NCAA Season 84 basketball tournaments

The basketball tournaments of National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) 84th season hosted by the Mapúa Institute of Technology began on June 28 at the Araneta Coliseum with Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Bayani Fernando as the keynote speaker (however, Fernando was later tasked to lead the cleanup efforts caused by Typhoon Frank, he sent his daughter instead). All subsequent elimination round games will be held at Cuneta Astrodome. The theme of the season is "To The Fore at 84".

NCAA Season 84
Host schoolMapúa Institute of Technology
Men's Finals 1 23Wins
 San Beda Red Lions 72 60852
 JRU Heavy Bombers 68 62691
DurationSeptember 24–29, 2008
Arena(s)Araneta Coliseum
Finals MVPSam Ekwe
Winning coachFrankie Lim
Semifinalists Letran Knights
 Mapúa Cardinals
TV network(s)Studio 23
Juniors' Finals 1 2Wins
 San Sebastian Staglets 83 772
 Letran Squires 81 700
DurationSeptember 24–26, 2008
Arena(s)Araneta Coliseum
Finals MVPArvie Bringas
Winning coachRaymond Valenzona
Semifinalists JRU Light Bombers
 La Salle Greenies
TV network(s)Studio 23

The games began on June 28 at the Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City with a quadruple-header.[1]

The first two games along with seniors' games every Wednesday and Friday will be aired on Studio 23. The remaining elimination round games were at the Cuneta Astrodome at Pasay, except for the last game which was held at the Araneta Coliseum.

The San Beda Red Lions and the San Sebastian Staglets both defended their titles successfully, with the Red Lions winning against the JRU Heavy Bombers in three games and the Staglets sweeping the elimination round and their finals series against the Letran Squires. San Beda is now the three-time champion while San Sebastian won their fourth consecutive title.

New rules
Qualified for the Finals
Qualified for semifinals with twice to beat advantage
Qualified for semifinals
Qualified for the first round
Qualified for knockout game

The NCAA Policy Board approved two new rule changes concerning the basketball events:[2]

  • The "challenge" rule: A head coach can challenge a three-point shot to the referee via the use of a video replay; if the challenge is revoked, the team is charged with a timeout or assessed with a technical foul if it has no timeouts left.
  • Hand check fouls will be disallowed.
  • Fouls away from the ball during inbounds would result in automatic unsportsmanlike fouls.

Seniors' tournament

Preseason events

With Caloy Garcia leaving the team and being elevated to the head coach position at Welcoat Dragons, Red Bull Barako assistant coach Gee Abanilla was tapped in as the new CSB Blazers coach for the 84th season.[3] Abanilla coached the Barakos for a few wins while head coach Yeng Guiao was away on the campaign trail at the 2007 election.

Elimination round

Results
The score given first is for the team indicated at the left-most column.
Team won both games
Teams split both games
Team lost both games
Left \ TopLetranBenildeJRUMapuaPCUSan BedaSSC-RUPHD
Letran 88–75
90–65		 83–69
72–76		 67–60
52–69		 73–62
60–54		 67–71
63–65*		 71–67
73–76		 63–62
74–66
Benilde 67–75
60–87		 57–63
66–56		 69–65
47–63		 20–0
74–91		 48–65
58–51		 61–54
65–75*
JRU 68–52
61–72		 60–58
74–59		 79–74
59–71		 54–57
47–52		 74–57
51–48
Mapua 77–71
63–60		 56–85
53–48		 86–80
62–64		 76–65
75–51
PCU 63–72
67–72		 64–71
58–62		 65–61
59–51
San Beda 84–83*
62–58		 70–48
72–55
SSC-R 55–60
68–36
UPHD

*overtime game

Postseason teams

San Beda Red Lions

The defending champions opened the season with a 29-point blowout against season host Mapua; it seems another championship run by San Beda as they won 5 consecutive victories, including an overtime thriller against San Sebastian. However, CSB put their game against San Beda under protest as Sam Ekwe donned last year's uniform. The NCAA Management Committee ruled in favor of CSB, on the same day JRU used their outside shooting to shock San Beda giving them two losses in one day.

The Red Lions recovered with a win against their marquee game against Letran and PCU but Mapua gave their own version of an upset when they used slow ball against the Red Lions to win the game. San Beda recovered with wins against Perpetual, revenge against both CSB and JRU and another close game against San Sebastian. The Red Lions capped off the elimination round as the #1 seed by sending Letran to the classification round for 2nd-4th places after Borgie Hermida scored on a buzzer-beaten to make them win the game in overtime at the Araneta Coliseum.

Letran Knights

Letran won the first six games of the season, including a come-from-behind win against UPHSD, but faltered in the first round finale against San Beda in which the ball slipped from Reymar Gutilban's hands to land at the end lines in the dying seconds. After a win against CSB, Letran lost the next two games against JRU and San Sebastian. After a win against also-ran UPHSD, Mapua whipped the Knights in the Battle of Intramuros despite not scoring a field-goal in the fourth quarter.

