The UNTV Cup Season 1 was the 2013 season of the public service-based basketball league, the UNTV Cup based in the Philippines. It was opened on July 29, 2013 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Cubao, Quezon City. Its final games were held on November 5, 2013 at the same venue.[1]
UNTV Cup started its first season with a ceremonial toss on July 29, 2013 and it was expected to end in January 2014 but it ended early on November 5 of the same year. The project is aimed to promote unity, camaraderie and physical fitness among government officials in the country.
Teams
The following are the teams of public officials:[2]
Onyok Velasco and Jordan Herrera play for PNP Hinirangs
Jon Hall and James Blanco for the Judiciary Cagers
Other guests
One public official who was invited to join is boxing legend and Sarangani congressman Manny Pacquiao[3] to play for Congress/LGU Legislators team.
Elimination Round
The elimination round began on July 29, 2013 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. The schedule followed a single round robin format in which all teams faced each other once, for a total of 6 games per team.
After the elimination round, the bottom team is eliminated. The top 2 teams get outright semifinals spots, while the remaining 4 teams battle it out on the quarterfinals, with #3 team facing #6, and #4 seed playing against #5.
There are six teams that qualified for the playoffs. The top two teams, (#1) PNP Hinirangs and (#2) Judiciary Cagers, already advance to the semifinals, holding also the twice-to-beat advantage. The remaining four teams will fight for the final two semifinal slots. (#3) AFP Cavaliers and (#4) PhilHealth Advocates will have a twice-to-beat advantage on the quarterfinals against (#6) Congress-LGU Legislators and (#5) MMDA Equalizers, respectively.
Quarter-finals #3 and #4 seeds have twice-to-beat advantage
Semi-finals #1 and #2 seeds have twice-to-beat advantage
Both higher seeded teams won their respective series. PhilHealth thump MMDA in one game, 87–65, while AFP beat Congress-LGU, 92–73, to advance to the semifinals. The Advocates face top team PNP Hinirangs, and the Cavaliers sets a date with #2 seed Judiciary Cagers.[11]
(3) AFP Cavaliers vs. (6) Congress-LGU Legislators
The PNP Hinirangs and Judiciary Cagers have a twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinals after being the top 2 teams at the end of the elimination round. Quarterfinals winners AFP Cavaliers and PhilHealth Advocates would need to win twice to enter the finals.
PNP and Judiciary finished the series early by beating NHA and AFP, respectively, in one game.
Battle for Third Place: (3) AFP Cavaliers vs. (4) PhilHealth Advocates
The battle for third place was between #3 seed AFP Cavaliers and #4 seed PhilHealth Advocates, after they lost their semifinals series on separate opponents with a twice-to-beat disadvantage. AFP won the game, 96–84, and gets ₱250,000 for their chosen beneficiary as third placer. Despite the loss, PhilHealth received ₱150,000 for charity as fourth placer.
Exhibition Game: Professional Basketball Legends vs. Team All Stars
Before the much-awaited championship match between PNP Hinirangs and Judiciary Cagers, an exhibition game that served as the curtain raiser was held, with two squads composed of former professional basketball legends and Kuya Daniel Razon's team.[12][1]
Professional Basketball Legends
The Professional Basketball Legends team is composed of former professional basketball players listed below. They wore blue jerseys.
UNTV Cup Finals: (1) PNP Hinirangs vs. (2) Judiciary Cagers
The best-of-three finals series was held on October 27 and November 5, 2013, at the Treston International College Gym, Fort Bonifacio (now located in Bonifacio Global City), Taguig City and Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City, respectively. The championship is between the undefeated #1 team PNP Hinirangs and second seed Judiciary Cagers. Both teams won their separate semis matchups with the twice-to-beat advantage. Judiciary won the finals series against PNP, 2–0, to get the inaugural UNTV Cup title and donate ₱1 million to their chosen beneficiary. PNP received ₱500,000 for their charity as runner-up.
Every team represents their choice of charity institution. The champion will win one million pesos and first runner-up team will win five hundred thousand pesos to be given to the charity chosen by the winning teams.[13] Total winning prize is ₱1,500,000 in Philippine peso[14] courtesy of KuyaDaniel Razon, the CEO and chairman of Breakthrough and Milestones Production International (BMPI).[15] But winners received a total cash prize of ₱1,900,000 in all.[1]
