# UAAP Season 81 basketball tournaments

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 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.
The senior men's and women's tournaments began on September 8, 2018 while the games of the juniors' division began on November 11.
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.

## Teams

All eight member universities of the UAAP fielded teams in all three divisions.
| University | Men's team | Women's team | Juniors' team |
| Adamson University | Soaring Falcons | Lady Falcons | Baby Falcons |
| Ateneo de Manila University | Blue Eagles | Lady Eagles | Blue Eaglets |
| De La Salle University | Green Archers | Lady Archers | Junior Archers |
| Far Eastern University | Tamaraws | Lady Tamaraws | Baby Tamaraws |
| National University | Bulldogs | Lady Bulldogs | Bullpups |
| University of the East | Red Warriors | Lady Warriors | Junior Warriors |
| University of the Philippines Diliman | Fighting Maroons | Lady Maroons | Junior Maroons |
| University of Santo Tomas | Growling Tigers | Tigresses | Tiger Cubs |

### Coaches

| University | Men's coach | Women's coach | Juniors' coach |
| Adamson University | Franz Pumaren | Ewon Arayi | Mike Fermin |
| Ateneo de Manila University | Tab Baldwin | Anthony John Flores | Reggie Varilla |
| De La Salle University | Louie Gonzalez | Pocholo Villanueva | Boris Aldeguer |
| Far Eastern University | Olsen Racela | Bert Flores | Michael Oliver |
| National University | Jamike Jarin | Patrick Aquino | Goldwin Monteverde |
| University of the East | Joe Silva | Aileen Lebornio | Florence Conlu |
| University of the Philippines Diliman | Bo Perasol | Kenneth Marius Raval | Paolo Mendoza |
| University of Santo Tomas | Aldin Ayo | Haydee Ong | Bonnie Garcia |

### Coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing coach | Manner of departure | Date | Replaced by | Date |
| UST Growling Tigers | Boy Sablan | Fired | November 21, 2017 | Aldin Ayo | January 8, 2018 |
| UE Red Warriors | Derrick Pumaren | Resigned | November 22, 2017 | Joe Silva | May 2, 2018 |
| De La Salle Green Archers | Aldin Ayo | Signed with UST Growling Tigers | January 3, 2018 | Louie Gonzalez | January 4, 2018 |
| UST Tiger Cubs | Chris Cantonjos | Resigned | February 21, 2018 | Bonnie Garcia | April 6, 2018 |
| Ateneo Blue Eaglets | Joe Silva | Resigned | April 10, 2018 | Reggie Varilla | April 10, 2018 |

## Venues

The Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay and the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City were the primary venues for the men's tournament, and the venues for the finals series for the women's tournament. The Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan and the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City were the alternate venues for the men's and women's tournament, respectively and the main venue for the women's and juniors' tournaments.
In the second round of the men's tournament, two game days were scheduled at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

## Men's tournament
### Elimination round
#### Team standings

| Pos | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | Ateneo Blue Eagles | 12 | 2 | .857 | — | Twice-to-beat in the semifinals |
| 2 | Adamson Soaring Falcons | 10 | 4 | .714 | 2 | Twice-to-beat in the semifinals |
| 3 | UP Fighting Maroons | 8 | 6 | .571 | 4 | Twice-to-win in the semifinals |
| 4 | FEU Tamaraws | 8 | 6 | .571 | 4 | Twice-to-win in the semifinals |
| 5 | De La Salle Green Archers | 8 | 6 | .571 | 4 | |
| 6 | UST Growling Tigers | 5 | 9 | .357 | 7 | |
| 7 | NU Bulldogs (H) | 4 | 10 | .286 | 8 | |
| 8 | UE Red Warriors | 1 | 13 | .071 | 11 | |
* 1 2 3 Head-to-head record: UP 3–1, FEU 2–2, La Salle 1–3; Fourth-seed playoff: FEU 71–70 La Salle

#### Match-up results

| | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 |
| Team ╲ Game | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| Adamson | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ateneo | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| La Salle | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| FEU | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| NU | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| UE | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| UP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| UST | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

#### Scores

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.
| Teams | AdU | AdMU | DLSU | FEU | NU | UE | UP | UST |
| Adamson Soaring Falcons | — | 74–70 | 78–79* | 85–88* | 63–58 | 90–76 | 69–68 | 79–71 |
| Ateneo Blue Eagles | 62–48 | — | 71–55 | 60–63 | 72–46 | 89–62 | 87–79 | 85–53 |
| De La Salle Green Archers | 50–57 | 62–71 | — | 61–68 | 80–76 | 82–72 | 61–67 | 99–72 |
| FEU Tamaraws | 82–56 | 62–82 | 57–65 | — | 73–68 | 65–90 | 89–73 | 74–76 |
| NU Bulldogs | 58–69 | 64–79 | 77–84 | 74–79 | — | 88–61 | 88–89 | 75–70 |
| UE Red Warriors | 72–85 | 70–90 | 59–79 | 61–80 | 71–79 | — | 58–87 | 66–80 |
| UP Fighting Maroons | 72–80 | 66–83 | 97–81 | 95–82 | 82–71 | 94–81 | — | 72–86 |
| UST Growling Tigers | 83–96 | 62–102 | 69–110 | 78–70 | 61–69 | 79–68 | 69–83 | — |

