UAAP okays rules on tiebreak, instant replay

MANILA, Philippines – The University Athletic Association of the Philippines will apply new rules in resolving ties in Season 72, which unfolds on July 11 at the Araneta Coliseum.

League president Anton Montinola of host Far Eastern U yesterday told The STAR they are instituting changes in breaking ties by eliminating unnecessary matches that prolonged the event in past years.

“This year, we will be using common sense to break ties,” said Montinola a few days after he presided over a meeting that discussed the technical matters of the tournament.

“For example, this year if there’s a three-way tie for first to third places, the team with the highest quotient will end up No. 1 while the next two battle for No. 2 and the twice-to-beat edge.

“In the past, the practice was No. 2 plays No. 3 with the winner playing No. 1 for the top seed. That is senseless when you can break the ties faster,” he said.

The rest of the rules, like giving incentive to a school that could pull off a rare sweep, will remain as implemented last season.

This means the team that will score a sweep will gain a twice-to-beat advantage in the finals compared to two years ago when University of the East accomplished the feat but got ambushed by La Salle with a sweep in the best-of-three finals.

The league will also implement rules that give teams a chance to challenge a three-point conversion at any point of the game via instant replay and suspend the possession arrow rule in the last two minutes of the match.

Pro-grip, an adhesive used by players to enable to handle the ball better, is still prohibited while schools will still be limited to two foreign players each with one allowed to play at a time.

UAAP basketball tournament director Mark Molina said the opening day games pit Univ. of Santo Tomas against Adamson at 2 p.m. and last year’s losing finalist La Salle versus UE at 4 p.m. on July 11.

The next day, Univ. of the Phils. squares off with National U at 2 p.m. and defending champion Ateneo tackles a Mark Barroca-led FEU side at 4 p.m.

Commissioner Joe Lipa said the league will be tapping a combination of pro, semi-pro and amateur referees from the PBA, PBL and the BRAASCU. – Joey Villar