| UNTV Cup Season 1 | |
| Year: | 2013 |
| Other Titles: | 2013 UNTV Cup Season |
| Country: | Philippines |
| Dates: | July 29 – November 5, 2013 |
| Num Teams: | 7 |
| Winners: | Judiciary Cagers |
| Count: | 1 |
| Second: | PNP Hinirangs |
| Third: | AFP Cavaliers |
| Fourth: | PhilHealth Advocates |
| Matches: | 28 |
| Award Title: | Season MVP |
| Award: | Ollan Omiping (PNP) |
| Next Season: | Season 2 |
The UNTV Cup Season 1 was the 2013 season of the public service-based basketball league, the UNTV Cup based in the Philippines. It was opened on July 29, 2013 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Cubao, Quezon City. Its final games were held on November 5, 2013 at the same venue.[1]
UNTV Cup started its first season with a ceremonial toss on July 29, 2013 and it was expected to end in January 2014 but it ended early on November 5 of the same year. The project is aimed to promote unity, camaraderie and physical fitness among government officials in the country.
The following are the teams of public officials:[2]
| Government agency | Moniker | Colours | Head Coach | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armed Forces of the Philippines | AFP Cavaliers | align=center; | Col. Alfredo Cayco | ||
| Congress of the Philippines / Local Government Units | Congress-LGU Legislators | align=center; | Gerry Esplana | ||
| Department of Justice | DOJ Hunters | align=center; | Isagani Obispo and Fernando Paulo | ||
| Supreme Court of the Philippines | Judiciary Cagers | align=center; | Dennis Balason | ||
| Metropolitan Manila Development Authority | MMDA Equalizers | align=center; | Manuel Aglibut | ||
| Philippine Health Insurance Corporation | PhilHealth Advocates | align=center; | Delio Aseron II | ||
| Philippine National Police | PNP Hinirangs | align=center; | Raffy Gonzales |
Actors who are included in the teams are:
One public official who was invited to join is boxing legend and Sarangani congressman Manny Pacquiao[3] to play for Congress/LGU Legislators team.
The opening day and the Game 2 of the Finals were held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. The rest of the elimination round games were held at Ynares Sports Arena, Pasig City Sports Center, the Philippine Navy Gym, and Treston International College Gym. The other playoff games were held at the Treston International College Gym in Taguig City.
| Arena | Location | Tournament | Capacity | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pasig City Sports Center | Pasig City | 3,000 | |||
| Philippine Navy Gym | Taguig City | ||||
| Smart Araneta Coliseum | Quezon City | 14,429 | |||
| Treston International College Gym | Taguig City | ||||
| Ynares Sports Arena | Pasig City | 3,000 | |||
The elimination round began on July 29, 2013 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. The schedule followed a single round robin format in which all teams faced each other once, for a total of 6 games per team.After the elimination round, the bottom team is eliminated. The top 2 teams get outright semifinals spots, while the remaining 4 teams battle it out on the quarterfinals, with #3 team facing #6, and #4 seed playing against #5.
