In the seniors and juniors' tournament, ten (10) teams will play in a double round-robin classification.
Once teams are tied, tie-breaker games shall be held for either the first, second or the fourth seed if necessary.
The scenarios after the elimination round ends are the following below:
1. If no team sweeps the elimination round, the regular play-offs (Final Four) shall be used.
2. If a team successfully sweep the elimination round, that team will gain an automatic bye to the finals and the stepladder play-offs shall be used.
In the semifinals, the first and second seed shall earn a twice-to-beat bonus against their respective opponents. These teams shall only need to win once to advance to the finals; while the third and fourth seed teams will need to win twice to advance to the finals.
The finals is a best-of-three championship series.
The Commission on Higher Education granted university status to Mapúa Institute of Technology on May 18, 2017, renaming itself as "Mapúa University."[3]
^As Lyceum won all of their elimination round games, the stepladder format will be used instead of the regular Final Four format.
^ abcHead-to-head point differential: San Sebastian +30, Letran –9, Arellano –21; fourth-seed playoffs: Letran 70–68 Arellano, San Sebastian 74–69 Letran
^Perpetual's first round win over Benilde was forfeited after its entire team wore the dark-colored uniforms over the light-colored ones that were assigned to them for this game.[4]
Source: [citation needed] Legend: Blue = left column team win; Red = top row team win. Matches with lighter background shading were decided after overtime. Notes:
^Perpetual originally won this game 69–65. However, the league awarded Benilde a forfeit win (defined as a 20–0 win) as Perpetual wore the dark-colored uniforms instead of the light-colored ones that were assigned to them for this game.[4]
Fourth–seed playoffs
As three teams were tied for #4, the two teams with the lowest head-to-head goal averages (Arellano and Letran) played in the first round of the fourth-seed playoff. The winner met San Sebastian for the right to enter the playoffs proper.
This is a best-of-three playoff. This is the first Finals appearance for Lyceum, and the 12th consecutive Finals appearance for San Beda. Lyceum's sweep of the elimination round broke San Beda's 11-year streak of being the #1 seed, and is the first sweep since San Beda did it in 2010.
Finals Most Valuable Player: Donald Tankoua (San Beda Red Lions)
All-Star Game
The Games of the NCAA All-Star were held last September 1 at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan. The event served as a transition event from the first round going into the second round. The Team Saints, composed of stars from Perpetual Help, San Beda, Letran, Benilde, and the season hosts, San Sebastian, defeated The Team Heroes, consisting of Arellano, Lyceum, Jose Rizal University, Emilio Aguinaldo College, and Mapua; 84–80. Prince Eze was named as the All-Star MVP who went double-double with 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks.[5]
On July 11, 2017, The Altas were clad in maroon when they were scheduled to be donning their light uniforms. Hence, the league ruled that the University of Perpetual Help was ineligible to play in its matchup against the Blazers earlier in the day. Citing the rule which states, “any athlete whose playing uniform does not conform with the rules will be ineligible to participate in a given game/match”, the management committee overturned UPHSD's 69-65 win in favor of the Blazers.[6]
Source: [citation needed] Legend: Blue = left column team win; Red = top row team win. Notes:
^LSGH originally won this game 64–60. However, the league awarded LSGH a forfeit win (defined as a 20–0 win) as Perpetual wore the dark-colored uniforms instead of the light-colored ones that were assigned to them for this game. As LSGH originally won the game, no material changes in the team standings were made.[4]
On July 11, 2017, The Junior Altas wore their dark uniforms instead of light. The Juniors' standings did not change, however, as CSB-LSGH triumphed in that matchup.[6]