido
Matthew Anabo	Jared Bahay	Henry Agunanne	Chiolo Anonuevo	Mohamed Diassana	Hunter Cruz-Dumont	Harold Alarcon	Nic Cabanero
Joshua Barcelona	Ayodeji Balogun	Ethan Alian	Aeron Bagunu	Steve Nash Enriquez	Jack Cruz-Dumont	Sean Alter	Ivanne Calum
Mario Barasi Jr	Andrew Bongo	CJ Austria	Jorick Bautista	Jake Figueroa	Devin Fikes	Jacob Bayla	Gelo Crisostomo
John Arthur Calisay	Adam Roy Dela Cruz	Vincent Joshua David	Jedric Daa	Paul John Francisco	Romo Finney	Mark Belmonte	Glenn Isaac Danting
Flever Dignadice	Femi Edu	David Andrei Dungo	Nicholas Duque	Tebol Garcia	Ethan Galang	Chicco Briones	Leeland Estacio
Matt Erolon	Waki Espina	EJ Gollena	Mohamed Konateh	Reinhard Jumamoy	Ronjie Go	JD Cagulangan	Echo Laure
Anthony Fransman	Ian Espinosa	Raven Gonzales	Jayden Jones	Donn Spencer Lim	Johndrew Jimenez	Janjan Felicilda	Chase Lane
Allen Ignacio	Kyle Daven Gamber	Alex Konov	Rojan Montemayor	Ian Jolo Manansala	Wello Lingolingo	Terrence Fortea	Mark Llemit
Royca Mantua	Chris Koon	JC Macalalag	Janrey Pasaol	Kenshin Padrones	Rainer Maga	Francis Lopez	Zain Mahmood
Cedrick Manzano	Joshua Lazaro	Vhoris Marasigan	Adam Nakai	PJ Palacielo	Reynaldo Malaga III	Quentin Millora-Brown	Christian Manaytay
Mathew Montebon	Kyle Ong	Isaiah Phillips	Miguel Ona	Bobby Mark Parks	Precious Momowei	Gani Stevens	Forthsky Padrigao
Mudiaga Ojarikre	Kristian Porter	Mike Phillips	Veejay Pre	Kurt Perciano	Nico Mulingtapang	Sean Aldous Torculas	Miguel Pangilinan
Eli Ramos	Sean Quitevis	Kevin Quiambao		Gelo Santiago	DJ Robles	Reyland Torres	Kyle Paranada
Austin Ronzone	Marc Samuel Reyes	Lian Ramiro		Nathaniel Tulabut	Keian Spandonis	Dikachi Ududo	Geremy Robinson
Joshua Yerro	Shawn Tuano	Matt Rubico		Patrick Wilson Yu	Gjerard Wilson	Denzil Walker	Mo Tounkara

Men's tournament

The men's tournament started on September 7, 2024, featuring a Battle of Katipunan game between the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the UP Fighting Maroons in the Araneta Coliseum.^[16]

Elimination round

Due to the University of Santo Tomas Entrance Test being held on the same day, the UAAP postponed the October 20 games hosted by the Quadricentennial Pavilion to November 3.^[17]

The UAAP postponed the October 23 games due to inclement weather caused by Tropical Storm Kristine (Trami).^[18] The postponed games were rescheduled to November 20 and 23.

Team standings

Pos	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	De La Salle Green Archers	12	2	.857	—	Twice-to-beat in the semifinals
2	UP Fighting Maroons (H)	11	3	.786	1	Twice-to-beat in the semifinals
3	UST Growling Tigers	7	7	.500	5	Twice-to-win in the semifinals
4	Adamson Soaring Falcons	6	8	.429^[a]	6	Twice-to-win in the semifinals
5	UE Red Warriors	6	8	.429^[a]	6
6	FEU Tamaraws	5	9	.357^[b]	7
7	NU Bulldogs	5	9	.357^[b]	7
8	Ateneo Blue Eagles	4	10	.286	8

Source: UAAP on Livestats
(H) Hosts
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Fourth seed playoff: Adamson 68–55 UE
^ ^a ^b Head-to-head record: FEU 1–1 ( 5) NU

