| NCAA Season 94 | |
| Host: | University of Perpetual Help System DALTA |
| Higherseed: | |
| Higherseed Game1: | 73 |
| Higherseed Game2: | 71 |
| Higherseed Series: | 2 |
| Lowerseed Game1: | 60 |
| Lowerseed Game2: | 56 |
| Lowerseed Series: | 0 |
| Duration: | November 6–12, 2018 |
| Arena: | Mall of Asia Arena |
| Mvp: | Javee Mocon |
| Coach: | Boyet Fernandez (4th title) |
| Semis: | |
| Network: | ABS-CBN Sports and Action (Channel 23 & ABS-CBN S+A HD Channel 166) Liga (Channel 86 & Liga HD Channel 186) |
| Jhigherseed Game1: | 74 |
| Jhigherseed Game2: | 76 |
| Jhigherseed Game3: | 74 |
| Jhigherseed Series: | 1 |
| Jlowerseed: | |
| Jlowerseed Game1: | 69 |
| Jlowerseed Game2: | 85 |
| Jlowerseed Game3: | 77 |
| Jlowerseed Series: | 2 |
| Jduration: | November 6–15, 2018 |
| Jarena: | Mall of Asia Arena |
| Jmvp: | Paolo Hernandez |
| Jcoach: | Randy Alcantara (2nd title) |
| Jsemis: | |
| Prevlink: | NCAA Season 93 basketball tournaments |
| Prev: | 93 |
| Seasonlink: | NCAA Season 94 |
| Year: | 2018 |
| Nextlink: | NCAA Season 95 basketball tournaments |
| Next: | 95 |
The NCAA Season 94 basketball tournaments are the 94th basketball season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) (NCAA). The University of Perpetual Help System DALTA are the season hosts. Separate men's and juniors' tournaments are held for male college and high school students, respectively.
| Arellano Braves | Arellano University (AU) | Tylon Darjuan | |
| Letran Squires | Colegio de San Juan de Letran (CSJL) | Raymund Valenzona | |
| EAC-IAC Brigadiers | Immaculate Concepcion Academy (IAC) | Marvin Bienvenida | |
| JRU Light Bombers | José Rizal University (JRU) | Azlie Guro | |
| La Salle Green Hills Greenies | La Salle Green Hills (LSGH) | Vic Lazaro | |
| Lyceum Junior Pirates | Lyceum of the Philippines University – Cavite (LPU-C) | LA Mumar | |
| Mapúa Red Robins | Malayan High School of Science (MHSS) | Randy Alcantara | |
| San Beda Red Cubs | San Beda University Rizal (SBUR) | JB Sison | |
| San Sebastian Staglets | San Sebastian College – Recoletos (SSC-R) | Mel Banua | |
| Perpetual Junior Altas | University of Perpetual Help System DALTA (UPHSD) | Myk Saguiguit |
| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date | Replaced by | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perpetual Altas | Nosa Omorogbe | On indefinite leave | September 2017[1] | January 17, 2018[2] | ||
| Arellano Chiefs | Jerry Codiñera[3] | Resignation | September 20, 2018 | Junjie Ablan | September 20, 2018 |
Like most Metro Manila-centric leagues, most games are held in arenas rented by the league, with games serving as neutral venues. In an innovation dubbed as "NCAA on Tour", starting in the previous season, the NCAA will continue holding Thursday games hosted at the campus of one of the teams that are playing on that day.[4]
| Arena | City | |
|---|---|---|
| Pasay | ||
| San Juan |
Each NCAA team can have up to 15 players on their roster. At least two is allowed to be a foreigner, but only one is allowed to be on court. A team is allowed to have three additional players in the reserve list. The opening day rosters were released on July 1.[5]
The following are the imports, or non-Filipinos included in the opening day rosters:[6]
| Team | Import | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elie Ongolo Ongolo |  | ||
| Clement Leutcheu | | ||
| Hamadou Laminou | | ||
| Mike Harry Nzeusseu | | ||
| Donald Tankoua | | ||
| Eugene Toba |  | ||
| Prince Eze | |
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.