### Fourth–seed playoff

The Tamaraws and the Green Archers last met in the fourth seed playoff in 2012 in which La Salle won. The winner faces Ateneo in the semifinals while the loser gets eliminated.
* S+A
* November 21 3:30 p.m.PHT
* Stats
| FEU Tamaraws | De La Salle Green Archers |
| Scoring by quarter: 22–21, 14–17, 18–13, 17–19 |||
| Pts: Arvin Tolentino15 Rebs: Barkley Eboña 16 Asts: Jasper Parker 5 | Pts: Leonard Santillan 20 Rebs: Justine Baltazar 9 Asts: Aljun Melecio 6 |
| FEU advances to the Final Four |||
* Smart Araneta Coliseum Referees: Allan Manzano, Don Arguelles, Garry Villanueva
Prior to the game both teams were having ups and downs into this match-up, after losing their first four games in the second round FEU manage to win their last three games to salvage their season, while La Salle sitting as the #4 and #3 throughout the season lost their last two games that denied them a chance for the last twice-to-beat advantage and a slot in the semifinals. In the first quarter, the Tamaraws were leading already by seven points, 17–10, towards the end of that period but the Green Archers countered it with an 11–2 run to take the lead by two points, 21–19. An Axel Iñigo buzzer beater 3-point shot regained the lead for FEU as they took a single-point lead. In the second quarter, both teams exchanged blows but La Salle took matters the most to lead by two points at halftime, 38–36. In the third quarter, FEU pounced La Salle into a corner with a five-point lead but La Salle cut the deficit by three points, 54–51, heading into the final period. In the fourth quarter, the Tamaraws were trying to pull away while the Green Archers were trying to catch up. La Salle eventually crept up tying the game and regained the lead. FEU's Prince Orizu fouled out of the game as Barkley Eboña returned to the game despite suffering from cramps earlier. La Salle took advantage of it as they led by four points towards the last two minutes of the game. However, FEU went within striking distance going toe to toe against La Salle cutting the lead by a single basket. The Green Archers swung back the lead by four, 70–66. with less than a minute remaining in the game. In an inbound play, Jasper Parker passed the ball to Ken Tuffin and converted his jumper and cut La Salle's lead by two points with less than 40 seconds remaining. Off a timeout, La Salle inbounded a pass but turned the ball over as it paved the way for FEU to steal the game from them. After the timeout, FEU had the possession with Parker holding the ball as he found a wide open Arvin Tolentino who shot a three-pointer to take the lead for FEU, 71–70, with 3.1 seconds remaining. In La Salle's final possession, Aljun Melecio found an open Leonard Santillan to win the game for them but eventually he was blocked by three FEU defenders winning the Tamaraws the game. Arvin Tolentino, who had a season plagued with controversy, led the scoring for FEU with 15 points with three three-pointers made including the last shot that sealed the game for them, while Barkley Eboña, one of the unsung heroes for FEU, finished with a double-double of 12 points and 16 rebounds.

### Bracket

| Semifinals (Nos. 1 & 2 have twice-to-beat advantage) | Semifinals (Nos. 1 & 2 have twice-to-beat advantage) | Semifinals (Nos. 1 & 2 have twice-to-beat advantage) | Semifinals (Nos. 1 & 2 have twice-to-beat advantage) | Finals (Best-of-three series) | Finals (Best-of-three series) | Finals (Best-of-three series) | Finals (Best-of-three series) |
| 1 | Ateneo | Ateneo | 80 | | | | |
| 4 | FEU | FEU | 61 | |
| 4 | FEU | FEU | 61 | 1 | Ateneo | 88 | 99 |
| | | | | 3 | UP | 79 | 81 |
| 2 | Adamson | 71 | 87 | 3 | UP | 79 | 81 |
| 3 | UP | 73 | 89* | |
*Game went into overtime.

### Semifinals

Ateneo and Adamson had the twice to beat advantage. Ateneo qualified for its fifth consecutive Final Four appearance, and the second consecutive year where they are the first seed. Adamson, the second seed, was in its third consecutive appearance, and improved on last year's third seed. Third seed UP qualified for its first Final Four appearance in 21 years, last appearing in the playoffs in 1997. FEU advanced to the Final Four in its sixth consecutive season, the longest active streak.

