| It All Begins Here | |||||||||||||
| Host school | National University | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Duration | December 1–5, 2018 | ||||||||||||
| Arena(s) | Mall of Asia Arena Smart Araneta Coliseum | ||||||||||||
| Finals MVP | Thirdy Ravena | ||||||||||||
| Winning coach | Tab Baldwin (2nd title) | ||||||||||||
| Semifinalists |  Adamson Soaring Falcons FEU Tamaraws | ||||||||||||
| TV network(s) | ABS-CBN Sports and Action Liga ABS-CBN | ||||||||||||
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| Duration | December 1–5, 2018 | ||||||||||||
| Arena(s) | Mall of Asia Arena Smart Araneta Coliseum | ||||||||||||
| Finals MVP | Jack Animam | ||||||||||||
| Winning coach | Patrick Aquino (5th title) | ||||||||||||
| Semifinalists |  UST Tigresses Adamson Lady Falcons | ||||||||||||
| TV network(s) | ABS-CBN Sports and Action | ||||||||||||
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| Duration | February 18–22, 2019 | ||||||||||||
| Arena(s) | Filoil Flying V Centre | ||||||||||||
| Finals MVP | Carl Tamayo | ||||||||||||
| Winning coach | Goldwin Monteverde (1st title) | ||||||||||||
| Semifinalists | FEU–D Baby Tamaraws Adamson Baby Falcons | ||||||||||||
| TV network(s) | ABS-CBN Sports and Action | ||||||||||||
The UAAP Season 81 basketball tournaments were the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball tournaments for the 2018–19 school year.
Former NU Bulldogs athletic director Junel Baculi replaced Atty. Rebo Saguisag as commissioner for the season's basketball tournaments on August 28, 2018. Former Vietnam Basketball Association commissioner Tonichi Pujante was also appointed as assistant commissioner.[1]
The senior men's and women's tournaments began on September 8, 2018[2] while the games of the juniors' division began on November 11.[3]
The Ateneo Blue Eagles and the NU Lady Bulldogs successfully defended their championships this season. Ateneo finished first after the elimination round, followed by Adamson. UP, FEU and La Salle finished tied for third, with UP getting the #3 seed due to tiebreakers. FEU defeated La Salle in the playoff for the #4 seed, and were beaten by Ateneo in the semifinals. Adamson lost out in the semifinals again, losing to UP, who have never been in the semifinals since 1998. Qualifying to its first UAAP Finals since 1986, UP was swept by Ateneo in the latter's second consecutive (and tenth overall) UAAP title. Thirdy Ravena was named Finals MVP, after scoring a still-standing UAAP Finals record of 38 points in the title-clinching Game 2.
The NU Lady Bulldogs won all elimination round games, qualifying to the Finals outright. FEU emerged through the stepladder playoffs that also involved UST and Adamson as NU's Finals opponent, but were still swept by the Lady Bulldogs. NU won its fifth consecutive title, all unbeaten seasons, for a still-standing league record of 80–0 in the last five tournaments.
In the Juniors' Division, the NU Bullpups and the Ateneo Blue Eaglets finished the elimination round with the top two seeds. NU eliminated the Adamson Baby Falcons, the only team that defeated them in the eliminations, while Ateneo defeated FEU Baby Tamaraws. In the rematch of last year's finals, the Bullpups defeated the defending champions, by winning all two Finals games. The Bullpups won their fourth title since 2011.
- ^ Li, Matthew. "Junel Baculi named as UAAP Basketball Commissioner". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
- ^ "LOOK! Complete UAAP Season 81 basketball tournament schedule". ABS-CBN Sports. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
- ^ "Ateneo, NU in winning starts in UAAP jrs cage". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved November 13, 2018.