NCAA Season 98 basketball tournaments

NCAA Season 98
Achieve greatness every day
Host school	Emilio Aguinaldo College
Duration	December 4–18, 2022
Arena(s)	Smart Araneta Coliseum (Games 1 & 2); Ynares Center (Game 3);
Finals MVP	King Caralipio
Winning coach	Bonnie Tan (3rd title)
Semifinalists	Lyceum Pirates; San Beda Red Lions;
TV network(s)	GMA, GTV
Duration	March 13–16, 2023
Arena(s)	San Andres Sports Complex
Finals MVP	Andy Gemao
Winning coach	Allen Ricardo (1st title)
Semifinalists	San Beda Red Cubs; Malayan Red Robins;
TV network(s)	GTV

The NCAA Season 98 basketball tournaments are the basketball tournaments of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) for its 2022–23 season. Emilio Aguinaldo College hosted the tournaments for the first time.

The men's tournament was held in September 2022, just over three months after Season 97 ended. The juniors' tournament began in February 2023, the first tournament since Season 95, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Letran Knights and Squires won their respective tournaments, winning the first double championship for Letran since 1983.^[1]

In the men's tournament, the Benilde Blazers finished first, and defeated the #4 seed San Beda Red Lions in the semifinals. Letran, which finished second, also defeated #3 seed Lyceum Pirates on the other semifinal. Letran defeated Benilde in three games to win their third consecutive title.

In the juniors' tournament, the Letran Squires finished first, with LSGH, Malayan, San Beda and San Sebastian finishing tied from second to fifth. After a series of playoff games, Letran defeated #4 seed Malayan Red Robins, while #2 San Beda Red Cubs lost all of its semifinal games against #3 seed LSGH Greenies. Letran defeated LSGH in two games in the Finals, to win their first title since 2001.

Tournament format

After COVID restrictions limited the elimination round to a single round-robin with the introduction of a play-in tournament in the previous season, Season 98 returned to a double round-robin eliminations for the men's tournament.^[2]

Former UAAP basketball commissioner Tonichi Pujante is this season's commissioner.^[3]

Just like in Season 97, game days are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.^[4]

For the juniors' tournament, it is a single round-robin tournament.^[5]

Teams

All ten schools are participating.

Men's teams
Team	College	Men's coach^[6]
Arellano Chiefs	Arellano University (AU)	Cholo Martin
Letran Knights	Colegio de San Juan de Letran (CSJL)	Bonnie Tan
Benilde Blazers	De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde (CSB)	Charles Tiu
EAC Generals	Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC)	Oliver Bunyi
JRU Heavy Bombers	José Rizal University (JRU)	Louie Gonzalez
Lyceum Pirates	Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU)	Gilbert Malabanan
Mapúa Cardinals	Mapúa University (MU)	Randy Alcantara
San Beda Red Lions	San Beda University (SBU)	Yuri Escueta
San Sebastian Stags	San Sebastian College – Recoletos (SSC-R)	Edgar Macaraya
Perpetual Altas	University of Perpetual Help System DALTA (UPHSD)	Myk Saguiguit

Juniors' teams
Team	High school	Juniors' coach
Arellano Braves	Arellano University High School (AU)	Junjie Ablan
Letran Squires	Colegio de San Juan de Letran (CSJL)	Allen Ricardo
EAC-ICA Brigadiers	Immaculate Conception Academy (ICA)	Azlie Guro
JRU Light Bombers	José Rizal University (JRU)	Vic Lazaro
La Salle Green Hills Greenies	La Salle Green Hills (LSGH)	Renren Ritualo
Lyceum Junior Pirates	Lyceum of the Philippines University – Cavite (LPU–C)	JC Docto
Mapúa Red Robins	Malayan High School of Science (MHSS)	Yong Garcia
San Beda Red Cubs	San Beda University – Rizal (SBU–R)	Miko Roldan
San Sebastian Staglets	San Sebastian College – Recoletos (SSC–R)	Juan Miguel Martin
Perpetual Junior Altas	University of Perpetual Help System DALTA (UPHSD)	Joph Cleopas

