New rules to perk up UAAP

When the 64th UAAP season gets underway this coming July 14 at the Araneta Coliseum with the start of the basketball competitions, the collegiate game will virtually be sporting a new look with the implementation of certain new rules designed to make the game more interesting and exciting.

Aside from the addition of a third referee, every game – in the juniors, seniors and women’s divisions – will now be played in four 10-minute quarters instead of the previous two 20-minute halves.

The time to bring the ball from the backcourt to the frontcourt has also now been reduced from 10 seconds to eight to make the game quicker and to conform to amended FIBA rules.

Darrel Garretson, a former referee and supervisor of officials in the NBA for 27 years, will be arriving in the country on July 1 to help oversee the implementation of the new rules in tandem with the Asian Basketball Academy (Phils), which has been appointed tournament director by the UAAP Board. Garretson will also be evaluating the preparations of the referees for the coming season which already got underway at the FEU gym two weeks ago and monitor the officiating during the games particularly during the first week of competitions and during the Final Four.

The ABA Phils., which is supported by Adidas, Gatorade, LBC, Northwest Airlines, Nissan Rent-A-Car, RFM, Gourmet’s Café and the Manila Peninsula Hotel, has been at the forefront of revisions in the way the game is played. It was responsible for the implementation of the free-three in the Metropolitan Basketball Association. The 8-second backcourt to frontcourt ruling adopted by FIBA was also the ABA Phils’ idea.