San Beda and Lyceum have the twice-to-beat advantage; they only need to win once, while their opponents twice, to advance to the finals. San Beda is in its 13th consecutive playoffs appearance (skipping the semifinals in 2010 after winning all elimination round games), Lyceum is in its first semifinals appearance (having advanced to the Finals outright last year). Letran is returning to the semifinals after a 2-year absence, while Perpetual returns after its last appearance in 2016.
San Beda has the twice-to-beat advantage. San Beda has won all but one of its semifinals match-ups with Perpetual since the Final Four era, with Perpetual winning in 2004, but losing in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016.
Prior to the game, Perpetual's wins, and its playoffs appearance, were in danger of being forfeited as several of its players played in a ligang labas game while serving residency. The league sternly reprimanded the team as it found out that the players represented a school-based team, which is allowed by the league rules.[7] San Beda pulled away late in the third quarter with four three-pointers by AC Soberano transformed a 1-point Altas lead to an 11-point lead for the Red Lions early in the fourth quarter. The Red Lions qualified to their 13th consecutive NCAA Finals.[8]
Lyceum has the twice-to-beat advantage. This is the first match-up between Lyceum and Letran in the playoffs.Lyceum pulled away in the middle of the third quarter after Letran's JP Calvo injured his right ankle after contesting a loose ball with Mike Nzeusseu. Lyceum had a 15–0 run after Calvo's injury and led by as much 37 points.[9]
This will be the second consecutive meeting between San Beda and Lyceum in the Finals. The Red Lions defeated the Pirates in 2017, winning all 2 games in the championship series.
Prior to Game 1, Lyceum's CJ Perez, last year's Most Valuable Player, was suspended for a game after he applied to the 2018 PBA draft without notifying the Management Committee.[11] Perez is the first person to be suspended after San Beda's Yousif Aljamal in 2007, although the league rescinded the suspension after San Beda sued in court, and threatened to leave the NCAA.[12]
San Beda won Game 1 handily by 13 points. The Red Lions led by 31–11 in the first half and Lyceum only got to reduce the deficit by 10 points late in the fourth quarter.[13]
After the game, Lyceum coach Topex Robinson criticized the league on Perez's suspension. Benilde coaches Ty Tang and Charles Tiu also criticized the league on social media. The Management Committee decided to defer any punishment to the coaches until the Finals are over.[14]
San Beda defeated a full-strength Lyceum squad in Game 2. San Beda went on a 22–12 scoring run on top of a five-point lead before the fourth period to seal their 11th title in 13 seasons, and 22nd overall.
San Beda qualifies to the 2018 PCCL National Collegiate Championship Final Four. Lyceum may participate in the NCR qualifiers as of one of the two NCAA teams.
The 2018 NCAA All-Star Game is on August 31 at the Filoil Flying V Centre. The actual game was preceded by the side events patterned from the NBA All-Star Weekend.[15] [16]
| Team Heroes | Team Saints | |
|---|---|---|
| Ian Alban | Josh Barnes | |
| Michael Canete | JJ Domingo | |
| Leo dela Cruz | Luigi Velasco | |
| Juju Bautista | JP Calvo | |
| Jeric Diego | Christian Fajarito | |
| Jerome Garcia | Bong Quinto | |
| Aaron Bordon | Edgar Charcos | |
| RJ David | AJ Coronel | |
| Jed Mendoza | Prince Eze | |
| JC Marcelino | Robert Bolick | |
| JV Marcelino | JV Mocon | |
| Toci Tangsingco | Radge Tongco | |
| Warren Bonifacio | Allyn Bulanadi | |
| Cedric Pelayo | Michael Calisaan | |
| Laurenz Victoria | Alvin Capobres |
| Participant | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| Clint Doliguez | ||
| Arjan dela Cruz | ||
| Bonbon Batiller | ||
| Maui Sera Josef | ||
| Eric Jabel | ||
| Jasper Cuevas | ||
| Jimboy Pasturan | ||
| CJ Cadua | ||
| Mark Mallari | ||
| Carl Lumbao |