| Date | Game No. | Competing Teams | Scores | Best Player(s) | Venue | Links | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 29, 2013 | 1 | AFP def. DOJ | 117–71 | Jerick Galiza | Smart Araneta Coliseum, Cubao, Quezon City | Watch | |
| August 4, 2013 | 2 | PhilHealth def. DOJ | 138–43 | N/A | Ynares Sports Arena, Shaw Boulevard, Pasig | Watch | |
| August 4, 2013 | 3 | PNP def. MMDA | 117–66 | N/A | Ynares Sports Arena, Shaw Boulevard, Pasig | Watch | |
| August 4, 2013 | 4 | Congress-LGU def. Judiciary | 99–96 | N/A | Ynares Sports Arena, Shaw Boulevard, Pasig | Watch | |
| August 11, 2013 | 5 [4] | PhilHealth def. Congress-LGU | 98–73 | Kenneth Emata | Ynares Sports Arena, Shaw Boulevard, Pasig | Watch | |
| August 11, 2013 | 6 | Judiciary def. DOJ | 130–60 | Ariel Capus | Ynares Sports Arena, Shaw Boulevard, Pasig | Watch | |
| August 11, 2013 | 7 | PNP def. AFP | 72–69 | PO2 Ollan Omiping | Ynares Sports Arena, Shaw Boulevard, Pasig | Watch | |
| August 18, 2013 | 8 [5] [6] | PNP def. PhilHealth | 100–73 | PO2 Ollan Omiping | Pasig City Sports Center, Caruncho Avenue, Pasig | Watch | |
| August 18, 2013 | 9 | MMDA def. Congress-LGU | 97–78 | Peter John Villanueva | Pasig City Sports Center, Caruncho Avenue, Pasig | Watch | |
| August 18, 2013 | 10 | Judiciary def. AFP | 100–97 (OT) | Don Camaso | Pasig City Sports Center, Caruncho Avenue, Pasig | Watch | |
| August 25, 2013 | 11 | MMDA def. DOJ | 108–72 | Gilbert Sosa | Ynares Sports Arena, Shaw Boulevard, Pasig | Watch | |
| August 25, 2013 | 12 [7] | Judiciary def. PhilHealth | 103–85 | Julius Caesar Rabino | Ynares Sports Arena, Shaw Boulevard, Pasig | Watch | |
| August 25, 2013 | 13 | AFP def. Congress-LGU | 110–83 | Winston Sergio | Ynares Sports Arena, Shaw Boulevard, Pasig | Watch | |
| September 1, 2013 | 14 [8] | Congress-LGU def. DOJ | 98–65 | Gerry Esplana | Pasig City Sports Center, Caruncho Avenue, Pasig | Watch | |
| September 1, 2013 | 15 | AFP def. MMDA | 114–86 | Ian Steve San Esteban Wilfredo Casulla Jr. | Pasig City Sports Center, Caruncho Avenue, Pasig | ||
| September 1, 2013 | 16 [9] | PNP def. Judiciary | 92–89 (OT) | PO2 Ollan Omiping | Pasig City Sports Center, Caruncho Avenue, Pasig | Watch | |
| September 8, 2013 | 17 | Judiciary def. MMDA | 115–61 | Don Camaso | Philippine Navy Gym, Jurado Hall, Philippine Marine Corps, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City | Watch | |
| September 8, 2013 | 18 | PNP def. DOJ | 135–51 | Reynaldo Agoncillo II | Philippine Navy Gym, Jurado Hall, Philippine Marine Corps, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City | Watch | |
| September 8, 2013 | 19 | AFP def. PhilHealth | 96–74 | Roger Araneta | Philippine Navy Gym, Jurado Hall, Philippine Marine Corps, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City | Watch | |
| September 15, 2013 | 20 [10] | PhilHealth def. MMDA | 77–71 | Alex Noriega | Treston International College Gym, Fort Bonifacio (now located in Bonifacio Global City), Taguig City | Watch | |
| September 15, 2013 | 21 | PNP def. Congress-LGU | 95–84 | Ronaldo Abaya | Treston International College Gym, Fort Bonifacio (now located in Bonifacio Global City), Taguig City |
There are six teams that qualified for the playoffs. The top two teams, (#1) PNP Hinirangs and (#2) Judiciary Cagers, already advance to the semifinals, holding also the twice-to-beat advantage. The remaining four teams will fight for the final two semifinal slots. (#3) AFP Cavaliers and (#4) PhilHealth Advocates will have a twice-to-beat advantage on the quarterfinals against (#6) Congress-LGU Legislators and (#5) MMDA Equalizers, respectively.
The #4 team PhilHealth Advocates have a twice-to-beat advantage against #5 ranked MMDA Equalizers, while #6 seed Congress-LGU Legislators needs to win two games versus #3 squad AFP Cavaliers.
Both higher seeded teams won their respective series. PhilHealth thump MMDA in one game, 87–65, while AFP beat Congress-LGU, 92–73, to advance to the semifinals. The Advocates face top team PNP Hinirangs, and the Cavaliers sets a date with #2 seed Judiciary Cagers.[11]
The PNP Hinirangs and Judiciary Cagers have a twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinals after being the top 2 teams at the end of the elimination round. Quarterfinals winners AFP Cavaliers and PhilHealth Advocates would need to win twice to enter the finals.