#### (1) Ateneo vs. (4) FEU

Ateneo had the twice-to-beat advantage. Ateneo has faced FEU in the semifinals in three consecutive seasons where the Blue Eagles won the last two series.
* S+A
* November 25 3:30 p.m.PHT
* Stats
| Ateneo Blue Eagles | FEU Tamaraws |
| Scoring by quarter: 17–9, 21–15, 21–12, 21–25 |||
| Pts: Thirdy Ravena 22 Rebs: Ange Kouame 11 Asts: Thirdy Ravena 4 | Pts: Barkley Eboña 9 Rebs: Ken Tuffin 12 Asts: Axel Iñigo 3 |
| Ateneo wins series in one game |||
* Smart Araneta Coliseum Referees: Nestor Sambrano, Ariel Bermeo, Emman Faraon
Ateneo started off with all cylinders on fire highlighted by two consecutive dunks by Thirdy Ravena to start the game on an 8–0 start despite FEU finally converted their shots with two consecutive three-pointers to cut the deficit by four points. However, the Tamaraws never had a chance to catch up against the Blue Eagles as they were blown out by as many as 31 points towards the end of the 3rd quarter. Ateneo outscored FEU in every quarter except in the last period as they didn't needed to use their twice to beat advantage after going wire to wire in the past few seasons. They finally marched on to their third consecutive Finals appearance and twelfth overall in the Final Four era.

#### (2) Adamson vs. (3) UP

Adamson had the twice-to-beat advantage. The Falcons and the Fighting Maroons were in their first playoff match-up against each other. The winner of the series would be the seventh team to qualify in the Finals in the Final Four era.
* S+A
* November 24 3:30 p.m.PHT
* Stats
| Adamson Soaring Falcons | 71–73 | UP Fighting Maroons |
| Scoring by quarter: 16–17, 13–11, 14–26, 28–19 |||
| Pts: Papi Sarr 23 Rebs: Papi Sarr 9 Asts: Jerrick Ahanmisi 4 | | Pts: Desiderio, Ju. Gómez de Liaño, 19 each Rebs: Bright Akhuetie 14 Asts: Paul Desiderio 4 |
* Mall of Asia Arena Attendance: 14,657 Referees: Ariel Bermeo, Allan Manzano, Don Arguelles
* S+A
* November 28 3:30 p.m.PHT
* Stats
| Adamson Soaring Falcons | UP Fighting Maroons |
| Scoring by quarter: 16–26, 26–25, 25–13, 11–14, Overtime: 9–11 |||
| Pts: Jerrick Ahanmisi 20 Rebs: Papi Sarr 15 Asts: Jerom Lastimosa 5 | Pts: Juan Gómez de Liaño 30 Rebs: Bright Akhuetie 17 Asts: Jun Manzo 4 |
| UP wins series in two games |||
* Smart Araneta Coliseum Attendance: 20,944 Referees: Garry Villanueva, Emman Faraon, Ribel Cañelas
In the first game of the series, both teams exchanged leads in the 1st half with UP taking the 1st quarter while Adamson taking the 2nd to nudge by a point at halftime. But the Fighting Maroons outscored the Falcons in the 3rd quarter 26–14 to take an 11-point lead heading into the 4th quarter. Adamson refused to lose as they countered them with a 26-11 scoring run to lead by 4 but UP countered it back with a 6–0 run of their own to take a 71-69 heading into regulation. A costly foul by UP sends Sean Manganti to the free throw line as he converted both of his free throws. UP called a timeout with 3.7 seconds remaining in the game to strategize the play as Juan Gómez de Liaño from the inbound found an open Bright Akhuetie to seal the game for them as they forced a rubber match.
In the second game, the Fighting Maroons kept their guns ablaze as they led by ten points in the first quarter and nine points at half time. Their lead later ballooned already by 16 points, 60–44, but the Falcons countered it with their own scoring with a 23–4 run to take the lead at the end of the third quarter, 67–64. Both teams exchanged leads towards regulation as UP led by three points with less than ten seconds remaining, 78–75. Jerom Lastimosa shot a three-point shot to tie the game once again at 78-all with UP in ball possession. Paul Desiderio missed a shot as the game went into overtime. In the extra period Adamson took a six-point lead already, 84–78, with 2:39 remaining in overtime, but UP scored 6 straight points to tie once again at 84-all with 58.2 seconds remaining. Adamson's top gunner Jerrick Ahanmisi went down with cramps after a contested layup against Bright Akhuetie was waved off by the referee, instead calling it a foul on JD Tungcab on the floor. Ahanmisi missed the remainder of the game. Two free throws were awarded to Adamson because they were already in the penalty. Jonathan Espeleta came in to take the shots in place of Jerrick Ahanmisi but split his freethrows to lead by a point. A three-point shot by Paul Desiderio swang back the lead to UP 87–85 with forty seconds remaining but a foul by UP sent another Adamson player back into the free throw line and tied for one last time at 87-all. Desiderio's jumper over Sean Manganti however put UP back on top 89–87 with 6.6 seconds remaining with Adamson calling its last time out. The ball was given to Jerom Lastimosa to win the game but he missed a three-point shot that would give Adamson the victory, as UP won the game and entered the Finals for the first time since 1986.

