Romwel Anzures

Mapua University star Clint Escamis against Lyceum of the Philippines University in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball Final 4. Photo from NCAA Philippines.

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<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1756624821823IMG_8138.webp" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Mapua University star Clint Escamis against Lyceum of the Philippines University in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball Final 4. Photo from NCAA Philippines."/>Mapua University star Clint Escamis against Lyceum of the Philippines University in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball Final 4. Photo from NCAA Philippines.MANILA — Mapua University is set to open its NCAA men’s basketball title defense against a familiar foe as the grand-old league starts its 101st Season in October.</div>Clint Escamis and the rest of the Cardinals will clash against their Intramuros neighbor Lyceum of the Philippines University on October 1 at the Araneta Coliseum in what is a first of the NCAA’s newest group stage format.Mapua and LPU are both part of Group A together with University of Perpetual Help, San Sebastian College-Recoletos, and Arellano University.On the other hand, Season 100 Finalists College of Saint Benilde and San Beda University — the schools which will close the opening game day — belong to Group B which also features Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Jose Rizal University, and Emilio Aguinaldo College.The Cardinals and the Pirates will face off at 2:30 p.m. following the 11:00 a.m. opening ceremonies, while the Blazers and the Red Lions duel at 5:00 p.m.The said matchups are the first of what will be a first for the NCAA wherein the 10-member schools, as aforementioned, were divided into two groups following a draw.In place of the traditional 18-game, double-round eliminations of the league, each team will now face its group counterparts twice, and those from the other group once.Following the group stage, the top three squads from each group based on ranking will advance to the Quarterfinals, while the fourth and fifth seeds of each group will battle for the last two tickets.The two best teams of each group will have a twice-to-beat advantage in the crossover quarters.At the conclusion of that stage will come the Best-of-3 Semifinals, and eventually, the Finals.The same format will be done for the juniors basketball which also makes its return to the 1st semester for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.Excluding the opening day, the juniors matches will be played before the first and after the last seniors match of each game day.Games of the Season 101 seniors’ and juniors’ basketball are set to be played in four different venues.Aside from the opening at the Big Dome and the usual matches at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan, select games will also be held at the Mall of Asia Arena and the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.The first set of MOA Games is on October 10 (LPU vs. Perpetual, San Sebastian vs. Arellano), while the San Beda-Letran rivalry as well as EAC vs. JRU will be held the following day at the same Pasay Bayside venue.Aside from this, October 28 (Letran vs. Arellano, San Beda vs. Perpetual) and November 9 (Mapua vs. Arellano, LPU vs. San Sebastian) will also be at MOA.Finally, the NCAA makes its return to the RMC on November 4 (Perpetual vs. Benilde, San Sebastian vs. EAC), and November 5 (JRU vs. Arellano).

Mapua University is set to open its NCAA men’s basketball title defense against a familiar foe as the grand-old league starts its 101st Season in October.

Mapua University is set to open its NCAA men’s basketball title defense against a familiar foe as the grand-old league starts its 101st Season in October.

NCAA: Mapua, Lyceum to open Season 101 in new hoops format

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NCAA: Mapua, Lyceum to open Season 101 in new hoops format

Rom Anzures,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 31, 2025 04:00 PM PHT

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