PNP and Judiciary finished the series early by beating NHA and AFP, respectively, in one game.
The battle for third place was between #3 seed AFP Cavaliers and #4 seed PhilHealth Advocates, after they lost their semifinals series on separate opponents with a twice-to-beat disadvantage. AFP won the game, 96–84, and gets ₱250,000 for their chosen beneficiary as third placer. Despite the loss, PhilHealth received ₱150,000 for charity as fourth placer.
Before the much-awaited championship match between PNP Hinirangs and Judiciary Cagers, an exhibition game that served as the curtain raiser was held, with two squads composed of former professional basketball legends and Kuya Daniel Razon's team.[12] [1]
The Professional Basketball Legends team is composed of former professional basketball players listed below. They wore blue jerseys.
Head Coach: Jerry Codiñera
The Team All Stars is composed of celebrities and UNTV Cup players listed below. They wore white jerseys.
Head Coach: Kenneth Duremdes
The best-of-three finals series was held on October 27 and November 5, 2013, at the Treston International College Gym, Fort Bonifacio (now located in Bonifacio Global City), Taguig City and Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City, respectively. The championship is between the undefeated #1 team PNP Hinirangs and second seed Judiciary Cagers. Both teams won their separate semis matchups with the twice-to-beat advantage. Judiciary won the finals series against PNP, 2–0, to get the inaugural UNTV Cup title and donate ₱1 million to their chosen beneficiary. PNP received ₱500,000 for their charity as runner-up.
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Every team represents their choice of charity institution. The champion will win one million pesos and first runner-up team will win five hundred thousand pesos to be given to the charity chosen by the winning teams.[13] Total winning prize is in Philippine peso[14] courtesy of Kuya Daniel Razon, the CEO and chairman of Breakthrough and Milestones Production International (BMPI).[15] But winners received a total cash prize of in all.[1]
| Place | Team | Beneficiaries | Cash Prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champion | Judiciary Cagers | Victims of calamities in Central Visayas and war in Southern Philippines [16] | ||
| Runner-up | PNP Hinirangs | Masonic Charity for Crippled Children | ||
| 3rd | AFP Cavaliers | AFP-Educational Benefit Assistance Office | ||
| 4th | PhilHealth Advocates | Cancer Warriors Foundation | ||
| 5th | MMDA Equalizers | |||
| 6th | Congress-LGU Legislators | |||
| 7th | DOJ Hunters |
The following players were named the Players of the Week.
| Week | Player of the Week | Team | class=unsortable | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | (1/1) | (1/1) | ||
| – | (1/1) | (1/1) | ||
| – | (1/1) | (1/1) | ||
| – | (1/1) | (1/1) | ||
| – | (1/1) | (1/1) | ||
| – | (1/1) | (1/1) | ||
| – | (1/1) | (1/1) | ||
| – | (1/1) | (1/1) |
| width=10px bgcolor="gold" | Champion | ||
| width=10px bgcolor="silver" | Runner-up | ||
| width=10px bgcolor="#ccffcc" | Semifinalist | ||
| width=10px bgcolor="#ccccff" | Quarterfinalist | ||
| width=10px bgcolor="#fa8072" | Elimination Round |
| Team | GP | W | L | PCT | Best Finish | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 7 | 2 | Champion | |||
| 9 | 7 | 2 | Runner-up | |||
| 9 | 6 | 3 | Third Place | |||
| 9 | 4 | 5 | Fourth Place | |||
| 7 | 2 | 5 | Quarterfinalist | |||
| 7 | 2 | 5 | Quarterfinalist | |||
| 6 | 0 | 6 | Elimination Round |
| Team | GP | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PNP Hinirangs | 6 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Judiciary Cagers | 6 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 6 | 4 | 2 | |||
| 6 | 3 | 3 | |||
| 6 | 2 | 4 | |||
| 6 | 2 | 4 | |||
| 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Team | GP | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judiciary Cagers | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 1 | |||
| PNP Hinirangs | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 1 | 0 | 1 |
The Heart of a Champion segment features UNTV Cup players and their lives off the court as public servants.
The following segment features the top plays of the week and elimination round.
UNTV Cup players, analysts, and fans share their thoughts in interviews.