UAAP S88 POWER RANKINGS | START TO NOV 26 + FINAL FOUR BREAKDOWN

Syd Salazar
1 day ago
4 min read

It feels poetic that an Ateneo–DLSU showdown, with everything on the line, ends up being the final match of the Final Four race.

We’re officially in the last stretch of UAAP Season 88.

December really is peak basketball season in the Philippines—the UAAP, NCAA, and MPBL all have their finals around this time.

A lot of fans have been wondering why the NCAA decided to tweak a format that already worked. The simplest explanation is that the league now has ten teams. What they implemented is basically a variation of the old PBA classification round. Sure, NCAA’s Wikipedia claims the format came from the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball Tournament, but for basketball fans, it’s easier to compare it to the classic PBA setup. You can even see a touch of the NBA’s play-in influence here, since the bottom four teams literally went through a “play-in phase.” Yes, each team now plays 14 games instead of 18, but we do get nearly three weeks of must-win matchups.

Now, we shift back to the UAAP picture.

With the UST Growling Tigresses and NU Bullpups sweeping their eliminations and heading straight to the finals, the rest of the league has to battle it out through the stepladder.

Meanwhile, in the men’s division, the Final Four is set: top-seeded NU Bulldogs vs. fourth-seeded DLSU Green Archers, and the UP Fighting Maroons vs. the UST Growling Tigers. Both NU and UP enjoy twice-to-beat advantages.

As a UST guy, I’ll admit my bias—I’m riding with the Tigers. That said, the UP vs. UST matchup feels like the main event of this phase. The winner of that series, in my opinion, has about a 70% chance of taking the whole thing. NU is strong, no doubt, but they’re not untouchable. They split their eliminations with UST and actually lost both of their games to UP. Meanwhile, UP and UST also split their meetings, which is why this showdown feels like the real tipping point.

DLSU, on the other hand, split their games with UST and dominated UP twice. However, they also lost both times to NU. Topex Robinson has made the Archers scrappy, but they’re missing key contributors—Kean Baclaan is out, and Mason Amos is still recovering. And while Omar John isn’t the same kind of FSA force as UST’s Collins Akowe or UP’s Francis Nnoruka, he’s still more effective than DLSU’s Bright Nwankwo.

What DLSU does have going for them is the Mike Phillips–Jacob Cortez duo. But NU’s advantage lies in their collective chemistry: Jake Figueroa may be the standout, but the Bulldogs’ starters mesh better, and their bench is far more reliable compared to La Salle’s.

Of course, I would love a UST–DLSU clash for the nostalgia factor. But realistically, a UP–NU final also feels like the more likely outcome. Yes, I’m a ’90s kid, and I remember NU’s cellar-dweller reputation despite having Danny Ildefonso and Lordy Tugade. But let’s not forget—they’ve had their bright moments too, including that chemistry-driven title run built around Alfred Aroga, Gelo Alolino, Glenn Khobuntin, and Troy Rosario.

Anyway, here are the UAAP Power Rankings at the end of the elimination round.

1 | PRECIOUS MOMOWEI | UE RED WARRIORS

PREVIOUS RANK | 1

16.8PPG - 13.8RPG - 2.5APG - 1.5SPG - 1.4BPG

2 | COLLINS AKOWE | UST GROWLING TIGERS

PREVIOUS RANK | 2

16.4PPG - 14.5RPG - 1.4APG - 0.7SPG - 1.6BPG

3 | MIKE PHILLIPS | DLSU GREEN ARCHERS

PREVIOUS RANK | 4

12.8PPG - 14.9RPG - 3.1APG - 1.4SPG

4 | MO KONATEH | FEU TAMARAWS

PREVIOUS RANK | 3

14.0PPG - 13.4RPG - 1.9APG - 1.0SPG - 2.1BPG

5 | JANREY PASAOL | FEU TAMARAWS

PREVIOUS RANK | 5

15.4PPG - 4.1RPG - 7.5APG - 2.1SPG

6 | JAKE FIGEROA | NU BULLDOGS

PREVIOUS RANK | 6

13.9PPG - 7.2RPG - 3.9APG - 2.1SPG - 1.0BPG

7 | FRANCIS NNORUKA | UP FIGHTING MAROONS

PREVIOUS RANK | 10

12.6PPG - 9.1RPG - 1.1APG - 1.1SPG - 1.9BPG

8 | KIRBY MONGCOPA | FEU TAMARAWS

PREVIOUS RANK | 8

11.8PPG - 8.4RPG - 3.1APG - 0.9SPG - 1.2BPG

9 | NIC CABANERO | UST GROWLING TIGERS

PREVIOUS RANK | 7

16.8PPG - 6.0RPG - 2.6APG - 1.1SPG

10 | JOHN ABATE | UE RED WARRIORS

PREVIOUS RANK | 9

16.2PPG - 4.6RPG - 4.3APG - 1.9SPG

11 | CEDRICK MANZANO | ADAMSON SOARING FALCONS

PREVIOUS RANK | 13

11.7PPG - 7.1RPG - 2.5APG - 1.2SPG - 0.9BPG

12 | DOM ESCOBAR | ATENEO BLUE EAGLES

PREVIOUS RANK | 12

11.1PPG - 6.9RPG - 2.6APG - 1.9SPG

13 | KYMANI LADI | ATENEO BLUE EAGLES

PREVIOUS RANK | 11

14.3PPG - 7.1RPG - 1.4APG - 0.7SPG

14 | JACOB CORTEZ | DLSU GREEN ARCHERS

PREVIOUS RANK | 14

14.2PPG - 3.4RPG - 3.8APG - 1.9SPG

15 | GELO CRISOSTOMO | UST GROWLING TIGERS

PREVIOUS RANK | 20

10.6PPG - 6.4RPG - 1.5APG - 1.4SPG - 1.1BPG

16 | WELLO LINGOLINGO | UE RED WARRIORS

PREVIOUS RANK | 16

14.5PPG - 4.4RPG - 1.9APG - 0.9SPG

17 | FORTHSKY PADRIGAO | UST GROWLING TIGERS

PREVIOUS RANK | 15

9.5PPG - 2.5RPG - 5.2APG - 1.9SPG

18 | REY REMOGAT | UP FIGHTING MAROONS

PREVIOUS RANK | 18

10.6PPG - 3.9RPG - 4.4APG - 1.1SPG

19 | JORICK BAUTISTA | FEU TAMARAWS

PREVIOUS RANK | 19

14.6PPG - 2.5RPG - 1.9APG - 1.0SPG