NCAA Final Four (Philippines)

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).

History 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.

Format If no team sweeps the group stage: Seeds No. 1 and No. 2 teams possess the twice to beat advantage Team No. 1 meets No. 4 while No. 2 meets No. 3 in the semifinals. The semifinal winners advance to the finals. The team that wins 2 games in the finals wins the championship. If a team sweeps the group stage: Seed No. 1 advance to the finals. Prior to 2008, the No. 1 seed had the twice-to-beat advantage in the finals. From 2008 to 2009, the finals was a best-of-three series. Seed No. 2 advance to the semifinals. Teams No. 3 and No. 4 face off to meet No. 2 in the semifinals in a one-game playoff. In the finals, either the No. 1 seed or the other opponent has to win twice. From 2008 to 2016, seed No. 1 earned a thrice-to-beat advantage (or a 1−0 incentive lead in a virtual best-of-five Finals series). In case of two teams being tied, an extra game will be played to determine which seed they will possess. In case of three or more teams being tied, a quotient system will decide which team possesses the best seeding, while the other teams will play an extra game to determine the second-best seeding. The winner will face the holder of the best seeding for a playoff slot.

Results

Statistics

Seniors tournament

Appearances Team Semifinalappearances Last semisappearance First semisappearance Finalsappearances Highestseed 2 2016 2014 2 2nd 18 2022 1997 11 1st 6 2024 2000 4 1st 13 2017 1999 3 1st 6 2024 2018 2 1st 13 2024 1997 3 1st * 4 2006 2002 3 2nd 21 2024 1997 16 1st 15 2019 1997 9 1st 10 2021 1998 1 1st Notes: Number of appearances excludes 4th seed elimination games. PCU left the league

Season-by-season performances + Key Color Meaning 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 X Tournament cancelled1 elimination round ranking? unknown ranking Guest school Under probation Number denotes playoff seeding. Shade denotes final position.

School NCAA Season --10-- --5678725268 10 X6710731 4 7661 3 1 3 2 3 4 53 3 2 62 653 3 1296--? 73 4 2 68687687899581085 5 5142--791075910879 9 71075672 1 1 4 3 7873 2 3 3 4 583 4 53 10 8 109610--6106 7991 22 93244?6 53 54 5 3 4 4 4 64 5610 103 3 107 6 26117?8 853 82 2 2 7-- 24 568754 71 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 X343312 1 4 2 1 2 64 6552 2 2 2 38774 6 4 858953 3 2 7871 55689894 4 4 64 94 7 4858 Notes

Win–loss statistics

Semifinals and knockout games Team Pld W L PCT 31 24 7 0.774 7 5 2 0.714 30 19 11 0.633 12 7 5 0.583 26 13 13 0.500 22 9 13 0.409 22 8 14 0.363 20 6 14 0.300 8 2 6 0.250 6 1 5 0.167

Finals Team Pld W L PCT 34 24 10 0.706 29 18 11 0.620 8 4 4 0.500 7 3 4 0.429 19 8 11 0.421 9 3 6 0.333 8 2 6 0.250 4 0 4 0.000 4 0 4 0.000 2 0 2 0.000

Entire playoffs Team Pld W L PCT 65 48 17 0.738 59 37 22 0.627 15 9 6 0.600 21 10 11 0.476 45 21 24 0.467 29 12 17 0.414 30 10 20 0.333 22 6 16 0.273 12 2 10 0.167 9 1 9 0.111

Finals statistics Most lopsided game: San Sebastian 95-62 JRC, 2001 Game 3 (33 points) Closest game: Several games, all one-point leads: Letran 75-74 JRC, 1999 Game 1 San Sebastian 79-78 Benilde, 2002 Game 1 San Beda 68-67 PCU, 2006 Game 3 Letran 65-64 San Beda, 2019 Game 1 Finals appearances: San Beda, 15; Letran 11; and San Sebastian, 9 Consecutive finals appearances: San Beda, 14 (2006–19); San Sebastian, 4 (2000–03) Championships: San Beda (2006–08, 2010–14, 2016–18), 11; Letran(1998–99, 2003, 2005, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2022), 8; San Sebastian (1997, 2001–02, 2009), 4 Consecutive championships: San Beda (2006–08, 2016–18), Letran (2019–22) 3; San Beda (2010–14), 5