Coaching changes

Team	Outgoing coach	Manner of departure	Date	Replaced by	Date
Lyceum Junior Pirates	LA Mumar	Mutual consent	November 2019	Ian Sangco^[7]
La Salle Green Hills Greenies	Marvin Bienvenida	Mutual consent	March 28, 2019^[8]	Karl Santos	March 30, 2019^[7]
Perpetual Junior Altas	Myk Saguiguit	Signed with Perpetual Altas	December 2, 2020^[9]	Joph Cleopas	December 2, 2020^[10]
San Beda Red Lions	Boyet Fernandez	Demoted	July 26, 2022^[11]	Yuri Escueta	July 27, 2022^[12]
La Salle Green Hills Greenies	Karl Santos	Fired	June 15, 2022	Renren Ritualo	July 29, 2022^[13]
San Beda Red Cubs	Manu Inigo	Fired	October 28, 2022^[14]	Miko Roldan	January 12, 2023^[15]
San Sebastian Staglets	Mel Banua	Fired	December 15, 2022	Juan Miguel Martin	January 6, 2023

Venues

6km
4miles

EAC
Gym

San
Andres
Gym

Ynares
Center

Araneta
Coliseum

Filoil
EcoOil
Center

Basketball venues (red for seniors' venues, blue for juniors' venues)

For the men's tournament, Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City hosted the opening day, while Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan hosted the remainder of the elimination round.^[16] Filoil EcoOil Centre hosted the semifinals,^[17] while the NCAA returned to the Araneta Coliseum for the first two games of the Finals.^[18] Game 3 of the Finals was held at the Ynares Center in Antipolo, Rizal.^[19]

For the juniors' tournament, the Emilio Aguinaldo College Gym in Manila hosted the elimination round,^[5] except for the final gameday, which was held at the nearby San Andres Sports Complex,^[20] which then hosted all of the playoff games.


Arena	Location	Tournament		Capacity
Arena	Location	Men	Jrs	Capacity
Araneta Coliseum	Quezon City	Y		14,429
Emilio Aguinaldo College Gym	Manila		Y	250
Filoil EcoOil Centre	San Juan	Y		6,000
San Andres Sports Complex	Manila		Y	3,000
Ynares Center	Antipolo, Rizal	Y		7,400

Squads

Each team can have up to 15 players on their roster, with an additional up to three players in the injured reserve list.^[21]

The ban of foreign student-athletes first applied in Season 96 (2020) is still in effect, requiring all players to be Filipinos.^[22]

Men's tournament

The traditional champion vs. season host opening game on September 10 was scrapped when four Letran Knights players contracted COVID-19; replacing that match-up is season hosts EAC going up against the Arellano Chiefs; the host vs. champion game will instead be the final game of the first round.^[3] (Subsequent postponements have made this not the final game of the first round.)

Elimination round

Team standings

Pos	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Qualification
1	Benilde Blazers	14	4	.778	—	Twice-to-beat in the semifinals
2	Letran Knights	13	5	.722	1	Twice-to-beat in the semifinals
3	Lyceum Pirates	12	6	.667^[a]	2	Twice-to-win in the semifinals
4	San Beda Red Lions	12	6	.667^[a]	2	Twice-to-win in the semifinals
5	San Sebastian Stags	8	10	.444	6
6	Arellano Chiefs	7	11	.389^[b]	7
7	Mapúa Cardinals^[c]	7	11	.389^[b]	7
8	Perpetual Altas	7	11	.389^[b]	7
9	JRU Heavy Bombers	7	11	.389^[b]	7
10	EAC Generals (H)	3	15	.167	11

Source: GMA
Rules for classification: 1) winning percentage; 2) head-to-head record; 3) overall point differential
(H) Hosts
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Head-to-head record: Lyceum 2–0 San Beda
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Head-to-head record: Arellano 4–2, Mapua 3–3, Perpetual 3–3 (Mapua 1–1 Perpetual, Mapua +6), JRU 2–4
^ NCAA Management Committee reversed Mapúa's win over San Beda in their first round game, ruling it as a 20–0 forfeit win for San Beda after Mapúa fielded an ineligible player in Gab Gamboa. He was found to have been enrolled in another school outside the NCAA.^[23]

Match-up results

Two first-round games, Benilde vs. JRU, and JRU vs. San Sebastian, were rescheduled on the early part of the second round. On this table, they're shown as if they occurred before the second round started.

