All systems go for ABT Season 7

The APCRAA Basketball Tournament (ABT) Season 7 is set to open on Saturday, May 6 at the APC Gymnasium.

The tournament committee, headed by Commissioner Dann Garcia, conducted an orientation on April 29 to discuss the house rules and tournament format. Team representatives from five men’s division teams attended the meeting.

Also in attendance is Mr. Salvador “Budz” Cortez, Jr., representing the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) referees pool. He oriented all the attendees on the new FIBA rules that were implemented starting October 2022.

During the meeting, it was announced that Allan Dave Perez, former team captain of Alpha will serve as deputy commissioner starting this season.

New eligibility rules were approved by the team captains, allowing former APC students who have stayed in APC for at least one academic term, regardless if the player have enrolled or graduated to a different school, to play in the alumni tournament.

Also, a new house rule was approved that requires teams to substitute all their players every five minutes in the first half. This is to ensure that all players present will play at least five minutes in the game. This rule will be implemented during the elimination round.

The twelve men’s division teams were divided into two groups based from their performance in Season 6, while new and returning teams got their group assignments via draw lots. The groups will have a single round-robin eliminations. Four teams will advance in the crossover quarterfinals. If a team will sweep their respective group, they will have a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals. Winning teams will advance in the best-of-three semifinals. The winner of each series will then meet in the best-of-three finals.

Before the meeting ended, a draw was held to determine who will play on Opening Day. RamBall and Titans will begin the season at 3:00pm, while Gummy Bears (formerly known as Bumblebees) will face off with new team Restbak at 4:30pm. Defending champions, Team Knights squares of against new team Kings at 6:00pm.