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: UAAP on Livestats
= Win; = OT win; = Loss; = OT loss

Scores

Results on top and to the right of the grey cells 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		51–60	52–82	59–47	60–58	62–63	57–69	69–56
Ateneo Blue Eagles	55–69		61–74	65–66*	68–78	62–69	61–77	64–74
De La Salle Green Archers	70–45	80–65		68–62	78–75	71–75	68–56	88–67
FEU Tamaraws	76–72*	65–54	53–58		60–62	51–56	58–69	72–83
NU Bulldogs	41–53	68–70	63–54	58–65		51–57	62–89	64–67
UE Red Warriors	37–45	67–71	68–77	51–59	74–58		71–81	55–70
UP Fighting Maroons	70–59	75–47	66–77	86–78	47–67	77–67		81–70
UST Growling Tigers	75–49	64–67	87–94*	79–70	62–67	76–67	73–83

Source: UAAP on Livestats
Legend: Blue = left column team win; Red = top row team win.
Matches with lighter background shading were decided after overtime.

Fourth seed playoff

Adamson and UE finished the elimination round tied for fourth. This is a one-game playoff to determine the #4 seed.^[19] This Adamson's third consecutive fourth seed playoff.^[20]

One Sports, UAAP Varsity Channel

November 27, 2024
6:30 p.m.

Adamson Soaring Falcons	68–55	UE Red Warriors
Scoring by quarter: 16–10, 23–20, 13–10, 16–15
Pts: Cedrick Manzano 17 Rebs: Cedrick Manzano 10 Asts: Mathew Montebon 6		Pts: Jack Cruz-Dumont 15 Rebs: Precious Momowei 11 Asts: Jack Cruz-Dumont 4
Adamson advances to the Final Four

SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay
Referees: Molly de Luna, Juner Bayais, Jaime Jimenez

Bracket


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



1	La Salle	70

4	Adamson	55
			1	La Salle	65	76	62

			2	UP	73	75	66
2	UP	78

3	UST	69

Semifinals

The top two seeded teams after the elimination round have the twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinals, where they have to be beaten twice, while their opponents only once, to progress.

(1) La Salle vs. (4) Adamson

La Salle became the first team to clinch a semifinals berth with their win against Adamson.^[21] La Salle then clinched the twice-to-beat advantage with FEU's win over UE.^[22] The Green Archers then locked the #1 seed in a win against UP.^[23] Adamson clinched the #4 seed after winning their fourth seed playoff against UE.^[20] These two teams last met in the semis in 2017 where La Salle won in one game.

One Sports, UAAP Varsity Channel

November 30, 2024
6:30 p.m.

De La Salle Green Archers	70–55	Adamson Soaring Falcons
Scoring by quarter: 18–11, 18–6, 23–17, 11–21
Pts: Kevin Quiambao 14 Rebs: Raven Gonzales 9 Asts: Mike Phillips 4		Pts: Royce Mantua 14 Rebs: Mudiaga Ojarikre 11 Asts: Mathew Montebon 3
La Salle wins series in one game

Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
Referees: Edgar Orpilla, Oliver Angeles, Jhoden Nebres

(2) UP vs. (3) UST

UP was the second team to clinch a semifinals berth, their sixth consecutive, after a win against Adamson.^[24] They then settled on the #2 seed and the twice-to-beat advantage that comes with it, on their loss against La Salle.^[23] UST clinched the #3 seed and its first Final Four appearance since 2019 after their win against Adamson. The match-up is a rematch of the 2019 series where lower-seeded UST won in two games.^[25]

One Sports, UAAP Varsity Channel

November 30, 2024
3:30 p.m.