	Round 1									Round 2
Team ╲ Game	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Arellano
Letran
Benilde
EAC
JRU
Lyceum
Mapúa
San Beda
San Sebastian
Perpetual

Source: GMA
= Win; = OT win; = Win by forfeit; = Loss; = OT loss; = Loss by forfeit

Postponed games

Letran vs. EAC rescheduled after four Letran players tested positive for COVID-19.^[3]
San Sebastian's games vs. Lyceum and EAC rescheduled after six San Sebastian players tested positive for COVID-19.^[24]
September 25 games (JRU vs. Benilde and San Beda vs. Perpetual) were rescheduled due to Super Typhoon Karding.^[25]
JRU's games vs. San Sebastian and Benilde after JRU players tested positive for COVID-19.^[26] The JRU vs. San Sebastian game has been rescheduled thrice.^[27]
San Beda vs Arellano rescheduled after Arellano players tested positive for COVID-19.^[26]
Games on October 29 (Arellano vs. EAC and San Beda vs. Benilde)^[28] and October 30 (Mapua vs. San Sebastian and JRU vs. Letran)^[29] have been postponed due to Tropical Storm Paeng.

Scores

Results on top and to the right of the grey cells are for first-round games; those to the bottom and to the left of it are second-round games.

Teams	AU	CSJL	CSB	EAC	JRU	LPU	MU	SBU	SSC-R	UPHSD
Arellano Chiefs		72–69	72–84	63–58	67–70	80–82	64–59	61–96	51–60	61–59
Letran Knights	65–53		81–75	72–68	101–97*	75–82	67–62	68–76	77–69	70–67
Benilde Blazers	83–73	66–74		73–61	92–79	86–69	73–64	78–69	100–94	81–64
EAC Generals	63–62*	77–84	80–75		74–97	67–74	55–67	56–85	61–78	54–55
JRU Heavy Bombers	52–62	87–71	51–71^[a]	61–60		63–57	67–64*	83–80	68–72	60–84
Lyceum Pirates	63–77	64–69	88–100	79–73	79–62		76–67	89–81	82–79*	82–77
Mapúa Cardinals	67–47	58–74	72–85	77–67	74–49	62–59		0–20^[b]	56–57	77–79
San Beda Red Lions	76–63	91–77	73–82	72–64	70–61	80–81	71–63		78–71	71–52
San Sebastian Stags	71–66	50–69	78–83	62–59	92–74	65–73	67–75	79–82*		57–61
Perpetual Altas	81–86	59–74	89–83	53–59	72–60	82–86	65–73	75–72*	74–78

Source: GMA
Legend: Blue = left column team win; Red = top row team win.
Matches with lighter background shading were decided after overtime.
Notes:

^ Benilde was leading 71–51 with 3:22 remaining in the fourth quarter when JRU player John Amores charged the Benilde bench and assaulted several Benilde players, which caused the game to be halted. After a long pause, the NCAA Management Committee abandoned the game and awarded Benilde the win, keeping the score before the game was halted.^[30]
^ Mapúa originally won 66–55. The NCAA Management Committee reversed Mapúa's win over San Beda after the Cardinals were found to have fielded an ineligible player in Gab Gamboa, awarding San Beda with a 20–0 win.^[23]

Bracket


Semifinals (Nos. 1 & 2 have twice-to-beat advantage)			Finals (Best-of-three series)



1	Benilde	62

4	San Beda	61
			1	Benilde	75	76	67

			2	Letran	81	71	81
2	Letran	67

3	Lyceum	58

Semifinals

Letran and Benilde will have the twice-to-beat advantage; with them having to win only once, and while their opponents twice, to advance.^[31]

(1) Benilde vs. (4) San Beda

The Benilde Blazers qualified to its first Final Four in 20 years.^[32] San Beda made it to its 17th consecutive Final Four appearance.^[33]

GTV

November 29
12:00 p.m.

Box score

Benilde Blazers	62–61	San Beda Red Lions
Scoring by quarter: 19–14, 15–17, 20–17, 8–13
Pts: Miguel Oczon 17 Rebs: Miguel Corteza 12 Asts: Miguel Oczon 4		Pts: Jacob Cortez 13 Rebs: Kwekuteye, Ynot 9 each Asts: Cortez, Kwekuteye 2 each
Benilde wins series in one game

Filoil EcoOil Centre, San Juan
Referees: Harry Santos (IR), Aaron Cañete (IR), Carlo Sebastian (NR)

(2) Letran vs. (3) Lyceum

The Letran Knights qualified to its fourth consecutive Final Four.^[34] The Lyceum Pirates clinched a Final Four berth after missing out in Season 97.^[35]

GTV

November 29
3:00 p.m.

