WITHOUT a doubt, that was one of the most exciting elimination phases in recent memory.
And with 56 games done in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament, we can categorically say that it has, indeed, been the most competitive.
READ: It's been a decade since the UAAP was this ultracompetitive
Until the last day, six teams were still in the running for a Final Four spot – one that was ultimately decided by no less than the fiercest rivalry in Philippine basketball in La Salle vs. Ateneo.
But before the last four teams standing in National U, the University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, and La Salle dispute the crown, let’s get to the nitty-gritty of the numbers.
Just imagine, only two games separated the third and fourth placers, UST and La Salle, respectively, with their identical 8-6 cards from the sixth and seventh-ranked teams, namely Ateneo and Adamson carrying similar 6-8 slates.
Since the league’s return from the COVID-19 pandemic, this season also served up the closest winning margin, with games being decided by an average of 6.2 points.
Compare that to four seasons ago in Season 84 where teams won by an average margin of a whopping 13.04 points.
Sixteen games this campaign were won by three points or less, a massive 28.57-percent of the elims - and 24 if you extend it to five points or less, a huge 42.86-percent.
Only seven games this season qualify as blowouts, meaning those won by 15 points or more, a measly 12.50-percent, which is the lowest in five years.
That’s also no surprise, as the biggest winning margin this season is only 20 points when the Growling Tigers mangled the Fighting Maroons, 87-67, back in Sept. 24 during opening weekend.
Bottom-ranked teams were no pushovers
Even University of the East, which failed to win any of its 14 games lost only by an average of 9.78 points, with its worst being a 19-point setback at the hands of Far Eastern U, 95-76 last Oct. 19.
The Soaring Falcons, who wound up seventh, only lost by an average of 1.14 points, as their six wins tie for the most for a seventh-place team in the Final Four era. The last time a team placed seventh and got those many wins was State U in Season 64 way back in 2001.
We’ve also witnessed six overtime games this year, the second-most post-pandemic, with the Blue Eagles figuring in the most with three, including their triple-overtime classic at home that UST ultimately won, 98-89.
READ: Even MVP race in UAAP Season 88 proved to be ultracompetitive
With that kind of competition in the elims, we’re expecting no less come the playoffs. And at the end of the day, may the best team win.
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