### Finals

The best-of-three finals began on December 1. It would be the first Finals match-up between the two teams. This marks UP's first UAAP Finals stint since 1986 and its first in the Final Four era, while defending champions Ateneo were in its third consecutive Finals appearance. The winner qualified for the 2018 PCCL National Collegiate Championship.
* ABS-CBN S+A
* December 1 3:30 p.m.PHT
* Stats
| Ateneo Blue Eagles | 88–79 | UP Fighting Maroons |
| Scoring by quarter: 26–18, 13–20, 24–23, 25–18 |||
| Pts: Matt Nieto 27 Rebs: Ange Kouame 12 Asts: Thirdy Ravena 9 | | Pts: Jun Manzo 19 Rebs: Juan Gómez de Liaño 8 Asts: Paul Desiderio 8 |
* Mall of Asia Arena Attendance: 21,608 Referees: Allan Manzano, Don Arguelles, Sam del Rosario
* S+A
* December 5 3:30 p.m.PHT
* Stats
| Ateneo Blue Eagles | UP Fighting Maroons |
| Scoring by quarter: 25–13, 23–24, 22–19, 29–25 |||
| Pts: Thirdy Ravena 38 Rebs: Ange Kouame 20 Asts: Thirdy Ravena 6 | Pts: Juan Gómez de Liaño 24 Rebs: Bright Akhuetie 8 Asts: 4 players, 3 each |
| Ateneo wins series, 2–0 |||
* Smart Araneta Coliseum Attendance: 23,471 Referees: Ronwaldo de Luna, Garry Villanueva, Ribel Cañelas
* Finals Most Valuable Player: Thirdy Ravena (Ateneo Blue Eagles)

### Awards

* UAAP Season 81 men's basketball champions
* Ateneo Blue Eagles Tenth title, second consecutive title
* Most Valuable Player: Bright Akhuetie (UP Fighting Maroons)
* Rookie of the Year: Ange Kouame (Ateneo Blue Eagles)
* Mythical Team:
** Bright Akhuetie (UP Fighting Maroons)
** Juan Gómez de Liaño (UP Fighting Maroons)
** Alvin Pasaol (UE Red Warriors)
** Justine Baltazar (De La Salle Green Archers)
** Jerrick Ahanmisi (Adamson Soaring Falcons)

#### Sponsored awards

* Manulife Playmaker of the Season: Juan Gómez de Liaño (UP Fighting Maroons)
* Milo Nutri-up Up Your Galing Performance Award: Juan Gómez de Liaño (UP Fighting Maroons)
* Appeton Most Improved Player of the Season: Sean Manganti (Adamson Soaring Falcons)
* PSBankable Player of the Season: Sean Manganti (Adamson Soaring Falcons)

#### Players of the Week

| Week ending | Player | Team |
| September 9 | Jerrick Ahanmisi | Adamson Soaring Falcons |
| September 12 | Renzo Subido | UST Growling Tigers |
| September 23 | Justine Baltazar | De La Salle Green Archers |
| September 30 | Sean Manganti | Adamson Soaring Falcons |
| October 8 | Wendell Comboy | FEU Tamaraws |
| October 15 | CJ Cansino | UST Growling Tigers |
| October 22 | Ange Kouame | Ateneo Blue Eagles |
| October 29 | CJ Cansino | UST Growling Tigers |
| November 5 | Aljun Melecio | De La Salle Green Archers |
| November 12 | Bright Akhuetie | UP Fighting Maroons |
| November 19 | Juan Gómez de Liaño | UP Fighting Maroons |

### Statistics
#### Players' statistical points

| # | Player | Team | Total |
| 1 | Bright Akhuetie | UP Fighting Maroons | 82.5000 |
| 2 | Ange Kouame | Ateneo Blue Eagles | 76.2143 |
| 3 | Alvin Pasaol | UE Red Warriors | 74.5714 |
| 4 | Juan Gómez de Liaño | UP Fighting Maroons | 63.8571 |
| 5 | Justine Baltazar | De La Salle Green Archers | 58.3846 |