Continuing the pattern, Letran beat PCU in their last NCAA game since they'll take a leave of absence. In the elimination round finale, Letran was on the verge of winning a twice-to-beat advantage but a game went into overtime. In the extra period, Letran was leading by 4 points when San Beda rallied to lead by two. RJ Jazul scored on a driving lay-up with 5 seconds remaining but Borgie Hermida scored a buzzer-beater with a looper from the free-throw line to seal San Beda's third straight semifinal appearance with the twice to beat advantage. Letran now had to go through a series of games to determine if they'll qualify for the Final Four.

JRU Heavy Bombers

The Bombers were blown out by Letran on opening day and were beaten by San Sebastian in the closing minutes in their second game. The Heavy Bombers regrouped and won their next eight games, including an upset against San Beda where they capitalized on their streaky three-point shooting. Ironically it was San Beda that finished the streak when they had a decisive run in the fourth quarter to prevent a JRU comeback.

San Sebastian continued their mastery of the Bombers with another win against them. After a win against PCU, JRU had an outside chance of clinching a twice to beat advantage provided they beat Mapua which was on a must-win situation. The Cardinals were riding on a three-game winning streak and capitalized on the momentum to force three teams tied with 9-5 records; with the loss of Letran against San Beda, those four teams would undergo a series of games to determine which teams will clinch the nos. 2 to 4 seeds.

Mapua Cardinals

Mapua was blown away by the Red Lions on opening day with a 29-point drubbing, but the Cardinals recovered by winning their next 3 games in a span of a week. After a win against CSB, Letran won the first Battle of Intramuros, and they were beaten by JRU and San Sebastian. Mapua dealt San Beda their only loss in the second round with a slow-down game in which they took a shot at the very end of the shot clock to throw off the Red Lions' fast-paced game, with Kelvin dela Peña proclaiming on the post-game interview that they're back.

The Cardinals were dealt with a disappointing loss against the also-ran CSB Blazers, and they had to win all of their games to force a tie for the last qualifying berth. With them winning all of their games, including the second Battle of Intramuros, and a do-or-die game against JRU in their last game of the eliminations, the Cardinals forced a four-way tie for #2.

The Cardinals became the only team to beat the Red Lions twice this season, with two consecutive win in the second round and the first game of their semifinals match-up.

San Sebastian Golden Stags

San Sebastian lost its first two games against UPHSD and Mapua, but the Stags emerged victorious against JRU in their third game. After losing to the Red Lions, they didn't lose their faith in nothing more than joining the final four this season and "reliving the glory days" (their consecutive domination in the 90's) as they started their 8 winning streak against PCU and CSB at the end of the first round and extending their run in the second round as they beat PCU for the second time dethroning the Mapua Cardinals at the number 4 spot, revenge on both UPHSD and Letran and then defeating both JRU and CSB. They lost again to the San Beda Red Lions in a close match. Ending at 9-5 did not assure them of a final four seat even if they finished one match earlier than Mapúa, JRU and Letran as they lost against JRU and losing again to Mapúa in the Head-to-Head match for the final four. Even if the stags was granted the #2 seed in the face-off match, they were not able to enter the final four in the season 84.

San Sebastian were the only team to win against JRU Heavy Bombers in the Elimination Round. Sharing with the said team the highest winning streak of 8 matches.

Classification games

After a tight race for the final four, it was announced that the Management Committee will meet to determine how to break the ties.[4]

After the games of September 5, it was decided that the system used by FIBA would be used to break ties and assign seedings.[5]

After San Beda's win against Letran, four teams were tied from 2nd to 5th, with only 4 teams advancing to the semifinals. The four teams were ranked on the basis of their head-to-head records.

TeamWLH2HPD
 San Beda113------
 San Sebastian954–2----
 Mapúa953–31–1+10
 Letran953–31–1−10
 JRU952–4----

The four teams will then undergo a mini-tournament to determine the 2nd, 3rd and 4th seeds. The winners of the first round will meet to decide the 2nd seed (a de facto best of three series) while the losers will meet to decide the 4th seed. The loser of that game will be eliminated from contention while the winner will face San Beda in the semifinals.[6]

Bracket
 
Classification roundSecond-seed playoff
 
      
 
 
 
 
 San Sebastian 53
 
 
 
 JRU57
 
 JRU69
 
 
 
 Letran 53
 
 Mapúa52
 
 
 Letran62
 
Fourth-seed playoff
 
 
 
 
 
 San Sebastian 54
 
 
 Mapúa 63

Classification round
September 15
Mapúa Cardinals  52–62  Letran Knights

Second-seed playoff

Fourth-seed playoff

Bracket
  4th-seed playoff (top)
2nd-seed playoff (bottom)		 Semifinals
#1 & #2 have twice-to-beat advantage		 Finals
Best-of-three series
                               
