| Winning Drive at 85 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Host school | San Beda College | |||||||||||||||
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| Duration | October 22–24, 2009 | |||||||||||||||
| Arena(s) | Araneta Coliseum | |||||||||||||||
| Finals MVP | Jimbo Aquino | |||||||||||||||
| Winning coach | Ato Agustin (1st title) | |||||||||||||||
| Semifinalists |  JRU Heavy Bombers Letran Knights | |||||||||||||||
| TV network(s) | Studio 23, The Filipino Channel, Balls HD | |||||||||||||||
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| Duration | October 23–29, 2009 | |||||||||||||||
| Arena(s) | Araneta Coliseum (Games 1 & 2) Filoil Flying V Arena (Game 3) | |||||||||||||||
| Finals MVP | Baser Amer | |||||||||||||||
| Winning coach | Ato Badolato (16th title) | |||||||||||||||
| Semifinalists |  San Sebastian Staglets JRU Light Bombers | |||||||||||||||
| TV network(s) | Studio 23, The Filipino Channel, Balls HD | |||||||||||||||
The basketball tournaments of NCAA Season 85 refers to the basketball events of the Philippine National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s 2009–10 season. This is the first season without the PCU Dolphins who have taken an indefinite leave of absence after several of their juniors' division players were found to have used falsified documents to enter the school. Also, three guest teams will take part in the basketball events with all three eligible to win championships.[1]
The games began on June 27 at the Araneta Coliseum with an opening ceremony led by San Beda, with a keynote speech by United States Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney, culminating with a tripleheader with season host San Beda Red Lions routing the Mapua Cardinals 82–55 in the opening game. The four-time juniors champion San Sebastian Staglets will also begin their title defense, with a majority of the games being held at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
In the men's division, the San Sebastian Stags had an all-time league-best 15-game winning streak, ending on their second-round game against the Letran Knights. The Stags ended the elimination round tied with the San Beda Red Lions for first, who beat them in the elimination round finale. The Red Lions defeated the Stags in the playoff for the #1 seed, and they were beaten anew by the third seed JRU Heavy Bombers in the first game of the semifinals. The Stags beat the Heavy Bombers in Game 2 to meet the Red Lions in the Finals who had previously beaten the Knights in their own semifinals. Game 1 of the Finals went into two overtimes, with the Stags eking out a 4-point triumph. The Red Lions, who led for majority of the game, faltered in the fourth quarter of Game 2 to allow the Stags to clinch their first title since 2002. Jimbo Aquino of San Sebastian was named Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) in his final playing year.
In the juniors' division, the Letran Squires had a 17-game winning streak, only for them to be beaten by the San Beda Red Cubs in the last game of the elimination round. The Red Cubs blew out the Squires in the playoff for #1, but both teams did not need their twice-to-beat advantage to eliminate the JRU Light Bombers and the San Sebastian Staglets respectively in the semifinals. In Game 1 of the Finals, San Beda blew out Letran for the second game in a row, but the Squires outlasted the Red Cubs in Game 2 via a late three-pointer to force Game 3. In the deciding game, San Beda pulled away late in the fourth quarter after Letran cut down the 15-point lead to two points to give retiring coach Ato Badolato his 15th juniors' championship. The Squires suffered their third consecutive Finals defeat; they previously lost twice to the Staglets prior losing to the Red Cubs. Baser Amer was awarded the Finals MVP award.
JRU players John Wilson and Louie Vigil were awarded Most Valuable Player honors for the men's and juniors' divisions respectively. American Sudan Daniels and Baser Amer both from San Beda were named men's and juniors' Rookies of the Year.
- ^ Atencio, Peter (25 April 2009). "2 schools join Arellano as NCAA's guest teams". Manila Standard-Today. Retrieved 27 April 2009.