#### Season player highs

| Statistic | Player | Team | Average |
| Points | Alvin Pasaol | UE Red Warriors | 24.4 |
| Rebounds | Bright Akhuetie | UP Fighting Maroons | 14.6 |
| Assists | Juan Gómez de Liaño | UP Fighting Maroons | 5.5 |
| Steals | Alvin Pasaol | UE Red Warriors | 1.9 |
| Blocks | Ange Kouame | Ateneo Blue Eagles | 3.2 |

#### Game player highs

| Statistic | Player | Team | Total | Opponent |
| Points | John Lloyd Clemente Thirdy Ravena | NU Bulldogs Ateneo Blue Eagles | 38 | FEU Tamaraws UP Fighting Maroons |
| Rebounds | Ange Kouame | Ateneo Blue Eagles | 27 | FEU Tamaraws |
| Assists | Philip Manalang Juan Gómez de Liaño | UE Red Warriors UP Fighting Maroons | 12 | FEU Tamaraws UE Red Warriors |
| Steals | Raffy Verano Alvin Pasaol | Ateneo Blue Eagles UE Red Warriors | 5 | UP Fighting Maroons FEU Tamaraws |
| Blocks | Issa Gaye | NU Bulldogs | 8 | UST Growling Tigers UE Red Warriors |

#### Game team highs

| Statistic | Team | Total | Opponent |
| Points | De La Salle Green Archers | 110 | UST Growling Tigers |
| Rebounds | UST Growling Tigers | 59 | NU Bulldogs |
| Assists | UP Fighting Maroons | 28 | NU Bulldogs |
| Steals | Adamson Soaring Falcons | 12 | De La Salle Green Archers |
| Blocks | Adamson Soaring Falcons De La Salle Green Archers | 18 | Ateneo Blue Eagles FEU Tamaraws |

#### Season team highs

| Statistic | Team | Average |
| Points | UP Fighting Maroons | 80.3 |
| Rebounds | Ateneo Blue Eagles | 47.1 |
| Assists | UP Fighting Maroons | 19.9 |
| Steals | Adamson Soaring Falcons | 7.2 |
| Blocks | Ateneo Blue Eagles | 5.6 |

### Broadcast notes

ABS-CBN Sports is the official broadcaster of the UAAP Season 81 Men's Basketball games.
| Game | Play-by-play | Analyst | Courtside Reporters |
| 4th seed playoff | Boom Gonzales | Ronnie Magsanoc | Sydney Crespo and Aiyana Perlas |
| Semis #1 vs. #4 | Mico Halili | Christian Luanzon | Frannie Reyes and Sydney Crespo |
| Semis #2 vs. #3, Game 1 | Boom Gonzales | TJ Manotoc | Sam Corrales and Cor Catibayan |
| Semis #2 vs. #3, Game 2 | Nikko Ramos | TJ Manotoc | Sam Corrales and Cor Catibayan |
| Finals, Game 1 | Mico Halili | Ronnie Magsanoc | Frannie Reyes and Sam Corrales |
| Finals, Game 2 | Nikko Ramos | Christian Luanzon | Frannie Reyes and Sam Corrales |

## Women's tournament
### Elimination round
#### Team standings

| Pos | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | NU Lady Bulldogs (H) | 14 | 0 | 1.000 | — | Advance to the Finals |
| 2 | FEU Lady Tamaraws | 9 | 5 | .643 | 5 | Twice-to-beat in stepladder round 2 |
| 3 | Adamson Lady Falcons | 9 | 5 | .643 | 5 | Proceed to stepladder round 1 |
| 4 | UST Tigresses | 8 | 6 | .571 | 6 | Proceed to stepladder round 1 |
| 5 | De La Salle Lady Archers | 8 | 6 | .571 | 6 | |
| 6 | Ateneo Lady Eagles | 4 | 10 | .286 | 10 | |
| 7 | UE Lady Warriors | 4 | 10 | .286 | 10 | |
| 8 | UP Fighting Maroons | 0 | 14 | .000 | 14 | |
* ↑ As NU won all of their elimination round games, the stepladder format will be used instead of the regular Final Four format.
* 1 2 Second-seed playoff: FEU 67–63 Adamson
* 1 2 Fourth-seed playoff: UST 79–67 La Salle
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: Ateneo 2–0 UE

#### Match-up results

| | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 |
| Team ╲ Game | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| Adamson | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ateneo | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| La Salle | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| FEU | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| NU | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| UE | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| UP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| UST | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

