Philippines UAAP

The tournament is divided into two divisions, the collegiate (formerly seniors') division, which is further subdivided into the men's tournament, for male collegiate players, and the women's tournament for female collegiate players. The other division is the high school (formerly juniors' division which is also subdivided into boys' and girls' tournaments for the male and female high school athletes, respectively.

The UAAP basketball sport has a rich history of schools establishing dynasties. UE won a record seven consecutive basketball titles from 1965 to 1971 albeit the third one was a shared championship with UST. Ateneo had a 5-year winning streak from 2008 to 2012. Two other schools ended their championship streak at four. UST won it from 1993 to 1996 and La Salle from 1998 to 2001.

The championship in basketball, with its major overall points contribution to the annual UAAP general championship tallies, is one of the most coveted titles that schools aspire for during any given season in the UAAP and is one of the most anticipated live TV sporting events in the Philippines, but such aspirations have resulted in many controversies in the association. There are protests filed by the member-schools against one another almost every season. Ironically, the association has a handbook of its rules and regulations.

The boys' tournament was called the "juniors' tournament" prior to 2019. The tournament was held concurrently with the seniors' tournaments in the first semester of the academic year (July to October), until 2014, when it was moved to the second semester (November to March). With the adoption of the new academic calendar by four UAAP schools (Ateneo, De La Salle, UP and UST), the UAAP decided in 2015 to follow the new calendar, starting its season every September. This means first semester events run from September to December, while second semester events now start at January and ends on May.