The Perpetual Altas basketball program represents

University of Perpetual Help System DALTA The University of Perpetual Help System DALTA (UPHSD) is a Catholic-oriented, Mixed-sex education, co-educational, non-sectarian, private university, with campuses at Las Piñas, Bacoor, Cavite and Calamba, Laguna in the Philippines. The unive ...

(UPHSD) in men's basketball as a member of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA; ) is an athletic association of ten private colleges and universities in Metro Manila, Philippines. Established in 1924, it is the oldest collegiate athletic association in the country. It i ...

(NCAA). The

Perpetual Altas The Perpetual Altas and Lady Altas, or the UPHSD Altas and Lady Altas, are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) teams of the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA. They are also popularly known as the Perps. Since join ...

have never won the NCAA championship ever since joining in 1984.

History

The University of Pereptual Help System DALTA has previously used the "PHCR" and "UPHR" acronyms, which stand for "Perpetual Help College of Rizal" and "University of Perpetual Help Rizal", respectively.

PHCR days

The Perpetual Help College of Rizal joined the NCAA in 1984. In 1989, the Altas faced defending champions

San Sebastian Stags The San Sebastian Golden Stags and Lady Stags, also known collectively as the SSC-R Stags, are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) varsity teams of the San Sebastian College – Recoletos. Their five consecutive NCAA senio ...

. Bannered by Most Valuable Player Eric Clement Quiday and

Bong Hawkins Rene "Bong" Hawkins Jr. (born November 6, 1967) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player of the Philippine Basketball Association. Nicknamed as "The Hawk", he is the son of character actor Rene Hawkins, Sr. PBA career Presto & Sta. ...

, they took the Stags to all three games in the Finals before losing.

UPHR days

Now called University of Perpetual Help Rizal (UPHR), the Altas made it to the playoffs in the turn of the millennium. With the #1 seed in the second NCAA Final Four and led by Jojo Manalo, the Altas were eliminated by the JRC Heavy Bombers. In the next year, UPHR finished second in the elimination round, but fell again in the semifinals to the

Benilde Blazers The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Blazers and Lady Blazers are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines), NCAA senior varsity teams of De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde. The Blazers were formerly a member of the Nat ...

. Perpetual next made it to the Finals in 2004, where they lost to the

PCU Dolphins The PCU Dolphins are the senior athletic teams that represent Philippine Christian University. They are currently playing at the National Athletic Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (NAASCU), after spending a leave of absence from ...

. The Altas were then coached by Bai Cristobal and bannered by Dominador Javier. Renamed as University of Perpetual Help System DALTA (UPHSD), the Altas missed the playoffs for seven years.

UPHSD days

In 2012, the university hired Aric del Rosario, which has seen a renaissance in basketball fortunes for UPHSD. Led by Most Valuable Players Scottie Thompson and Prince Eze, and

Bright Akhuetie Bright Osagie Akhuetie is a Nigerian basketball player who last played for the UP Fighting Maroons of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). He also played for the Nigeria national team. Early life and education Akhuetie ...

, the Altas made it to three consecutive semifinals appearances. Del Rosario left coaching Perpetual to a winning record, but just outside of the playoff places. Now coached by Jimwell Gican, the Altas had Akhuetie as its best player and made it to the semifinals again, only to be eliminated by the Red Lions for another time. Coached by Akhuetie's former teammate Nick Omorogbe, the Altas had a losing season in 2017. At the next season, UPHSD appointed

Frankie Lim Francisco "Frankie" Lim (born February 29, 1960) is a Filipino former basketball player, basketball coach and executive. He played 15 seasons in the PBA. He later became a successful coach, leading his alma mater San Beda Red Lions to four NCA ...

as their new head coach. Lim coached the team to a semifinals appearance on his first year, but missed the playoffs on the second. He then resigned on the onset of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

as the school shut down its athletic activities. In the 2021 bubble season held in 2022, the Altas coached by Myk Saguiguit made it to the semifinals where they were eliminated by the undefeated

Letran Knights The Letran Knights and Lady Knights are the collegiate varsity teams representing Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The high school varsity teams are called the ''Squires''. The college's varsity te ...

. The Altas failed to match their 2021 performance, missing out a playoff berth in 2022, and in 2023.

Olsen Racela Rodericko Cesar "Olsen" Escueta Racela (born November 1, 1970) is a Filipino coach and former player. He is both the head coach for the Perpetual Altas in the NCAA, and is an assistant coach for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine ...

then replaced Saguiguit, who shall remain as part of the coaching staff.

Current roster

NCAA Season 100

Head coaches

* 1985–1986: Orlando Bauzon * 1988: Roberto Littaua * 1989–1991: Tanny Gonzales * 1992: Abet Gutierrez * 1994–1996: Adriano Go * 1997: Larry Galabin * 2000–2008: Bai Cristobal * 2009–2010: Boris Aldeguer * 2011: Jimwell Gican * 2012–2015: Aric del Rosario * 2016: Jimwell Gican * 2017: Nick Omorogbe ** 2017: Jimwell Gican (interim) * 2018–2020:

* 2021–2024: Myk Saguiguit * 2024–present:

Retired numbers

* #6, Scottie Thompson (2023)

Season-by-season records

References

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