#### Scores

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.
| Teams | AdU | AdMU | La Salle | FEU | NU | UE | UP | UST |
| Adamson Lady Falcons | — | 72–54 | 57–72 | 59–55 | 62–92 | 61–49 | 68–51 | 55–85 |
| Ateneo Lady Eagles | 65–80 | — | 56–82 | 44–54 | 64–90 | 68–66 | 64–60 | 38–67 |
| La Salle | 66–64 | 57–39 | — | 55–77 | 66–74 | 64–61 | 81–60 | 73–63 |
| FEU Lady Tamaraws | 69–73* | 73–71 | 77–62 | — | 58–91 | 52–34 | 69–55 | 91–87*** |
| NU Lady Bulldogs | 86–58 | 76–52 | 111–64 | 68–44 | — | 80–53 | 109–46 | 79–71 |
| UE Lady Warriors | 75–76 | 63–69 | 86–69 | 57–64 | 59–89 | — | 49–40 | 51–53 |
| UP Fighting Maroons | 43–69 | 51–63 | 56–68 | 66–80 | 41–97 | 56–71 | — | 42–129 |
| UST Tigresses | 72–76 | 82–60 | 68–65 | 76–68 | 57–96 | 64–66 | 103–58 | — |

### Fourth–seed playoff

This is a one-game playoff. The winner advances to the 1st round of the stepladder; the loser is eliminated.
* November 21 9:00 a.m.PHT
* Stats
| De La Salle Lady Archers | UST Tigresses |
| Scoring by quarter: 21–17, 12–21, 17–16, 17–25 |||
| Pts: Ana Castillo 20 Rebs: Johanna Arciga 8 Asts: Bettina Binaohan 5 | Pts: Grace Irebu 29 Rebs: Grace Irebu 14 Asts: Ruby Portillo 8 |
| UST advances to the Stepladder Round 1 |||
* Smart Araneta Coliseum

### Second–seed playoff

The winner advances to the 2nd round of the stepladder with the twice to beat advantage; the loser is relegated to the 1st round of the stepladder.
* November 21 11:00 a.m.PHT
* Stats
| Adamson Lady Falcons | FEU Lady Tamaraws |
| Scoring by quarter: 17–15, 19–19, 14–20, 13–13 |||
| Pts: Jamie Alcoy 25 Rebs: Nat Prado 13 Asts: Mariz Cacho 3 | Pts: Clare Castro 25 Rebs: Clare Castro 16 Asts: Fatima Quiapo 5 |
| FEU wins the twice–to–beat advantage |||
* Smart Araneta Coliseum

### Bracket

| Stepladder round 1 (Single-elimination) | Stepladder round 1 (Single-elimination) | Stepladder round 1 (Single-elimination) | Stepladder round 2 (No. 2 has twice-to-beat advantage) | Stepladder round 2 (No. 2 has twice-to-beat advantage) | Stepladder round 2 (No. 2 has twice-to-beat advantage) | Finals (Best-of-three series) | Finals (Best-of-three series) | Finals (Best-of-three series) | Finals (Best-of-three series) |
| | | | | | | 1 | NU | 71 | 67 |
| | | | 2 | FEU | 68 | 2 | FEU | 59 | 61 |
| 3 | Adamson | 69 | 4 | UST | 66 | | | | |
| 4 | UST | 78 | | | | | | | |

### Stepladder semifinals
#### (3) Adamson vs. (4) UST

This is a one-game playoff. Adamson last faced UST in the semifinals in 2011 in which the Lady Falcons won.
* November 25 11:00 a.m.PHT
* Stats
| Adamson Lady Falcons | UST Tigresses |
| Scoring by quarter: 14–22, 11–21, 22–17, 22–18 |||
| Pts: Nat Prado 34 Rebs: Nat Prado 10 Asts: Kath Araja 5 | Pts: Grace Irebu 28 Rebs: Grace Irebu 20 Asts: Clarice Aujero 7 |
| UST advances to the Stepladder Round 2 |||
* Mall of Asia Arena

#### (2) FEU vs. (4) UST

FEU holds the twice to beat advantage. The Lady Tamaraws last faced the Tigresses in the first round of last year's stepladder semifinals where UST won.
* S+A
* November 28 9:00 a.m.PHT
* Stats
| FEU Lady Tamaraws | UST Tigresses |
| Scoring by quarter: 16–12, 15–18, 22–13, 15–23 |||
| Pts: Clare Castro 32 Rebs: Clare Castro 15 Asts: Nina Antiola 4 | Pts: Grace Irebu 28 Rebs: Grace Irebu 13 Asts: Sai Larosa 5 |
| FEU wins series in one game |||
* Smart Araneta Coliseum Referees: Don Arguelles, Ruben Agbalo, Julius David