UP Fighting Maroons	78–69	UST Growling Tigers
Scoring by quarter: 16–14, 17–21, 24–15, 21–19
Pts: Lopez, Alarcon, 16 Rebs: Quentin Millora-Brown 19 Asts: JD Cagulangan 5		Pts: 3 players, 12 Rebs: Manaytay, Tounkara, 8 Asts: Kyle Paranada 4
UP wins series in one game

Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
Referees: Molly de Luna, Ace Sison, Dave Jaramillo

Finals

The finals is a best-of-three playoff. The UP Fighting Maroons advances to its fourth consecutive finals,^[26] while the De La Salle Green Archers clinched their second consecutive finals berth. This is a rematch of the UAAP Season 86 finals where La Salle won. ^[27]

Game 3 was originally scheduled on December 14 at the Araneta Coliseum, coincidentally on the same day and venue as Game 3 (if necessary) of NCAA Season 100. The UAAP then rescheduled Game 3 to December 15.^[28]

One Sports, UAAP Varsity Channel

December 8, 2024
5:30 p.m.

De La Salle Green Archers	65–73	UP Fighting Maroons
Scoring by quarter: 18–11, 23–26, 9–17, 15–19
Pts: Kevin Quiambao 19 Rebs: Quiambao, Phillips, 11 Asts: Mike Phillips 5		Pts: Quentin Millora-Brown 17 Rebs: Quentin Millora-Brown 9 Asts: JD Cagulangan 5

Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
Referees: Ian Borbe, Juner Bayais, Edgar Orpilla

One Sports, UAAP Varsity Channel

December 11, 2024
5:30 p.m.

De La Salle Green Archers	76–75	UP Fighting Maroons
Scoring by quarter: 28–22, 11–14, 15–26, 22–13
Pts: Kevin Quiambao 22 Rebs: Mike Phillips 12 Asts: Quiambao, Austria, 4		Pts: 3 players, 16 each Rebs: Francis Lopez 9 Asts: JD Cagulangan 5

SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay
Attendance: 17,112
Referees: Edgar Orpilla, Juner Bayais, Jaime Rivano

One Sports, UAAP Varsity Channel

December 15, 2024
5:30 p.m.

De La Salle Green Archers	62–66	UP Fighting Maroons
Scoring by quarter: 21–21, 15–21, 14–14, 12–10
Pts: Mike Phillips 18 Rebs: Mike Phillips 12 Asts: Joshua David 4		Pts: Quentin Millora-Brown 14 Rebs: Francis Lopez 11 Asts: Francis Lopez 6
UP wins series, 2–1

Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
Attendance: 25,248
Referees: Ian Borbe, Edgar Orpilla, Dave Jaramillo

Finals Most Valuable Player: JD Cagulangan (UP Fighting Maroons)

Awards

UAAP Season 87 men's basketball champions
UP Fighting Maroons Fourth title

The award winners were announced prior to game 2 of the finals, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.^[29]

Most Valuable Player: Kevin Quiambao (De La Salle Green Archers)
Rookie of the Year: Veejay Pre (FEU Tamaraws)
Mythical Five:
- Kevin Quiambao (De La Salle Green Archers)
- Mike Phillips (De La Salle Green Archers)
- JD Cagulangan (UP Fighting Maroons)
- Mo Konateh (FEU Tamaraws)
- Nic Cabanero (UST Growling Tigers)

Player of the Week

The Collegiate Press Corps names a player of the week throughout the season.


Week	Player	Team
September 7–15^[30]	Kevin Quiambao	De La Salle Green Archers
September 18–22^[31]	John Abate	UE Red Warriors
September 25–29^[32]	Mike Phillips	De La Salle Green Archers
October 2–6^[33]	Wello Lingolingo	UE Red Warriors
October 12–19^[34]	Jorick Bautista	FEU Tamaraws
October 26–30^[35]	Kevin Quiambao	De La Salle Green Archers
November 13–23^[36]	Amiel Acido	UST Growling Tigers

Statistical leaders

La Salle's Kevin Quiambao emerged as the top player in the statistical points race, the basis of determining the individual awards including most valuable player. Quiambao was also the scoring champion.^[37]

Statistical points leaders

#	Player	Team	SP
1	Kevin Quiambao	De La Salle Green Archers	81.357
2	Mike Philips	De La Salle Green Archers	74.929
3	JD Cagulangan	UP Fighting Maroons	69.167
4	Mohamed Konateh	FEU Tamaraws	68.643
5	Precious Momowei	UE Red Warriors	67.538

