The APCRAA Basketball Tournament (ABT) 2018 season is all set to open on Saturday, July 7 at the APC Gymnasium.
The tournament committee, headed by Commissioner Dann Garcia, conducted an orientation on June 23 to discuss the house rules and tournament format. Team representatives from Teams ASPAC (Nicolo Conta), Alpha (Dave Perez), OGs (Ryan Rivera), Jhonel De Luna (Knights), Mervin Quilang (Titans) and Brix Estabillo (Bumblebees) attended the meeting. Also present is Mr. Jeffrey Lunar of the League of Champions Referee Association (LOCRA) to discuss in-depth the technical basketball rules. LOCRA will be the group of referees that will officiate for the upcoming tournament.
Two new teams, Team Mille, composed of players graduated from 2004 to 2006 and Team Knights, made of players from Team Alpha and Team Cav Guards have signed and passed their rosters, increasing the number of participating men’s division teams to eight, the highest number of teams since the tournament was revived in 2015.
This year’s tournament format will be a single round robin eliminations, with four teams advancing to the semifinals. The top two teams will be given a twice to beat advantage against their opponents. The winners will face off in a best-of-three championship series.
Before the meeting ended, a draw was held to determine who will play on Opening Night. Team Bumblebees will face Team Titans at 5pm. Incidentally, both teams played the first game of last year’s tournament. Last year’s finalists Team OGs and defending champion Team ASPAC will play in the second game at 6:30pm. Meanwhile, Team Alpha and newcomer Team Knights will serve as the game day’s nightcap at 8:00pm.