      1  San Beda 51 60  
 San Sebastian 54     4  Mapúa 53 53  
   Mapúa 63  
 
    1  San Beda 72 60 85
    2  JRU 68 62 69
 
 
 Letran 53   2  JRU 63  
 JRU 69   3  Letran 61    

Semifinals

San Beda–Mapua series
September 22
San Beda Red Lions  60–53  Mapúa Cardinals
San Beda wins series in two games

San Beda and Mapua exchange leads until late in the 4th quarter in which Mapua led 51-38 when San Beda had a 13-2 run until the last 12.5 seconds. Ian Mazo turned the ball over for Mapua which led to San Beda taking a last crack at the basket; after the time out, Pong Escobal missed a hurried three-pointer and Mapua extended the series to a deciding second game.[7]

Mapua would run out of gas in the second game as San Beda coach Franklie Lim observed that they were tired after an extended playoff run; although they gave the Red Lions a fight, a shot by Ogie Menor in the final 1:10 put the game out of reach for the Red Lions to clinch their finals berth.[8]

JRU–Letran series
September 19
JRU Heavy Bombers  63–61  Letran Knights
JRU wins series in one game

With Letran up by three in the final 1:43, John Melegrito turned the ball over for a John Wilson lay-up. Mark Cagoco's defense caused RJ Jazul to turn the ball over anew, and James Sena scored in the next possession to put JRU up for good. Marvin Hayes helped in defending Jazul to force another turnover; Jazul fouled Cagoco to stop the clock. As Cagoco split his free throws, Jazul has a last chance to tie the game but Wilson blocked his shot as time expired, leading JRU to their first finals series since 2001.[9]

Finals
September 24
4:00 p.m.
San Beda Red Lions  72–68  JRU Heavy Bombers
Scoring by quarter: 19-18, 20-13, 16-19, 17-18
Pts: Pong Escobal 15
Rebs: Sam Ekwe 16
Asts: Pong Escobal 5		 Pts: James Sena 19
Rebs: Marvin Hayes 11
Asts: Mark Cagoco 7
Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
Attendance: 15,318
September 26
4:00 p.m.
San Beda Red Lions  60–62  JRU Heavy Bombers
Scoring by quarter: 14-19, 14-11, 16-15, 16-17
Pts: Pong Escobal 16
Rebs: Sam Ekwe 13
Asts: Borgie Hermida 4		 Pts: Jayson Nocom 16
Rebs: James Sena 9
Asts: James Sena 5
Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
Attendance: 19,292
September 29
3:00 p.m.
San Beda Red Lions  85–69  JRU Heavy Bombers
Scoring by quarter: 24-12, 14-17, 26-19, 21-21
Pts: Sam Ekwe 20
Rebs: Sam Ekwe 19
Asts: Pong Escobal 9		 Pts: James Sena 24
Rebs: Nchotu Njei 7
Asts: JR Bulangis 6
San Beda wins series, 2–1
Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
Attendance: 20,360

Controversies

Wrong uniform

San Beda's Sam Ekwe wore a different uniform from his teammates on San Beda's 71-54 victory against CSB; he instead wore the 2007 uniform. As a result, CSB filed a protest that could overturn San Beda's victory.[10]

The Management Committee forfeited San Beda's win against CSB on a decision released on July 23.[11]

Awards

The season's awardees were awarded at halftime of the first game of the finals series. They are:[12]

Juniors' tournament

Games began on June 30 at the Cuneta Astrodome at Pasay.

Elimination round
SSC-R's sweep
OpponentScore
UPHD88-61
MHSS119-25
JRU89-65
San Beda77-73*
Letran79-70
LSGH71-65
MHSS101-30
UPHD99-61
Letran88-80
LSGH83-65
San Beda60-43
JRU97-88*
*Overtime
Offense87.58
Defense60.50
Margin+27.08

Keith Agovida of JRU broke NCAA scoring record held by Letran Squire Marlon Bola Bola's 70 points as he scored 82 points in JRU's 127-49 rout of Malayan Science.[20]

It was the first time in NCAA history that the San Beda Red Cubs failed to enter the Final Four round and was also the first time that a team had swept the eliminations since 2000. The San Sebastian Staglets thereafter advanced to the finals automatically.

