NCAA Season 77 basketball tournaments

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NCAA Season 77
Host schoolPhilippine Christian University
Men's Finals G1 G2G3Wins
JRU school colors JRU Heavy Bombers 74 95621
SSC-R school colors San Sebastian Stags 77 81952
DurationSeptember 27 – October 2, 2001
Arena(s)Rizal Memorial Coliseum
Finals MVPChristian Coronel
Winning coachTuro Valenzona (5th title)
SemifinalistsMapua school colors Mapúa Cardinals
CSB school colors Benilde Blazers
TV network(s)PTV/NBN
Juniors' Finals G1 G2G3 (OT)Wins
Letran school colors Letran Squires 74 70632
San Beda school colors San Beda Red Cubs 69 80611
DurationSeptember 27 – October 2, 2001
Arena(s)Rizal Memorial Coliseum
Finals MVPLeland Ronquillo
Winning coachJing Ruiz (1st title)
SemifinalistsSSC-R school colors San Sebastian Staglets
Mapua school colors Mapúa Red Robins
< Season 76 2001 Season 78 >

The basketball tournaments of National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) 77th season hosted by the Philippine Christian University began on July 7, 2001, at the Araneta Coliseum with Manila mayor Lito Atienza as the special guest and speaker, followed by the opening ceremonies and a quadruple-header.[1] Games then are subsequently held at Rizal Memorial Coliseum. The opening rites and the games were aired live by the Media Conglomerates Inc. over PTV/NBN through the facilities of Silverstar Communications, Inc.[1]

Men's tournament[edit]

Elimination round[edit]

Team standing[edit]

Pos Team W L PCT GB Qualification
1 JRU school colors JRU Heavy Bombers 11 3 .786 Twice-to-beat in the semifinals
2 SSC-R school colors San Sebastian Stags 9 5 .643[a] 2
3 Mapua school colors Mapúa Cardinals 9 5 .643[a] 2 Twice-to-win in the semifinals
4 CSB school colors Benilde Blazers 8 6 .571 3
5 PCU school colors PCU Dolphins (H) 7 7 .500 4
6 Letran school colors Letran Knights 6 8 .429 5
7 UPHD school colors Perpetual Altas 4 10 .286 7
8 San Beda school colors San Beda Red Lions 2 12 .143 9
Source: The Philippine Star
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) if tied for #2 and #4, one-game playoff; 3) head-to-head record; 4) head-to-head point differential; 5) overall point differential
(H) Hosts
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Head-to-head record: Mapua 1–1 San Sebastian, (head-to-head point differential: 0); overall point differential: San Sebastian +87, Mapua +7

Match-up results[edit]

 Round 1Round 2
Team ╲ Game1234567891011121314
Letran school colors LetranCSB school colorsPCU school colorsSan Beda school colorsUPHD school colorsMapua school colorsJRU school colorsSSC-R school colorsUPHD school colorsSSC-R school colorsJRU school colorsSan Beda school colorsCSB school colorsPCU school colorsMapua school colors
CSB school colors BenildeLetran school colorsSan Beda school colorsPCU school colorsMapua school colorsUPHD school colorsSSC-R school colorsJRU school colorsSSC-R school colorsUPHD school colorsMapua school colorsPCU school colorsLetran school colorsSan Beda school colorsJRU school colors
JRU school colors JRUSSC-R school colorsMapua school colorsUPHD school colorsSan Beda school colorsPCU school colorsLetran school colorsCSB school colorsSan Beda school colorsPCU school colorsLetran school colorsMapua school colorsUPHD school colorsSSC-R school colorsCSB school colors
Mapua school colors MapúaUPHD school colorsJRU school colorsSSC-R school colorsCSB school colorsLetran school colorsPCU school colorsSan Beda school colorsPCU school colorsSan Beda school colorsCSB school colorsJRU school colorsSSC-R school colorsUPHD school colorsLetran school colors
PCU school colors PCUSan Beda school colorsLetran school colorsCSB school colorsSSC-R school colorsJRU school colorsMapua school colorsUPHD school colorsMapua school colorsUPHD school colorsJRU school colorsSSC-R school colorsCSB school colorsSan Beda school colorsLetran school colors
San Beda school colors San BedaPCU school colorsCSB school colorsLetran school colorsJRU school colorsSSC-R school colorsUPHD school colorsMapua school colorsJRU school colorsMapua school colorsUPHD school colorsLetran school colorsPCU school colorsCSB school colorsSSC-R school colors
SSC-R school colors San SebastianJRU school colorsUPHD school colorsMapua school colorsPCU school colorsSan Beda school colorsCSB school colorsLetran school colorsCSB school colorsLetran school colorsPCU school colorsUPHD school colorsMapua school colorsJRU school colorsSan Beda school colors
UPHD school colors PerpetualMapua school colorsSSC-R school colorsJRU school colorsLetran school colorsCSB school colorsSan Beda school colorsPCU school colorsLetran school colorsPCU school colorsCSB school colorsSan Beda school colorsSSC-R school colorsJRU school colorsMapua school colors
Source: The Philippine Star
  = Win;   = OT win;   = Loss;   = OT loss