Box score

Letran Knights	67–58	Lyceum Pirates
Scoring by quarter: 13–17, 17–11, 20–17, 17–13
Pts: Fran Yu 11 Rebs: King Caralipio 12 Asts: King Caralipio 5		Pts: Enoch Valdez 15 Rebs: Enoch Valdez 11 Asts: Renzo Navarro 4
Letran wins series in one game

Filoil EcoOil Centre, San Juan
Referees: Mike Tolentino (IR), Totie Celeste (IR), Jemar Talledo (NR)

Finals

The Finals is a best-of-three series. Benilde qualified to its first Finals appearance in 20 years,^[36] while Letran qualified to its third consecutive Finals.^[18]

GMA
GTV

December 4
3:00 p.m.

Box score

Benilde Blazers	75–81	Letran Knights
Scoring by quarter: 21–25, 29–27, 17–14, 8–15
Pts: Will Gozum 19 Rebs: Will Gozum 11 Asts: Pasturan, Cullar 5 each		Pts: Louie Sangalang 24 Rebs: Louie Sangalang 10 Asts: Fran Yu 5

Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
Attendance: 8,284
Referees: Rey Hufana (IR), Glenn Cornelio (IR), Aaron Cañete (IR)

GMA
GTV

December 11
3:00 p.m.

Box score

Benilde Blazers	76–71	Letran Knights
Scoring by quarter: 20–23, 14–22, 30–14, 12–12
Pts: Corteza, Gozum 21 each Rebs: Corteza, Gozum 10 each Asts: 3 players, 4 each		Pts: Brent Paraiso 16 Rebs: King Caralipio 14 Asts: Tom Olivario 6

Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City
Referees: Glenn Cornelio (IR), Harry Santos (IR), Totie Celeste (IR)

GMA
GTV

December 18
3:00 p.m.

Box score

Benilde Blazers	67–81	Letran Knights
Scoring by quarter: 21–24, 12–27, 21–19, 13–11
Pts: Miguel Corteza 14 Rebs: 3 players, 7 each Asts: James Pasturan 6		Pts: King Caralipio 20 Rebs: King Caralipio 10 Asts: Monje, Olivario 3 each
Letran wins series, 2–1

Ynares Center, Antipolo, Rizal
Referees: Joenard Garcia (IR), Aaron Cañete (IR), Glenn Cornelio (IR)

Finals Most Valuable Player: King Caralipio (Letran Knights)
Coach of the Year: Bonnie Tan (Letran Knights)

All-Star Game

The annual GMA-NCAA All-Star Game was on October 15, 2022, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre. Each team had celebrities and basketball legends. The basketball legends in Team Heroes were Allan Caidic and Jerry Codiñera, while Team Saints had Marlou Aquino and Willie Miller.^[37]

GTV

October 15
2:30 p.m.

Box score

Team Saints	95–98	Team Heroes
Scoring by quarter: 24–35, 28–17, 28–20, 15–26
Pts: James Kwekuteye 15 Rebs: JB Bahio 10 Asts: James Kwekuteye 5		Pts: Nat Cosejo 16 Rebs: Warren Bonifacio 11 Asts: Renzo Navarro 7

Filoil EcoOil Centre, San Juan
Referees: Kent Tabora (NR), Rimmon Madera (NR), Fernan Nakila (NR)

All-Star Game MVP: Nat Cosejo (Team Heroes)
Celebrity MVP: Raheel Bhyria (Team Heroes)

Awards

NCAA Season 98 men's basketball champions
Letran Knights 20th title, third consecutive title

The awards were handed out prior to Game 2 of the Finals at the Araneta Coliseum.^[38]

Most Valuable Player: Will Gozum (Benilde Blazers)
Rookie of the Year: Cade Flores (Arellano Chiefs)
Mythical Five:
- Will Gozum (Benilde Blazers)
- Cade Flores (Arellano Chiefs)
- JB Bahio (San Beda Red Lions)
- James Kwekuteye (San Beda Red Lions)
- King Caralipio (Letran Knights)
Defensive Player of the Year: Cade Flores (Arellano Chiefs)
All-Defensive Team:
- Cade Flores (Arellano Chiefs)
- JB Bahio (San Beda Red Lions)
- Will Gozum (Benilde Blazers)
- Mark Omega (Perpetual Altas)
- Romel Calahat (San Sebastian Stags)
Most Improved Player: Shawn Umali (Lyceum Pirates)
Sportsmanship Award: San Beda Red Lions

Players of the Week

The Collegiate Press Corps awards a "player of the week" on Mondays for performances on the preceding week.