Semifinals Most lopsided game: Letran 93-60 SSC-R, 2005 (33 points) Closest game: Several games, all one point leads Letran 65-64 PCU, 2004 (1 point) Letran 91-90 Mapua, 2015 (1 point) Benilde 62-61 San Beda, 2022 (1 point) Semifinal appearances: San Beda 19, Letran 18, San Sebastian 15, JRU 13 Consecutive semifinal appearances: San Beda 17 (2006–19,2021–23), Letran 7 (2003–2009), San Sebastian 7 (1997–2003), JRU 5 (1999–2003, 2007–2011)

Most frequent matchups The most frequently played matchups are:

Matchup Semifinals Finals TotalSan Beda vs. Letran 3 5 8San Sebastian vs. Letran 6 2 8San Sebastian vs. JRU 6 1 7San Beda vs. Perpetual 6 0 6San Beda vs. San Sebastian 1 4 5Mapúa vs. San Beda 4 1 5Letran vs. Mapúa 3 1 4San Beda vs. Lyceum 1 2 3Letran vs. JRU 2 1 3Letran vs. PCU 2 1 3San Beda vs. JRU 2 1 3Letran vs. Lyceum 3 0 3Mapúa vs. Benilde 1 1 2Benilde vs. San Beda 2 0 2 San Beda vs. Arellano 0 2 2San Sebastian vs. Benilde 0 2 2

Seeds 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: The No. 1 seed has beaten the No. 4 seed 20 out of 23 times (87%) The No. 1 seed has beaten the No. 4 seed 16 times on the first game (80%). The No. 1 seed has beaten the No. 4 seed 4 times on the second game (20%) The only times the No. 1 seed was beaten by the No. 4 seed were during the San Sebastian-Letran matchup in 1999 (Letran won), and the JRC-San Sebastian matchup in 2000 (San Sebastian won). The No. 2 seed has beaten the No. 3 seed 22 out of 25 times (88%). The No. 2 seed has beaten the No. 3 seed 13 times on the first game (62%). The No. 2 seed has beaten the No. 3 seed 6 times on the second game (29%). The No. 2 seed has beaten the No. 3 seed 2 times in a knockout game due to the stepladder format (9%). The only times the No. 2 seed doesn't have a twice to beat advantage against the No. 3 seed were during the San Beda-Letran matchup in 1997 (San Beda won), the San Sebastian-JRU matchup in 2010 (San Sebastian won), and the Lyceum-Letran matchup in 2019 (Letran won) due to the stepladder format. The only times the No. 2 seed was beaten by the No. 3 seed were during the Perpetual Help-CSB matchup in 2000 (CSB won), the San Sebastian-Letran matchup in 2012 (Letran won), the Lyceum-Letran matchup in 2019 (Letran won) due to the stepladder format and the Lyceum-San Beda matchup in 2023 (San Beda won). The No. 2 seed has beaten the No. 4 seed once (100%) The only time the No. 2 seed has beaten the No. 4 seed was during the San Beda-San Sebastian matchup in 2017 (San Beda won) due to the stepladder format. The No. 3 seed has beaten the No. 4 seed 3 out of 4 times (75%) With San Sebastian sweeping the group stage, there were two semifinal rounds for 1997. With San Beda sweeping the group stage, there were two semifinal rounds for 2010 and 2019. With Lyceum sweeping the group stage, there were two semifinal rounds for 2017. The No. 1 seed skipped the semifinals four times (15%; in 1997, when San Sebastian swept the group stage, in 2010 and 2019, when San Beda swept the group stage, and in 2017, when Lyceum swept the group stage) 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: The No. 1 seed has beaten the No. 2 seed 15 of 21 times (71%) The No. 2 seed has beaten the No. 1 seed 6 of 21 times (29%) The No. 1 seed has beaten the No. 3 seed 1 of 2 times (50%) The No. 3 seed has beaten the No. 1 seed 1 of 2 times (50%) The No. 3 seed has beaten the No. 4 seed once (100%) This occurred in 2000 in which both lower seeded teams upset the teams with the twice to beat advantage. This was the only time were both teams possessing the twice to beat advantage failed to qualify for the finals in both the NCAA and the UAAP. The No. 4 seed has beaten the No. 2 seed once (100%) The No. 1 seed has won the championship 16 of 25 times (64%)

