All systems go for ABT Season 5

The APCRAA Basketball Tournament (ABT) 2019 season is all set to open on Saturday, July 6 at the APC Gymnasium.

The tournament committee, headed by Commissioner Dann Garcia, conducted an orientation on June 22 to discuss the house rules and tournament format. Team representatives from seven men’s division teams and three women’s division teams attended the meeting. Also present is Mr. Armand Buenaventura of the National Basketball League Referees Group to discuss in-depth the technical basketball rules. The NBLRG, which also are the referees of the amateur National Basketball League – Philippines (NBL) will be the group of referees that will officiate for the upcoming tournament.

This season will feature a total of ten men’s division teams – the largest number of partipating teams in ABT history and three women’s division teams.

The ten men’s division teams will be divided into two groups, based from their rankings from Season 4. A separate draw was done to seed the three new teams. The groups will have a single round-robin eliminations. Four teams will advance in the crossover quarterfinals, with the top team earning the twice-to-beat advantage. Winning teams will advance in the best-of-three semifinals. The winner of each series will then meet in the best-of-three finals.

For the women’s division, the three teams will play a double round-robin eliminations with the top two teams advancing to the one game championship round.

Before the meeting ended, a draw was held to determine who will play on Opening Night. Expansion teams Mustangs and RamBall will face off at 5:30pm. The first women’s division game between Hydra and BNS will be played at 7:00pm. Meanwhile, newcomer Richmond Oilers and Alpha will serve as the nightcap at 8:30pm.