Week	Player	Team
Week 1^[39]	Cade Flores	Arellano Chiefs
Week 2^[40]	Will Gozum	Benilde Blazers
Week 3^[41]	Mac Guadaña	Lyceum Pirates
Week 4^[42]	Migs Oczon	Benilde Blazers
Week 5^[43]	Nat Cosejo	EAC Generals
Week 6^[44]	Fran Yu	Letran Knights
Week 7^[45]	Will Gozum	Benilde Blazers
Week 8^[46]	JB Bahio	San Beda Red Lions
Week 9^[47]	Enoch Valdez	Lyceum Pirates
Week 10^[48]	Will Gozum	Benilde Blazers

Statistical leaders

Statistical leaders' averages after the elimination round.^[49]

Season player highs

Statistic	Player	Team	Average
Points per game	Will Gozum	Benilde Blazers	17.17
Rebounds per game	Cade Flores	Arellano Chiefs	10.07
Assists per game	Renzo Navarro	Lyceum Pirates	5.41
Steals per game	Fran Yu	Letran Knights	2.17
Blocks per game	Shawn Umali	Lyceum Pirates	1.94
Field goal percentage	Nat Cosejo	EAC Generals	55.15%
Three-point field goal percentage	Rhinwil Yambing	San Sebastian Stags	45.83%
Free throw percentage	Robi Nayve	Benilde Blazers	87.5%
Turnovers per game	Ichie Altamirano	San Sebastian Stags	3.33

Team game highs

Statistic	Team	Total	Opponent
Points	Letran Knights	101^[a]	JRU Heavy Bombers
	Benilde Blazers	100^[b]	Lyceum Pirates
	Benilde Blazers	100^[b]	San Sebastian Stags
Rebounds	Perpetual Altas	60	Benilde Blazers
Assists	Perpetual Altas	31	EAC Generals
Steals	Letran Knights	15	Benilde Blazers
Blocks	Lyceum Pirates	8	Benilde Blazers
	Lyceum Pirates		JRU Heavy Bombers
	San Beda Red Lions		Letran Knights
	Perpetual Altas		Arellano Chiefs
	San Beda Red Lions		EAC Generals
Field goal percentage	Perpetual Altas	56.0%	Benilde Blazers
Three-point field goal percentage	San Sebastian Stags	51.0%	JRU Heavy Bombers
Free throw percentage	EAC Generals	100%	Perpetual Altas
Free throw percentage	Letran Knights	100%	San Beda Red Lions
Turnovers	JRU Heavy Bombers	30	Perpetual Altas

Notes

^ Game went into overtime.
^ Game ended in regulation time.

Team season highs

Statistic	Team	Average
Points per game	Benilde Blazers	81.67
Rebounds per game	Perpetual Altas	48.56
Assists per game	Benilde Blazers	19.44
Steals per game	Lyceum Pirates	8.0
Blocks per game	Lyceum Pirates	4.72
Field goal percentage	Benilde Blazers	42.09%
Three-point field goal percentage	Letran Knights	31.29%
Free throw percentage	Perpetual Altas	62.37%
Turnovers per game	Arellano Chiefs	15.61

Discipline

The following were suspended throughout the course of the season:

