The National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) (NCAA) holds its annual basketball tournaments for the Seniors' and Juniors' divisions from June to October of the academic year.
The tournament started in 1924, the NCAA's inaugural year, and has been held continuously since then, only interrupted by World War II from 1942 to 1946, suspension of play from 1961 to 1965 due to the proliferation of ineligible players, and the 1980 riot between supporters of La Salle and Letran which wrecked the Rizal Memorial Coliseum which forced the association to suspend the rest of the season.
[1] In 1998, the "Final Four" format used in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) was first applied: in a modified Shaughnessy playoff system, the two teams with the best records possess the "twice to beat advantage" in which they only have to win once to advance to the best-of-three finals while their opponents have to win twice.
[1] Trinity College of Quezon City was also admitted in 1974, the association's golden anniversary, according to publications of the day.
[7] The Ateneo de Manila University left the association in 1978 after the championship series against San Beda College where the final game was held behind closed doors.
After the Ateneo de Manila, La Salle, and San Beda left, the NCAA opened its doors to new members.
In 2007, Philippine Christian University (PCU) were found to have ineligible players in its juniors basketball team.
[12] In 2009, Angeles University Foundation (AUF), Arellano University, Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) participated as guest members for the 2009–10 season;[13] only Arellano and EAC were accepted as members on probation starting on the 2010–11 season.