### Finals

The NU Lady Bulldogs advance to the best-of-three finals by winning all 14 elimination round games. The Lady Bulldogs have not lost for 78 consecutive games, and have swept the elimination round for the past five seasons. This is a rematch of the 2014 Finals where the Lady Bulldogs won, and was the last Finals appearance of the Lady Tamaraws.
* S+A
* December 1 11:00 a.m.PHT
* Stats
| NU Lady Bulldogs | 71–59 | FEU Lady Tamaraws |
| Scoring by quarter: 22–13, 15–20, 21–5, 13–21 |||
| Pts: Jack Animam 19 Rebs: Jack Animam 12 Asts: Monique Del Carmen 6 | | Pts: Clare Castro 15 Rebs: Clare Castro 13 Asts: Fatima Quiapo 5 |
* Mall of Asia Arena
* December 5 11:00 a.m.PHT
* Stats
| NU Lady Bulldogs | FEU Lady Tamaraws |
| Scoring by quarter: 18–16, 23–9, 13–19, 13–17 |||
| Pts: Rhena Itesi 17 Rebs: Jack Animam 21 Asts: Monique Del Carmen 4 | Pts: Fatima Quiapo 15 Rebs: Clare Castro 13 Asts: Camille Taguiam 6 |
| NU wins series, 2–0 |||
* Smart Araneta Coliseum
* Finals Most Valuable Player: Jack Danielle Animam (NU Lady Bulldogs)

### Awards

* UAAP Season 81 women's basketball champions
* NU Lady Bulldogs Fifth title, fifth consecutive title
* Most Valuable Player: Grace Irebu (UST Tigresses)
* Rookie of the Year: Reynalyn Ferrer (UST Tigresses)
* Mythical Team:
** Grace Irebu (UST Tigresses)
** Jack Danielle Animam (NU Lady Bulldogs)
** Misaela Larosa (UST Tigresses)
** Nathalie Prado (Adamson Lady Falcons)
** Clare Castro (FEU Lady Tamaraws)

#### Player of the Week

| Week ending | Player | Team |
| October 22 | Ria Nabalan | NU Bulldogs |

## Juniors' tournament

The juniors' tournament began on November 11, 2018 at the Blue Eagle Gym, Quezon City.

### Elimination round
#### Team standings

| Pos | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Qualification |
| 1 | NUNS Bullpups (H) | 13 | 1 | .929 | — | Twice-to-beat in the semifinals |
| 2 | Ateneo Blue Eaglets | 11 | 3 | .786 | 2 | Twice-to-beat in the semifinals |
| 3 | FEU–D Baby Tamaraws | 9 | 5 | .643 | 4 | Twice-to-win in the semifinals |
| 4 | Adamson Baby Falcons | 9 | 5 | .643 | 4 | Twice-to-win in the semifinals |
| 5 | UST Tiger Cubs | 7 | 7 | .500 | 6 | |
| 6 | DLSZ Junior Archers | 4 | 10 | .286 | 9 | |
| 7 | UE Junior Warriors | 2 | 12 | .143 | 11 | |
| 8 | UPIS Junior Maroons | 1 | 13 | .071 | 12 | |
* 1 2 Head-to-head record: FEU 2–0 Adamson

#### Match-up results

| | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 | Round 2 |
| Team ╲ Game | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| Adamson | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ateneo | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| DLSZ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| FEU–D | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| NSNU | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| UE | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| UPIS | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| UST | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

#### Scores

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.
| Teams | AdU | AdMU | DLSZ | FEU | NSNU | UE | UPIS | UST |
| Adamson Baby Falcons | — | 59–75 | 72–57 | 60–75 | 62–59 | 56–44 | 78–66 | 77–74 |
| Ateneo Blue Eaglets | 72–59 | — | 69–54 | 80–87* | 62–78 | 84–62 | 77–60 | 74–61 |
| De La Salle Junior Archers | 77–94 | 59–88 | — | 67–62 | 49–91 | 66–56 | 55–48 | 55–63 |
| FEU Baby Tamaraws | 80–72 | 61–77 | 95–68 | — | 70–78 | 81–54 | 102–72 | 63–37 |
| NSNU Bullpups | 112–71 | 78–71 | 82–67 | 81–75 | — | 115–43 | 104–54 | 84–55 |
| UE Junior Warriors | 64–85 | 59–82 | 66–70 | 82–99 | 56–77 | — | 74–72 | 60–70 |
| UPIS Junior Maroons | 66–94 | 68–115 | 64–56 | 65–87 | 55–106 | 76–80 | — | 63–75 |
| UST Tiger Cubs | 67–69 | 78–87 | 85–64 | 86–83 | 66–94 | 85–63 | 80–65 | — |