Individual single-game records Stats since the 2001 season. Statistic Name Total School Opponent StageMost points Kevin Alas 43 2012 SemifinalsMost rebounds Allwell Oraeme 24 2016 SemifinalsMost assists Roldan Sara 11 2016 FinalsMost steals Roldan Sara 11 2016 FinalsMost blocks Raymond AlmazanMark Andaya 9 2013 Semifinals2005 Semifinals

Juniors tournament

Appearances Team Semifinalappearances Last semisappearance First semisappearance Finalsappearances Highestseed 0 - - 0 - 0 - - 0 - 0 - - 0 - 0 - - 0 - 0 - - 0 - 0 - - 0 - 0 - - 0 - 0 - - 0 - 0 - - 0 - 0 - - 0 - Notes: Number of appearances excludes 4th seed elimination games.

Season-by-season performances performances + Key Color Meaning 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 Suspended Not in the league Did not join C Tournament cancelled1 group stage ranking? unknown ranking Guest school Under probation Number denotes playoff seeding. Shade denotes final position. School NCAA Season --10 ----89769734675 CC710734?1 6527722242463 76397122 --9849810691010101065? ? ? ? ? ? ? 4443 46875498946989--?????455546533 3543 414373--1010108558528 910?1 1 ? ???77755412 2229446? ? ? ? ? ? 3 3 1 --1 2321 1 1 23 3 51 1 1 1 1 21 113 1CC254? ? ? ? ??? 1 21 1 3 262268105 83538? ? ? ? ? ? ? 6666539879107768611 Notes

Television and radio The final four is the culmination of the NCAA basketball season and is heavily covered by the media. With the NCAA as one of the leading collegiate leagues in the country, the final four games are broadcast live throughout the country.

From 2015 to 2019, the NCAA, and the final four games, are broadcast by ABS-CBN's UHF channel ABS-CBN Sports+Action nationwide, being produced by ABS-CBN Sports. Previously, Studio 23 covered the NCAA from 2002 until 2011. Prior to Studio 23, the games were broadcast irregularly by different broadcast partners. From 2009 to 2011 and since 2015, the games are also aired in high definition, through Balls subsidiary Balls HD.

Previous nationwide providers of the NCAA were Vintage Television on People's Television Network and later IBC from 1995 until 1999 and PTV Channel 4 from 2000 until 2001 season. PTV's coverage was produced by MCI Group and later Silvestar Sports.

In 2012, the NCAA, and the final four games were broadcast by TV5's VHF channel IBC's AKTV, being produced by Sports5. From 2013 to 2014 TV5 took over the seniors' games coverage after AKTV was dissolved.

Following the shutdown of ABS-CBN broadcasting in 2020 and subsequently dissolving its sports division, the final four games of the NCAA were broadcast by GMA Network via its UHF channel GTV, being produced by Synergy, as part of a 5 year contract, which encompassed to its centennial season, until 2025, before GMA eventually opt to not renew the contract with the league after Season 101.

See also UAAP Final Four

References