Pre-first expansion format Before the UAAP's first expansion, teams would play a single round robin where the team with the best record would be crowned champions. If two or more teams are tied, they would be declared co-champions. No quotient system or knockout games were used to break ties.
First expansion format Teams play a double round robin in a
split season format. The winner of the first round play the winner of the second round in a 1-game championship to determine the champion. Ties for round winners are broken by knockout games. If a team wins both rounds, it is automatically declared the champion, regardless if it was a sweep or not. If a team fails to win either rounds, but ends up with a better over-all record than either of the round winners, that team will challenge the second round winner for a championship slot against the first round winner.
Second and third expansion format Teams play a double round robin. The top two teams (over-all record) after the double round robin play in the Finals with the No. 1 seed holding a one-win advantage in a best-of-three series. If a team sweeps the double round robin, they are automatically declared champions.
Final four format The tournament currently uses the Final Four format, first implemented in 1993. The Tournament begins with a double round-robin elimination, where a team plays the other teams twice to determine which teams will qualify for the semi-finals (also called
Final Four). The top four finishers enter the Final Four phase.
Sweeper's advantage Previously, if a team sweeps the double round robin, they are automatically declared champions. However, after UST's sweep in 1993, it was modified so that the sweeping team would automatically qualify for the best-of-three Finals. After UE swept their way to the Finals in 2007, it was again modified so that the sweeping team would now automatically qualify for a best-of-five Finals, holding a 1–0 game advantage.
Regular final four If no team sweeps the double round eliminations, the four top teams (and tiebreakers, if applicable) qualify for the regular postseason. The regular post-season is divided into the semi-finals (also called the
Final Four) and the Finals. In the semi-Finals, the two top seeds (Nos. 1 & 2) have a twice-to-beat advantage against the lower seeds (Nos. 3 & 4). The surviving teams face off in a best-of-three finals, where the team which notches two wins first wins the championship.
Step ladder final four From 2008 to 2015, if a team wins all of the games in the elimination round, the step ladder format is used, where the unbeaten team has a bye up to the best-of-5 finals holding a 1–0 game advantage. The third and fourth seed will figure in a knockout game; the winner of that game will face the second seed with a twice-to-win disadvantage. The surviving team meets the first seed at the Finals. The format was modified in 2016, where the unbeaten team proceeds to the best-of-3 finals without any playoff advantage, but the knockout games in all of the three semifinal seeds remain in place. ==List of basketball champions==