The NCAA returns with its Season 101 men’s basketball tournament, and this time it is going to be more enjoyable. Having a new form of competition, new competitions, and keen competitions ahead, fans can look forward to a season of college basketball action full of excitement as schools struggle to win pride and glory on the court.
The format introduced this year brings another competitive aspect to each game, and every game in the elimination round to the playoffs will have more meaning. Those looking to get even more excitement from the tournament are already checking out GG BET Philippines, where the platform offers a unique way to stay up-to-date on basketball events, place bets, and participate in community discussions. As the energy builds up with both the NCAA and fan communities, Season 101 is currently becoming one of the most memorable tournaments in recent years.
Some Added Excitement in a New Format
For Season 101, the NCAA has restructured the eliminations. The 10 schools involved were not organized in a straight round-robin format but were split into a few groups. The teams will play two matches within their own group and one with the teams out of the group to provide an equal number of matches in the different groups.
The two highest ranked teams in each group at the end of the elimination round will have a twice to beat advantage in the quarterfinals. Directly advancing as well will be the No. 3 seeded team, while the No. 4 and No. 5 seeded teams will compete through play-ins to earn their championship slots. This is to keep all games very competitive and ensure that every single matchup matters.
Latest Team Rankings
Group A includes Arellano, Lyceum, Mapua, Perpetual and San Sebastian – all with a 0-0 record.
Group B consists of EAC, JRU, Letran, San Beda, and St. Benilde who also start the tournament with a 0-0 draw.
Everything begins at 0-0, although history indicates that the usual in the tour like San Beda and Letran will be part of the first teams to be followed, and dark horses like Lyceum and Mapua will want to make a statement during the first season.
First Round Schedule
Athlete competitions are coming up, with the preliminary round events slated to happen back-to-back across three arenas: the Araneta Coliseum, FilOil EcoOil Centre, and Mall of Asia Arena.
The season commences on October 1 at the Araneta Coliseum with the opening ceremonies at noon, followed by the match between Mapua and Lyceum at 2:30 p.m. and St. Benilde and JRU at 5:00 p.m. The next day, October 3, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre, the event will kick off with Perpetual and San Sebastian battling at noon, then Letran and JRU at 2:30 p.m. The rest of the days are held at the same location: Arellano plays Mapua and EAC plays St. Benilde on October 4 and October 5 plays are between Lyceum and Perpetual and San Beda vs. Letran. San Sebastian will face Arellano on October 7 then JRU will face EAC on October 8 and Mapua will play Perpetual and St. Benilde will play Letran. Then it will switch to the Mall of Asia arena on October 10 when Lyceum takes on San Sebastian and JRU takes on San Beda. The following day, they compete at MOA again, with Letran taking on EAC and Perpetual taking on Arellano.
Games will be resumed in the FilOil EcoOil Centre on October 12, the FilOil EcoOil Centre against St. Benilde, and October 14, the FilOil EcoOil Centre against Lyceum, and Perpetual against San Beda. On October 17, Arellano will play EAC and San Beda will play Mapua before October 18 EAC vs. JRU and Letran vs. Lyceum. The final day features EAC against San Sebastian and St. Benilde facing Arellano on October 19 and the final game in the first round featuring Mapua vs. Letran and Lyceum vs. JRU on October 21.
Nothing Uncommon About This Season
The season has rivalries and many chances for upsets. Here are some highlights to keep an eye on:
- Opening Day Showdown: Mapua vs. Lyceum gives a headlong clash of Group A contenders to open the tournament early.
- Classic Rivalry: San Beda vs. Letran on October 5 will surely pack the arena as one of the fiercest among Philippine college basketball showdowns.
- Dark Horses: Teams such as St. Benilde and Perpetual might shake things around in their standings through a good showing in the play-in scenarios.
- Quarterfinal Break: The upper echelon would be given to only the two best, and with it, the possibility of twice-to-defeat advancement. All elimination games could make or break a school’s title aspirations.
