The Arellano Chiefs basketball program represents

Arellano University Arellano University (AU) is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian university located in Manila, the Philippines. It was founded in 1938 as a law school by Florentino Cayco Sr., the first Filipino Undersecretary of Public Instruction. The univer ...

in men's basketball as a member of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)Pronounced "N-C-A-A". is an athletics association of ten private colleges and universities in Metro Manila, Philippines. Established in 1924, it is the oldest collegiate athletic association ...

(NCAA). Originally the Arellano Flaming Arrows, the

Arellano Chiefs The Arellano University Chiefs is the athletic team of Arellano University. It is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the National Capital Region Athletic Association (NCRAA). The team has several intercollegiate ...

have previously played in the

National Capital Region Athletic Association The National Capital Region Athletic Association (NCRAA) is an athletic association in Metro Manila (National Capital Region), Philippines established in 1993. It is primarily held during the second semester of a school around November until Febru ...

(NCRAA), winning two consecutive championships from 2007 and 2008. The Chiefs transferred to the NCAA in 2010, and have qualified to two Finals appearances, in 2014 and 2016, losing each time to the defending champions San Beda Red Lions.

History

Beginnings

The Arellano Flaming Arrows won the

Basketball Association of the Philippines The Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) was the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) recognized national governing body for basketball in the Philippines. It was recognized by the FIBA in 1936 until 2007 when the Samahang Ba ...

-organized National Student's Championship in the 1970s. The Flaming Arrows, coached by Cholo Martin and led by

Joey Loyzaga Ernesto Jose Francisco "Joey" Cuerva Loyzaga (born September 23, 1961) is a Filipino people, Filipino retired professional basketball player. Collegiate / Amateur career Loyzaga broke into the hoops limelight as a Red Cub for San Beda Red Lion ...

, defeated the De La Salle Green Archers in the 1983 National Intercollegiate Championship. In 2006, the Flaming Arrows were named into the Chiefs, in honor of

Cayetano Arellano Cayetano Simplicio Arellano y Lonzón (March 2, 1847 – December 23, 1920) was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines under the American Civil Government. Cayetano Arellano had occupied a high position in Aguinaldo's go ...

, the first

Chief Justice of the Philippines The chief justice of the Philippines ( fil, Punong Mahistrado ng Pilipinas) presides over the Supreme Court of the Philippines and is the highest judicial officer of the government of the Philippines. As of April 5, 2021, the position is curr ...

and university's namesake.

NCRAA stint

In 2006, the Chiefs lost out to the St. Francis Doves in the NCRAA Finals. On the next year, they defeated the EAC Generals to win their first NCRAA title off the heroics of Gio Ciriacruz. The Chiefs then defeated the Doves in the next season's Finals. In the 2009 campaign they were defeated by the

Universal College Universal College, formerly the Universal College of Nursing, is a school located in Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was established in 2005. History Built and established in 2005, the Universal College of Nursing was founded by Domi ...

Golden Dragons in the finals. Arellano sought to enter the NCAA in time for the 2009–10 season, but the association deferred in accepting new members. The NCAA instead invited three schools, including Arellano as guest teams.

Entry to the NCAA

The Chiefs ended up with the best record among the three guest teams. In 2014, led by

Jio Jalalon Jiovani Nacawili Jalalon (born August 2, 1992) is a Filipino professional basketball player who currently plays for the Magnolia Hotshots of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Early life The third of the six children of Vicente Jalal ...

and coach

Jerry Codiñera Jerry Herman Codiñera (born November 14, 1966) is a Filipino coach and retired professional basketball player of the Philippine Basketball Association. He is nicknamed the "Defense Minister" for his prowess at the defensive end. He is the curr ...

, the Chiefs qualified to its first Finals appearance. They were swept by the four-time defending champions

San Beda Red Lions The San Beda Red Lions is the collegiate varsity basketball team of the San Beda University that plays in the NCAA. The juniors basketball team is called the Red Cubs of San Beda University–Rizal, while the women's varsity basketball team is c ...

. On the next year, the Chiefs missed the Final Four, but returned to the Finals NCAA Season 92 basketball tournaments, in 2016. In a rematch of the 2014 Finals, the Chiefs were again swept by San Beda. Two years later, the Chiefs struggled on the floor and had a losing season. Codiñera resigned and replaced by Junjie Ablan. On the next campaign the university rehired Cholo Martin as its new coach. Martin's best season came in NCAA Season 97 seniors' basketball tournament, the 2021 bubble season played in early 2022, where they were eliminated in the play-in tournament by the Perpetual Altas basketball, Perpetual Altas. The Chiefs missed the playoffs in 2022; Martin was fired and was replaced by Chico Manabat.

Current roster

NCAA Season 98

Head coaches

* c. 1983: Loreto Carbonell * 1980s: Cholo Martin * 2010–2011: Leo Isaac * 2011: Junjie Ablan * 2012–13: Koy Banal * 2013–18:

** 2018: Junjie Ablan (interim) * 2018–2022: Cholo Martin * 2023–present: Chico Manabat

Season-by-season records

Honors

* National Intercollegiate Championship ** Champions (1): 1983 *

** Champions (2): 2006, 2007

References

{{NCAA-PH men's basketball National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) basketball teams