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1997 NCAA season

Host school	San Sebastian College – Recoletos
Men's Finals G1 Wins  San Sebastian Stags 84 1+1  San Beda Red Lions 72 0
Duration	October 5, 1997
Arena(s)	Rizal Memorial Coliseum
Winning coach	Arturo Cristobal
TV network(s)	Vintage Sports (IBC)
Juniors' Finals G1 G2 Wins  San Beda Red Cubs 63 60 0  Mapua Red Robins 64 78 2
Duration	October 1997
Arena(s)	Rizal Memorial Coliseum
< Season 72 1997 Season 74 >

The 1997 NCAA basketball tournament was the 73rd season in the Philippine National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The season opened on August 2, 1997 at the Araneta Coliseum and ended on October 6, 1997 with the San Sebastian Stags winning their fifth straight championship in the Seniors division.

This was the first-ever final four semifinals.

Men's tournament

Elimination round

Pos	Team	W	L	Pts	Qualification
1	San Sebastian Stags (H)	12	0	24	Twice-to-beat in the Finals
2	San Beda Red Lions	8	4	20	Proceed to stepladder round 2
3	Letran Knights	7	5	19	Proceed to stepladder round 1
4	Mapúa Cardinals	7	5	19
5	Perpetual Altas	6	6	18
6	JRC Heavy Bombers	2	10	14
7	PCU Dolphins (X)	0	12	12

1. As San Sebastian won all of their elimination round games, the stepladder format will be used instead of the regular Final Four format.
2. ^ Head-to-head record: Letran 2–0 Mapua

Bracket

	Stepladder round 1 (Single-elimination)					Stepladder round 2 (Single-elimination)					Finals (#1 has twice-to-beat advantage)
											1	San Sebastian	84
						2	San Beda	72			2	San Beda	72
	3	Letran	68			3	Letran	65
	4	Mapúa	57

Stepladder semifinals

Both rounds are straight knockout matches.

(3) Letran vs. (4) Mapúa

Letran Knights	68–57	Mapúa Cardinals
Letran advances to the 2nd round

Letran Knights beat Mapua Cardinals, 68–57, on October 1, in the first of two knockout matches to determine defending champion San Sebastian College's finals opponent. The Stags completed a 12-game elimination round sweep to automatically clinch the first finals slot.

(2) San Beda vs. (3) Letran

San Beda Red Lions	72–65	Letran Knights
San Beda advances to the Finals

San Beda Red Lions finished second and drew a bye; they defeated Letran Knights two nights later, 72–65, and arranged a title clash with San Sebastian Stags.

Finals

San Sebastian has the twice-to-beat advantage over San Beda, who only has to lose once to lose the series.

Game 1

San Sebastian Stags	84–72	San Beda Red Lions
San Sebastian wins series in one game

Stags' Rommel Adducul capped another MVP season with 20 points and 16 rebounds while Jasper Ocampo and Ulysses Tanique sparked the Stags' breakaway 25–7 run in the final 15 minutes. San Sebastian won their fifth consecutive title and the school's ninth NCAA crown.

Awards

NCAA Season 73 men's basketball champions
San Sebastian Stags Ninth title, fifth consecutive title

Juniors' tournament

Playoffs

	Semifinals (Nos. 1 & 2 have twice-to-beat advantage)					Finals (Best-of-three series)
	1	San Beda	91
	4	San Sebastian	72
						1	San Beda	63	60
						2	Mapúa	64	78
	2	Mapúa	77
	3	PCU	67

References

1. "Red Lions nip Cards for NCAA 'Final 4'". Manila Standard.
2. "Knights sideline Cardinals". Manila Standard.
3. "It's the Lions vs Stags for title". Manila Standard.
4. "Stags herd Lions for fifth straight 'NC' crown". Manila Standard.

v t e National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournaments
Champions Men's final four results
Teams	Arellano Chiefs Letran Knights Benilde Blazers EAC Generals JRU Heavy Bombers Lyceum Pirates Mapúa Cardinals San Beda Red Lions San Sebastian Stags Perpetual Altas
Seasons	Pre-war era 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 Pennant era 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 Best-of-3 finals era 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 Final four era 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021* 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Rivalries	Arellano vs. San Beda Battle of Intramuros Letran vs. San Beda Letran vs. San Sebastian San Beda vs. San Sebastian San Beda vs. Perpetual San Sebastian vs. JRU
*Played in early 2022

• NCAA basketball tournaments (Philippines)
• 1997 in Philippine basketball