Brent Paraiso of the Letran Knights for a disqualifying foul against the Mapúa Cardinals. Served one-game suspension against the San Beda Red Lions.^[50]
- Paraiso was given another one-game suspension, this time on their game against the Lyceum Pirates, for actions detrimental to the league.^[51]
Louie Sangalang of the Letran Knights for two technical fouls against the Mapúa Cardinals. Served one-game suspension against the San Beda Red Lions.^[50]
- Sangalang was given another one-game suspension, this time on their game against the Lyceum Pirates, for actions detrimental to the league.^[51]
There were reports that Gab Gamboa of the Mapúa Cardinals was banned in the NCAA for life for being an ineligible player after being enrolled in another school (St. Clare College of Caloocan) outside of the NCAA. Gamboa had already withdrew from the team on September 18. The ban was supposedly reported on October 1. Last time while the Mapúa Cardinals wins on this opening day last September 10, 2022 at the score of 66-55 + the San Beda Red Lions will go up to 4-1 win and Mapúa Cardinals 0-6,^[52] the NCAA denied that there were penalties already meted on Gamboa himself, with only the forfeiture being confirmed.^[53]
Ralph Robin and King Gurtiza of the EAC Generals was suspended for the rest of the season, while Art Cosa and Joshua Tolentino were suspended for an undisclosed number of games, by the team for unspecified "team violations". The announcement was prior to the start of the second round.^[54]
Kim Aurin of the Perpetual Altas was suspended for one game against the Letran Knights by the team for unspecified "team violations."^[55] Aurin later the left the team midseason and signed with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 3x3.^[56]
Jacob Shanoda of the San Sebastian Stags for an unsportsmanlike foul against the Letran Knights. Served one-game suspension against the Mapua Cardinals.^[57]
John Amores of the JRU Heavy Bombers was suspended indefinitely for the following acts: intentionally bumping the referee, pointing a finger at the referee, disrespecting the NCAA Management Committee (MANCOM) representative, disrespecting court officials, charging towards the bench of CSB, instigating a brawl, making provocative gestures meant to ignite a fight or brawl, and throwing punches against four Benilde players.^[58]
- JRU also suspended Amores indefinitely, adding that he will no longer play in the remainder of the current season, and would no longer participate in team activities.^[59]
- A week after the incident, JRU announced that Amores has been permanently removed from the team.^[60]
Mark Sangco and CJ Flores of the Benilde Blazers were suspended for two games against the Perpetual Altas and the San Sebastian Stags for disrespecting MANCOM representatives during the Amores incident.^[61]
Ryan Arenal and William Sy of the JRU Heavy Bombers were suspended for two games against the San Sebastian Stags and Perpetual Altas for disrespecting ManCom representatives, and Sy was also suspended another game against the Lyceum Pirates for leaving the bench during the Amores incident.^[61]
Jason Tan, Joshua Guiab, Jason Celis, Marwin Dionisio, Jan Abaoag, Jonathan Medina, Karl de Jesus and Christian Gonzales of the JRU Heavy Bombers were suspended for one game against the San Sebastian Stags for entering the court without recognition from table officials during the Amores incident.^[61]
Ladis Lepalam of the Benilde Blazers was suspended for one game against the Perpetual Altas for entering the court without recognition from table officials during the Amores incident.^[61]
Renzo Navarro of the Lyceum Pirates who was ejected in their game against San Sebastian Stags. Served one-game suspension against the JRU Heavy Bombers.^[62]
The three referees who handled the aforementioned incident during the JRU vs. Benilde game were placed under preventive suspension.^[63]
Coach Edgar Macaraya of the San Sebastian Stags was supposed to be suspended for one game for a disqualifying foul for excessive complaining during their game against the Benilde Blazers, but was lifted by the Commissioner's Office; instead, the referees for that game were indefinitely suspended.^[64]
Kobe Monje of the Letran Knights, who was ejected in Game 1 of the Finals against Benilde. Will serve a one-game suspension in Game 2.^[65]
Kyle Tolentino of the Letran Knights will serve a one-game suspension on Game 2 of the Finals after it was found that he was occupying the landing spot of Migs Oczon of the Benilde Blazers, which resulted in an injury.^[66]
Paolo Javillonar of the Letran Knights was reprimanded for his unsportsmanlike behavior when he touched the private part of Will Gozum of the Benilde Blazers and warned that a repetition or commission of a similar offense will merit a stricter penalty. He is to issue a public apology and render community service "as a rehabilitative measure."^[66]
Fran Yu of the Letran Knights was suspended in the Finals' Game 3 due to a disqualifying foul against Benilde Blazers on the second quarter of Game 2.^[67] Letran appealed the suspension to the Management Committee,^[68] but was denied.^[69]
Brent Paraiso of the Letran Knights was reprimanded for disrespecting game officials in the Finals' Game 2. Video shown Paraiso participating in a chant badmouthing the referees after Yu was ejected.^[70]

Juniors' tournament

The juniors' tournament, last held in 2019 (Season 95), began on February 1, 2023.^[3]

The juniors' tournament will also be a qualifying tournament for the 2023 National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) championship, with the champions qualifying.^[71] However, with the NCAA championship series being held in the same week as the NBTC championship, the NBTC decided to give the berths given to the NCAA to its losing semifinalists.^[72]