Rivalry games
July 14
San Beda Red Cubs  73–77 (OT)  San Sebastian Staglets
September 5
Letran Squires  65–61  San Beda Red Cubs

Bracket
  Stepladder round 1
One-game playoff		 Stepladder semifinals 2nd round
Knockout game		 Finals
Best-of-three series
                               
    1  San Sebastian 83 77
    2  Letran 94     2  Letran 81 70
  3  JRU 95*     3  JRU 93  
  4  LSGH 89  

Stepladder semifinals

First round
September 15
JRU Light Bombers  95–89 (OT)  La Salle Greenies

Second round
September 17
Letran Squires  94–93  JRU Light Bombers

Finals
September 24
San Sebastian Staglets  83–81  Letran Squires
Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
September 26
San Sebastian Staglets  77–70  Letran Squires
San Sebastian wins series, 2–0
Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
  • Finals Most Valuable Player: Arvie Bringas (San Sebastian)

Awards[12]

Broadcast notes

ABS-CBN's UHF channel Studio 23 is the sole coverer of the games, covering all men's games since opening day held on a Wednesday and Friday (except for the last two games on opening day). 101.9 For Life!, ABS-CBN's FM radio station, delivers updates on game dates.

NCAA College Hoops airs every Monday afternoons as a supplement for the main NCAA coverage. It is hosted by Andrei Felix and San Beda courtside reporter Pia Boren.

Playoff broadcasters are:

GamePlay-by-playAnalystCourtside reporters
JRU-San Sebastian playoffAndrei FelixAllan GregorioCassie Umali and Carla Rivera
Letran-Mapua playoffBill VelascoButch ManiegoMeg Punzalan and Jean King
Fourth-seed gameAndrei FelixButch ManiegoCarla Rivera and Jean King
Second-seed gameBill VelascoAllan GregorioMeg Punzalan and Cassie Umali
San Beda-Mapua semifinal game 1Bill VelascoAllan GregorioPia Boren and Jean King
JRU-Letran semifinalAndrei FelixButch ManiegoCassie Umali and Meg Punzalan
San Beda-Mapua semifinal game 2Bill VelascoAllan GregorioPia Boren and Jean King
Juniors' Finals Game 1Andrei FelixJude RoqueCarla Rivera and Meg Punzalan
Seniors' Finals Game 1Bill VelascoButch ManiegoPia Boren and Cassie Umali
Juniors' Finals Game 2Andrei FelixJude RoqueCarla Rivera and Meg Punzalan
Seniors' Finals Game 2Bill VelascoAllan GregorioPia Boren and Cassie Umali
Seniors' Finals Game 3Bill VelascoAllan GregorioPia Boren and Cassie Umali

Champion rosters
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See also

References
  1. Tupas, Cedelf (2008-06-11). "NCAA learns its lessons -- no more gray areas". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  2. JP, Abcede (2008-06-24). "NCAA adopts 'challenge' rule". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved 2008-06-28.
  3. "Abanilla St. Benilde's new coach". The Daily Tribune. 2008-01-21.
  4. Abcede, JP (2008-09-04). "Red Lions in Final 4". Manila Bulletin.
  5. Tupas, Cedelf (2008-09-04). "NCAA: Fiba rule to decide 'Final 5'". Manila Bulletin.
  6. "San Beda beats Letran at the buzzer, takes NCAA no.1 seed". GMA News and Public Affairs. 2008-09-10.
  7. "Mapua nips San Beda in semis match, extends NCAA season". GMA News and Public Affairs. 2008-09-19.
  8. "San Beda, Jose Rizal U battle for NCAA crown". GMA News and Public Affairs. 2008-09-22.
  9. "Jose Rizal U 5 bomb Letran, earn first NCAA finals ticket". GMA News and Public Affairs. 2008-09-19.
  10. "Lions face forfeiture over uniform protest". Philippine Daily Inquirer. 2008-07-20. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
  11. "NCAA Season 84: July 18, 2008 Game officially forfeited". inboundpass.com. 2008-07-23. Retrieved 2008-07-23. External link in |work= (help)
  12. "San Beda's Ekwe cops 2nd NCAA MVP". GMA News and Public Affairs. 2008-09-21. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
  13. "Jazul NCAA's top player of the week". The Philippine Star. ABS-CBNNews.com. 2008-07-07. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  14. Tupas, Cedelf P. (2008-07-12). "Kelvin named week's best NCAA player". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 2008-07-14. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
  15. "NCAA: San Beda's Escobal voted as Player of the Week". GMANews.tv. 2008-07-19. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
  16. "Bombers' big man Sena is NCAA player of the week". GMANews.tv. 2008-07-26. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
  17. "Ekwe is NCAA press corps' player of the week". GMANews.tv. 2008-08-02. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  18. "Defensive-minded Ballesteros is NCAA's top player". GMANews.tv. 2008-08-09. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  19. "JRU's Sena bags second NCAA Player of the Week honors". GMANews.tv. 2008-08-16. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  20. "NCAA player scores 82, sets new RP basketball scoring record". ABS-CBN News. 2008-09-05. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
Preceded by
Season 83 (2007)		 NCAA basketball seasons
Season 84 (2008)		 Succeeded by
Season 85 (2009)
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