Scores[edit]

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 CSJL CSB JRU MIT PCU SBC SSC-R UPHR
Letran Knights 65–71 81–85 71–76 70–65 85–77 63–75 81–72
Benilde Blazers 77–71* 90–95 60–66 64–68 98–103* 71–77 71–75
JRU Heavy Bombers 81–83 74–84 62–56 82–70 103–98 55–54 80–73
Mapúa Cardinals 62–55 61–70 88–85 71–73 80–71 60–70 52–61
PCU Dolphins 87–81 81–79 80–87 61–74 85–93 55–61 62–64
San Beda Red Lions 67–88 74–91 111–125* 66–68 75–82 77–81 78–84
San Sebastian Stags 83–62 69–72 75–81 81–71 65–72 84–69 89–81**
Perpetual Altas 70–71 63–76 87–102 72–80 69–74 61–82 64–76
Source: The Philippine Star
Legend: Blue = left column team win; Red = top row team win.
Matches with lighter background shading were decided after overtime.

Bracket[edit]

Semifinals
(Nos. 1 & 2 have twice-to-beat advantage)
Finals
(Best-of-three series)
1JRU school colors JRU8499
4CSB school colors Benilde9876
1JRU school colors JRU749562
2SSC-R school colors San Sebastian778195
2SSC-R school colors San Sebastian5848
3Mapua school colors Mapúa6544

Semifinals[edit]

San Sebastian and JRU have the twice-to-beat advantage. They only have to win once, while their opponents, twice, to progress.

(1) JRU vs. (4) Benilde[edit]

September 20
5:30 p.m.
JRU Heavy Bombers JRU school colors 84–98 CSB school colors Benilde Blazers
Scoring by quarter: 17-26, 21-19, 21-21, 25-32
Pts: Nani Epondulan 22 Pts: Sunday Salvacion 39
September 22
5:00 p.m.
JRU Heavy Bombers JRU school colors 99–76 CSB school colors Benilde Blazers
Pts: Nani Epondulan 35
JRU wins series in two games

In Game 1, the defending champions Blazers relied on its star, Sunday Salvacion, who capped 39 points in the game including six treys.[2] The game was a nip-and-tuck affair until midway in the first half, when Salvacion broke a 14-all deadlock. The Bombers never recovered and faced a 15-point deficit entering the final two minutes.[3]

The Heavy Bombers relied on its veterans to mount a huge lead, 58–32 in the third quarter and never looked back.[4] Defending champion Blazers, however, conspired a comeback by making ten triples, but it wasn't enough to push themselves on the way to Finals. Graduating players Ernani Epondulan finished with 35 points and Ariel Capus made 17 of his own.[5]

(2) San Sebastian vs. (3) Mapúa[edit]

September 20
1:30 p.m.
San Sebastian Stags SSC-R school colors 58–65 Mapua school colors Mapúa Cardinals
Scoring by quarter: 13-21, 23-11, 9-11, 13-22
Pts: Mark Macapagal 14 Pts: Steve Marucot 18
September 22
1:30 p.m.
San Sebastian Stags SSC-R school colors 48–44 Mapua school colors Mapúa Cardinals
Scoring by quarter: 16-11, 10-10, 8-14, 14-9
Pts: Paul Reguerra 10 Pts: Jeff Martin 12
San Sebastian wins series in two games

The Cardinals, led by rookie point guard Jeffrey Martin, Steve Marucot, and Roberto Lagar found their rhythm in the final period of Game 1 to force the Stags to a rubber match. Lagar hit back-to-back treys midway in the final period to give his team the lead, 57–49. However, the Stags recovered and reduced the deficit, 59–58, thanks to Michael Gonzales' pair of charities in the last 21 seconds. The Stags went to fouls to stop the clock when Lagar missed his last free throw but Marucot's putback sealed the victory for the Cardinals.[2]

The Stags, who are enjoying a twice-to-beat advantage, relied on endgame breaks in Game 2 to eliminate Mapúa and advance to the Finals.[4][5]

Finals[edit]

The San Sebastian Stags are back again in the Finals after their disappointing defeat from CSB Blazers last season. They last held their five-straight championships from 1993 to 1997 and then the streak ended in 1998 at the hands of Letran Knights.

Meanwhile, the JRU Heavy Bombers has not seen a title since 1972. They came close to winning the title in 1999, only to falter to the Letran Knights. The disappointment continued last year when they were beaten twice by the San Sebastian Stags in the semifinals.