Season player highs

Statistic	Player	Team	Average
Points per game	Kevin Quiambao	De La Salle Green Archers	16.64
Rebounds per game	Mohamed Konateh	FEU Tamaraws	16.71
Assists per game	Forthsky Padrigao	UST Growling Tigers	6.07
Steals per game	JD Cagulangan	UP Fighting Maroons	1.75
Blocks per game	Mohamed Konateh	FEU Tamaraws	2.35
Field goal percentage	Shawn Tuano	Ateneo Blue Eagles	47.32%
Three-point field goal percentage	Kyle Paranada	UST Growling Tigers	42.86%
Free throw percentage	Jorick Bautista	FEU Tamaraws	82.86%
Turnovers per game	Precious Momowei	UE Red Warriors	4.38

Game player highs

Statistic	Player	Team	Total	Opponent
Points	Kevin Quiambao	De La Salle Green Archers	33	Ateneo Blue Eagles
Points	Harold Alarcon	UP Fighting Maroons	33	UE Red Warriors
Rebounds	Mohamed Konateh	FEU Tamaraws	27	De La Salle Green Archers
Assists	Forthsky Padrigao	UST Growling Tigers	11	FEU Tamaraws
Steals	Mike Philips	De La Salle Green Archers	5	FEU Tamaraws
Steals	Mike Philips	De La Salle Green Archers	5	UE Red Warriors
Blocks	Mudiaga Ojarikre	Adamson Soaring Falcons	7	UE Red Warriors
Turnovers	JD Cagulangan	UP Fighting Maroons	9	NU Bulldogs
Turnovers	Precious Momowei	UE Red Warriors	9	Adamson Soaring Falcons

Season team highs

Category	Team	Average
Points per game	De La Salle Green Archers	74.21
Rebounds per game	De La Salle Green Archers	49.86
Assists per game	De La Salle Green Archers	20.79
Steals per game	UP Fighting Maroons	7.86
Blocks per game	FEU Tamaraws	4.07
Field goal percentage	UP Fighting Maroons	41.14%
Three point field goal percentage	De La Salle Green Archers	30.27%
Free throw percentage	FEU Tamaraws	68.92%
Turnovers per game	De La Salle Green Archers	19.43

Game team highs

Statistic	Team	Total	Opponent
Points	De La Salle Green Archers	94^[a]	UST Growling Tigers
Points	UP Fighting Maroons	89	NU Bulldogs
Rebounds	De La Salle Green Archers	62	Ateneo Blue Eagles
Assists	De La Salle Green Archers	27	Adamson Soaring Falcons
Steals	UST Growling Tigers	15^[a]	De La Salle Green Archers
Steals	UE Red Warriors	13	De La Salle Green Archers
Blocks	Adamson Soaring Falcons	9	FEU Tamaraws
Field goal percentage	UP Fighting Maroons	54.0%	UST Growling Tigers
Three-point field goal percentage	Adamson Soaring Falcons	52.0%	FEU Tamaraws
Free throw percentage	Adamson Soaring Falcons	100%	NU Bulldogs
Turnovers	UP Fighting Maroons	30	NU Bulldogs

^ ^a ^b Game went into overtime

Discipline

The following were disciplined throughout the course of the season:

Coach Topex Robinson of the De La Salle Green Archers for "responded with language unbecoming of a coach", and Reyland Torres of the UP FIghting Maroons, for passing "in very close proximity to Coach Robinson twice", in their first round game against each other; both were given stern warnings by the UAAP. Torres accused Robinson of spitting on him, while La Salle accused Torres of using profane language, but evidence for both were inconclusive.^[38]
Mo Tounkara of the UST Growling Tigers for being called for two technical fouls in their game against the De La Salle Green Archers; Tounkara served a one-game suspension against the Ateneo Blue Eagles.^[39]
Precious Momowei of the UE Red Warriors, for being called for two unsportsmanlike fouls in their game against the UST Growling Tigers. Momowei served a one-game suspension against the Ateneo Blue Eagles.^[40]