| Participant | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| AC Soberano | ||
| Allyn Bulanadi | ||
| Jerome Garcia | ||
| Toci Tansingco | ||
| Exe Biteng | ||
| Rence Alcoriza | ||
| MJ Dela Virgen | ||
| Koy Galvelo | ||
| Carlo Young | ||
| Luke Sese |
| Participant | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| Eugene Toba | ||
| Justin Gutang | ||
| Juju Bautista | ||
| Enoch Valdez | ||
| Ken Villapando | ||
| Arvin Gamboa | ||
| Renato Ular | ||
| William de Leon | ||
| Lean Martel |
| Team | Alumnus player | Men's player | Juniors' player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jio Jalalon | Kraniel Villoria | Marlon Espiritu | ||
| Rey Nambatac | Christian Fajarito* | Stacey Tibayan | ||
| RJ Deles | Carlo Young** | Sebastian Locsin*** | ||
| Bong Melacoton | Sean Neri**** | CJ Boado | ||
| Philip Paniamogan | Agem Miranda | John Amores | ||
| Kevin Lacap | Carl Lumbao****** | John Barba | ||
| Yong Garcia | Exi Biteng | Clint Escamis | ||
| Gerald Dizon | Jielo Razon | Yukihiro Kawamura | ||
| Rome dela Rosa | Calvin Oftana | Penny Estacio | ||
| Jepoy Quiamco | Michael Are | Milo Janao |
**Replaced Jimboy Pasturan ******Replaced Kim Cinco
***Replaced Francis Lopez *******Replaced Jake Pascual
****Replaced Maui Cruz ********Replaced Ian Valdez
The end-of-season awards were handed out before Game 2 of the men's finals, at the Mall of Asia Arena.[18]
The NCAA Press Corps awards a player of the week sponsored by Chooks-to-Go.
| July 13[19] | |||
| July 20[20] | JP Calvo | ||
| July 27[21] | CJ Perez | ||
| August 3[22] | JP Maguliano | ||
| August 10[23] | Prince Eze | ||
| August 17[24] | MJ Ayaay | ||
| August 24[25] | Robert Bolick Bong Quinto | ||
| September 1[26] | Maui Sera Josef | ||
| September 8[27] | Jerrick Balanza | ||
| September 15[28] | Donald Tankoua | ||
| September 22[29] | Prince Eze | ||
| September 29[30] | Koy Gavelo | ||
| October 6[31] | Larry Muyang | ||
| October 13[32] | Javee Mocon | ||
| October 20[33] | James Canlas | ||
| October 23[34] | Michael Calisaan |
| Statistic | Player | Team | Total | Opponent | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 50 | August 24, 2018 | ||||
| Rebounds | Prince Eze | 25 | August 28, 2018 | |||
| Assists | 12 | September 6, 2018 September 28, 2018 | ||||
| Steals | 6 | July 13, 2018 | ||||
| Blocks | Prince Eze | 9 | July 28, 2018 |
| Statistic | Player | Team | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 18.7 | |||
| Rebounds | Prince Eze | 16.5 | ||
| Assists | 6.5 | |||
| Steals | 3.3 | |||
| Blocks | Prince Eze | 3.3 |
| Statistic | Team | Total | Opponent | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 113 | September 27, 2018 | |||
| Rebounds | 67 | August 21, 2018 | |||
| Assists | 27 | September 28, 2018 September 27, 2018 | |||
| Steals | 17 | August 7, 2018 | |||
| Blocks | 14 | July 13, 2018 |
| Statistic | Team | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 86.6 | ||
| Rebounds | 32.8 | ||
| Assists | 20.2 | ||
| Steals | 10.2 | ||
| Blocks | 5.2 |
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.
LSGH and Malayan have the twice-to-beat advantage; they only need to win once, while their opponents twice, to advance to the finals. LSGH is on its second consecutive semifinals appearance, Malayan is in its fourth and San Beda is in its eighth consecutive semifinals appearance. JRU returns to the semifinals after a 1-year absence.
This is the first playoffs match-up between LSGH and JRU since the 2008 first round of the stepladder semifinals in which JRU won in overtime.
This is the first playoffs match-up between Malayan and San Beda since the 2016 Finals in which Malayan won its first championship under the Malayan name, in three games.
This is the second consecutive meeting between LSGH and Malayan in the Finals. In 2017, LSGH won its first-ever NCAA championship after defeating the erstwhile defending champions Malayan.
The end-of-season awards were handed out after Game 2 of the juniors' finals at the Mall of Asia Arena.[18]