### Bracket

| Semifinals (Nos. 1 & 2 have twice-to-beat advantage) | Semifinals (Nos. 1 & 2 have twice-to-beat advantage) | Semifinals (Nos. 1 & 2 have twice-to-beat advantage) | Finals (Best-of-three series) | Finals (Best-of-three series) | Finals (Best-of-three series) | Finals (Best-of-three series) |
| 1 | NSNU | 94 | | | | |
| 4 | Adamson | 72 | | | | |
| 4 | Adamson | 72 | 1 | NSNU | 70 | 64 |
| | | | 2 | Ateneo | 58 | 53 |
| 2 | Ateneo | 90 | 2 | Ateneo | 58 | 53 |
| 3 | FEU Diliman | 82 | | | | |

### Semifinals
#### (1) NSNU vs. (4) Adamson

The NSNU Bullpups have a twice-to-beat advantage.
* S+A
* February 15 (15-02) 1:00 p.m.PHT
* Boxscore
| NUNS Bullpups | Adamson Baby Falcons |
| Scoring by quarter: 30–18, 24–17, 22–21, 18–16 |||
| Pts: Terrence Fortea 30 Pts Cyril Gonzales 13 Pts Gerry Abadiano 11 | Pts: Didat Hanapi 19 Pts Adam Manlapaz 12 Pts Jeremy Guarino 11 |
| NSNU wins series in one game |||
* Filoil Flying V Centre, San Juan Referees: Garry Villanueva, Julius Medillo, Edmar Avis

#### (2) Ateneo vs. (3) FEU Diliman

The Ateneo Blue Eaglets have a twice-to-beat advantage.
* S+A
* February 15 (15-02) 3:00 p.m.PHT
* Boxscore
| Ateneo Blue Eaglets | FEU–D Baby Tamaraws |
| Scoring by quarter: 18–18, 21–11, 27–23, 24–30 |||
| Pts: Kai Sotto 22 Rebs: Kai Sotto 8 Asts: Ian Espinosa 4 | Pts: RR Tolentino 19 Rebs: RR Tolentino 14 Asts: RJ Abarrientos 5 |
| Ateneo wins series in one game |||
* Filoil Flying V Centre, San Juan Referees: Irewin Traballo, Emman Faraon, Ribel Cañelas

### Finals

This is a best-of-three playoff.
* S+A
* February 18 (18-02) 3:00 p.m.PHT
* Boxscore
| NUNS Bullpups | 70–58 | Ateneo Blue Eaglets |
| Scoring by quarter: 14–11, 11–19, 28–15, 17–13 |||
| Pts: Carl Tamayo 15 Rebs: Kevin Quiambao 13 Rebs Carl Tamayo 12 | | Pts: Kai Sotto 16 Rebs: Kai Sotto 15 Asts: Forthsky Padrigao 8 |
* Filoil Flying V Centre, San Juan City
* S+A
* February 22 (22-02) 3:00 p.m.PHT
* Boxscore
| NUNS Bullpups | Ateneo Blue Eaglets |
| Scoring by quarter: 18–15, 13–16, 15–14, 18–8 |||
| Pts: Terrence Fortea 15 Rebs: Carl Tamayo, Cyril Gonzales 10 Asts: Kevin Quiambao 5 | Pts: Kai Sotto 26 Pts Forthsky Padrigao 8 Rebs: Kai Sotto 25 |
| NSNU wins series, 2–0 |||
* Filoil Flying V Centre, San Juan City Referees: Don Arguelles, Ariel Bermeo, Edgar Orpilla
* Finals Most Valuable Player: Carl Tamayo (NUNS Bullpups)

### Awards

* UAAP Season 81 juniors' basketball champions
* NUNS Bullpups Seventh title
* Most Valuable Player: Kai Sotto (Ateneo Blue Eaglets)
* Mythical Five:
    Six players were named to the Mythical team for the first time in UAAP history.
   * Kai Sotto (Ateneo Blue Eaglets)
   * Mark Nonoy (UST Tiger Cubs)
   * Rence Keith Sean Padrigao (Ateneo Blue Eaglets)
   * John Bismarck Lina (UST Tiger Cubs)
   * Rhonjhay Abarrientos (FEU–D Baby Tamaraws)
   * Jose Manuel Sabandal (Adamson Baby Falcons)

## Overall Championship points

In case of a tie, the team with the higher position in any tournament is ranked higher. If both are still tied, they are listed by alphabetical order.
How rankings are determined:
* Ranks 5th to 8th determined by elimination round standings.
* Loser of the #1 vs #4 semifinal match-up is ranked 4th
** If stepladder: Loser of stepladder semifinals round 1 is ranked 4th
* Loser of the #2 vs #3 semifinal match-up is ranked 3rd
** If stepladder: Loser of stepladder semifinals round 2 is ranked 3rd
* Loser of the finals is ranked 2nd
* Champion is ranked 1st