September 27
3:30 p.m.
JRU Heavy Bombers JRU school colors 74–77 SSC-R school colors San Sebastian Stags
Scoring by quarter: 13-18, 20-20, 26-15, 15-24
Pts: Nani Epondulan 16 Pts: Clark Moore 15
September 29
3:30 p.m.
JRU Heavy Bombers JRU school colors 95–81 SSC-R school colors San Sebastian Stags
Scoring by quarter: 19-21, 28-14, 9-12, 39-34
Pts: Nani Epondulan 26 Pts: Macapagal, Alfad 14 each
October 2
3:30 p.m.
JRU Heavy Bombers JRU school colors 62–95 SSC-R school colors San Sebastian Stags
Scoring by quarter: 18-23, 17-20, 9-19, 18-33
Pts: Ariel Capus 14 Pts: Mark Macapagal 21
San Sebastian wins series, 2–1

The two teams clashed neck-to-neck all throughout Game 1 but the Stags are the better team in crunch time. The Heavy Bombers entered the final quarter with the lead when the Stags applied its pressure defense. Stags' Roy Falcasantos converted a layup in the last 48 seconds of the game to break a 74-all tieup then later converted a charity to give his team the win.[6][7]

JRU relied on the offense of season MVP Nani Epondulan, Joel Finuliar, Rendel Dela Rea, and Ariel Capus to register a 68–54 lead in the final quarter of Game 2 to keep the Stags at bay and then finally made a comeback to the series.[8][9]

Showing experience, the Stags never faltered from the start of Game 3, as they outclassed the Heavy Bombers by 33 points en route to their 10th NCAA championship. Nani Epondulan, the season MVP, tallied 13 points in the first half, but was made scoreless in the second half.[10][11]

Awards[edit]

 NCAA Season 77 men's basketball champions 
SSC-R school colors
San Sebastian Stags
Tenth title
  • Most Valuable Player: Ernani Epondulan (JRU Heavy Bombers)
  • Mythical Five:
    • Ernani Epondulan (JRU Heavy Bombers)
    • Arjun Cordero (San Beda Red Lions)
    • Jondan Salvador (Benilde Blazers)
    • Harold Santa Cruz (Letran Knights)
    • Nelbert Omolon (PCU Dolphins)
  • Rookie of the Year: Ismael Junio (Letran Knights)
  • Coach of the Year: Arturo Valenzona (San Sebastian Stags)

Juniors' tournament[edit]

Bracket[edit]

Semifinals
(Nos. 1 & 2 have twice-to-beat advantage)
Finals
(Best-of-three series)
1Letran school colors LetranW
4Mapua school colors MapúaL
1Letran school colors Letran747063*
2San Beda school colors San Beda698061
2San Beda school colors San BedaW
3SSC-R school colors San SebastianL

*Game went into overtime

Finals[edit]

September 27
1:00pm
Letran Squires Letran school colors 74–69 San Beda school colors San Beda Red Cubs
Letran leads series, 1–0
September 29
1:00pm
Letran Squires Letran school colors 70–80 San Beda school colors San Beda Red Cubs
Series tied, 1–1
October 2
1:00pm
Letran Squires Letran school colors 63–61 (OT) San Beda school colors San Beda Red Cubs
Letran wins series, 2–1
  • Finals Most Valuable Player: Leland Ronquillo (Letran Squires)

Awards[edit]

 NCAA Season 77 juniors' basketball champions 
Letran school colors
Letran Squires
12th title
  • Most Valuable Player: Jay-R Reyes (Letran Squires)
  • Rookie of the Year: Jay-R Reyes (Letran Squires)
  • Mythical Five:
    • Jay-R Reyes (Letran Squires)
    • JC Intal (Letran Squires)
    • Alvin Banes (San Sebastian Staglets)
    • Mark Lester Benitez (JRU Light Bombers)
    • Jonjon Tabique (San Beda Red Cubs)
  • Defensive Player of the Year: Jay-R Reyes (Letran Squires)
  • Most Improved Player: Mark Lester Benitez (JRU Light Bombers)
  • Coach of the Year: Jing Ruiz (Letran Squires)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Villar, Joey (July 7, 2001). "NCAA season unfolds; St. Benilde faces Letran". Philippine Star. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Navarro, June (September 21, 2001). "Benilde forces rubber match; Mapua Tech halts San Sebastian". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  3. ^ Cordero, Abac (September 21, 2001). "Salvacion saves Blazers". Philippine Star. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  4. ^ a b Navarro, June (September 23, 2001). "Bombers, Stags forge final duel". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved April 4, 2001.
  5. ^ a b Cordero, Abac (September 23, 2001). "Bombers, Stags dispute crown". Philippine Star. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  6. ^ Navarro, June (September 28, 2001). "NCAA: Stags nip Bombers". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  7. ^ Villar, Joey (September 28, 2001). "Stags mute Heavy Bombers". Philippine Star. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  8. ^ Navarro, June (September 30, 2001). "JRU Bombers force decider vs San Sebastian Stags". INQ7.net. Archived from the original on November 9, 2001. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  9. ^ Villar, Joey (September 30, 2001). "Bombers blast Stags, force 'rubber'". Philippine Star. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  10. ^ Navarro, June (October 3, 2001). "Stags NCAA champs". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  11. ^ Villar, Joey (October 3, 2001). "Stags claim NCAA crown". Philippine Star. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
Preceded by NCAA basketball seasons
Season 77 (2001)
Succeeded by