UAAP basketball championships

The UAAP basketball championships are basketball tournaments held from September to December by the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, and the men's tournament is the flagship tournament of the UAAP. Basketball is a mandatory sport for all schools. All eight universities participate in the men's, women's, and high school tournaments.

History

The tournament is divided into two divisions, the collegiate division, which is further subdivided into the men's and the women's tournament, and the high school, which is subdivided into boys' and girls' tournaments.
The UAAP basketball sport has a rich history of schools establishing dynasties. UE won a record seven consecutive basketball titles from 1965 to 1971 albeit the third one was a shared championship with UST. Ateneo had a 5-year winning streak from 2008 to 2012. Two other schools ended their championship streak at four. UST won it from 1993 to 1996 and La Salle from 1998 to 2001.
The championship in basketball, with its major overall points contribution to the annual UAAP general championship tallies, is one of the most coveted titles. The boys' tournament was called the "juniors' tournament" prior to 2019. The tournament was held concurrently with the seniors' tournaments in the first semester of the academic year, until 2014, when it was moved to the second semester.

Tournament format

Pre-first expansion format

Before the UAAP's first expansion, teams would play a single round robin where the team with the best record would be crowned champions. If two or more teams are tied, they would be declared co-champions. No quotient system or knockout games were used to break ties.

First expansion format

Teams play a double round robin in a split season format. The winner of the first round play the winner of the second round in a 1-game championship to determine the champion. Ties for round winners are broken by knockout games.
If a team wins both rounds, it is automatically declared the champion, regardless if it was a sweep or not. If a team fails to win either rounds, but ends up with a better over-all record than either of the round winners, that team will challenge the second round winner for a championship slot against the first round winner.

Second and third expansion format

Teams play a double round robin. The top two teams after the double round robin play in the Finals with the No. 1 seed holding a one-win advantage in a best-of-three series. If a team sweeps the double round robin, they are automatically declared champions.

Final four format

The tournament currently uses the Final Four format, first implemented in 1993. The Tournament begins with a double round-robin elimination, where a team plays the other teams twice to determine which teams will qualify for the semi-finals. The top four finishers enter the Final Four phase.

Sweeper's advantage

Previously, if a team sweeps the double round robin, they are automatically declared champions. However, after UST's sweep in 1993, it was modified so that the sweeping team would automatically qualify for the best-of-three Finals. After UE swept their way to the Finals in 2007, it was again modified so that the sweeping team would now automatically qualify for a best-of-five Finals, holding a 1–0 game advantage.

Regular final four

If no team sweeps the double round eliminations, the four top teams qualify for the regular postseason.
The regular post-season is divided into the semi-finals and the Finals. In the semi-Finals, the two top seeds have a twice-to-beat advantage against the lower seeds.
The surviving teams face off in a best-of-three finals, where the team which notches two wins first wins the championship.

Step ladder final four

From 2008 to 2015, if a team wins all of the games in the elimination round, the step ladder format is used, where the unbeaten team has a bye up to the best-of-5 finals holding a 1–0 game advantage. The third and fourth seed will figure in a knockout game; the winner of that game will face the second seed with a twice-to-win disadvantage. The surviving team meets the first seed at the Finals. The format was modified in 2016, where the unbeaten team proceeds to the best-of-3 finals without any playoff advantage, but the knockout games in all of the three semifinal seeds remain in place.

List of basketball champions

Early years

The foundation of the UAAP by FEU, NU, UP and UST in 1938.

First expansion

Adamson University, Manila Central University, University of Manila and University of the East were admitted in 1952 on a two-year probationary membership status. Only UE and MCU retained as permanent member. However, MCU pulled-out in 1962. Adamson was readmitted into the association in 1970.

Season	Year	Men's	Women's	Juniors'
15	1952–53
16	1953–54
17	1954–55
18	1955–56
19	1956–57
20	1957–58
21	1958–59
22	1959–60
23	1960–61
24	1961–62
25	1962–63
26	1963–64
27	1964–65
28	1965–66
29	1966–67
30	1967–68
31	1968–69
32	1969–70
33	1970–71
34	1971–72
35	1972–73
36	1973–74
37	1974–75
38	1975–76
39	1976–77
40	1977–78

Second expansion

Ateneo was accepted as a member in 1978.

Season	Year	Men's	Women's	Juniors'
41	1978–79
42	1979–80
43	1980–81
44	1981–82
45	1982–83
46	1983–84
47	1984–85
48	1985–86

Third expansion

La Salle was accepted as a member in 1986.

Season	Year	Men's	Women's	Juniors'
49	1986–87
50	1987–88
51	1988–89
52	1989–90
53	1990–91
54	1991–92
55	1992–93

Final Four era

Introduction of the Final Four format.

Season	Year	Men's	Women's	Juniors'
56	1993–94
57	1994–95
58	1995–96
59	1996–97
60	1997–98
61	1998–99
62	1999–00
63	2000–01
64	2001–02
65	2002–03
66	2003–04
67	2004–05
68	2005–06
69	2006–07
70	2007–08
71	2008–09
72	2009–10
73	2010–11
74	2011–12
75	2012–13
76	2013–14
77	2014–15
78	2015–16
79	2016–17
80	2017–18
81	2018–19

Inclusivity era

In line with the association's commitment for inclusiveness, the tournament for girls' division was introduced in 2019, and a junior high school tournament was introduced in 2023. The tournament was renamed as the 16U boys' division in 2025, while the existing high school tournaments were renamed as 19U.
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