Tournament rules

    1. General Provisions:
      • Except otherwise stated below, all games will be played under the FIBA Official Basketball Rules (valid as of October 1, 2022).
      • The APCRAA basketball tournament committee shall serve as the policy making body of the tournament, who shall review and implement the rules and regulations at all times, as well as having the right to amend or supersede portions of the league rules and regulations accordingly. A commissioner will be assigned as the main point of contact between the teams and the committee.
    2. Player Eligibility:
      1. The tournament is open to all bona fide graduates, faculty, staff and employees of Asia Pacific College as verified by the school’s Office of the Registrar and/or the Alumni Affairs Office. Players will be classified as follows:
        • APC Alumni (Senior High School, College or Graduate School)
        • APC Employees (faculty and staff)
        • Guest players (see section 2.3)
      2. A player can only be considered as an alumnus/alumna of Asia Pacific College if they have completed their collegiate/master’s degree or finished the Senior High School program at the end of the Second Trimester of SY 2022-2023.
      3. Teams can accommodate up to five “guest players”. Guest players will be classified as follows:
        • Former or current APC students that have enrolled for at least one full academic term, regardless if the player have transferred or graduated to a different school.
      4. All players will be checked for compliance with the current eligibility rules in collaboration of the Alumni Affairs Office, Registrar’s Office and the APC HR Department (for employees). Their correct classification must be indicated in the team’s registration form. Failure to declare these players will result in the forfeiture of the games where these players were fielded. All forfeited teams arising from official protests will be assessed a fine of P5,000.00. Failure to comply will ban the team in joining any APCRAA tournament in the future.
    3. Team Registration
      1. The team’s participation fee for the 2023 season will be P18,000 for the men’s division and P10,000 for the women’s division.
      2. Registration and waiver forms will be available for download in the APCRAA Basketball Tournament’s official website (http://apcraa.web.geniussports.com).
      3. The tournament will commence as scheduled if the minimum number of teams have been met for the following divisions:
        • Men’s Division – 8 teams minimum, 10 teams maximum
        • Women’s Division – 4 teams minimum, 5 teams maximum
      4. Men’s division teams can have a roster of a minimum of 10 players and up to 18 players. Women’s division teams can field in a minimum of 8 players and up to 12 players.
      5. Only 15 players will be allowed to play in a game.
      6. A player must play at least 1 elimination round game to be eligible to play in the playoff round.
      7. Teams will only be considered as official participants of the tournament if they have fully submitted the following requirements:
        1. Deposit fee – An initial deposit of 50% of the registration fee should be deposited to the APCRAA’s bank account on or before April 30, 2023. A deposit slip should also be sent via email to APCRAA (apcraa.info@gmail.com) as proof of payment. Registration of the team will only be accepted upon submission of the proof of payment to the APCRAA board. The fee is non-refundable. The team’s tournament fee must fully be settled on or before May 31, 2023. “No pay, no play” rule will be strictly applied.
        2. Team information– Teams are required to submit the following:
          1. Full roster list – The team’s full roster should include each of the player’s full name, player classification, jersey number, height and playing position. The form can be downloaded via the APCRAA Basketball Tournament website.
          2. Team colors and logo – the team should specify in their registration form their team colors. Priority for the team colors will be given to those teams who used the color and have joined the previous year’s tournament. If the color is already selected by one of the teams that registered before them, the committee will inform the team the unavailability of their desired team color and they have to choose their second color option. Logo size should be at least 500px by 500px and should be consistent with the team’s color designation.
          3. Waiver – Waivers must fully be understood, signed by all of the registered players, and submitted to the APCRAA basketball committee.
      8. All requirements (Deposit slip, roster list, team logo, and player photos) should be submitted on or before April 30, 2023, either by email (apcraa.info@gmail.com) or hard copy. Signed waiver forms should be submitted on or before the team’s first game.
    4. Uniform regulations
      1. The uniform of all team members shall consist of:
        1. Shirts of the same dominant color front and back as the shorts. If shirts have sleeves they must end above the elbow. Long sleeved shirts are not permitted. All players must tuck their shirts into their playing shorts.
        2. Shorts of the same dominant color front and back as the shirts.
        3. Teams must have a minimum of 1 set of uniform. The dominant color shall be the one that they have indicated in their registration form.
        4. Teams may have multiple sets of uniform provided that its dominant color should be lighter or darker to their primary team color.
      2. Each team member shall wear a shirt numbered on the front and back with plain numbers, of a color contrasting with the color of the shirt. The numbers shall be clearly visible and:
        1. Those on the back shall be at least 20 cm high.
        2. Those on the front shall be at least 10 cm high.
        3. The numbers shall be at least 2 cm wide.
        4. Teams may only use numbers 0 and 00 and from 1 to 99.
      3. For branding purposes, the APCRAA Basketball Tournament logo must appear on the front of the shirts on the left side 10 cm below the top. The logo must not be modified and has to be kept devoid of any effect or gradient in order to be fully reproduced with embroidery or digital printing. A copy of the official tournament logo can be requested from the APCRAA Board.
      4. All uniform designs shall be submitted to the ABT Committee for approval to ensure compliance with the uniform and branding regulations. Teams that will fail to submit their uniform designs to the ABT Committee will be fined P5000.
      5. Players that will be using a different jersey design and color during the game will not be allowed to play unless allowed by the commissioner and agreed upon by the opposing team. A technical foul will be given to the offending player once they enter the game and free throws will be awarded to the opposing team. Fines may be given to the offending player in accordance with Section 7.
    5. Tournament Format:
      • The following tournament format will be observed:
      • Men’s Division (for 12 teams)
        • Teams will be divided into two groups and will play each other once; 4 games per team;
        • Ties are broken among points differences of the tied teams (quotient system).
        • The top four teams each group will advance in the cross-over quarterfinals. The teams that will be able to sweep the eliminations will have twice-to-beat advantage.
          • QF1 – A1 vs B4 (knockout/twice to beat if A1 swept Group A)
          • QF2 – A2 vs B3 (knockout)
          • QF3 – A3 vs B2 (knockout)
          • QF4 – A4 vs B1 (knockout/twice to beat if B1 swept Group B)
        • Quarterfinals winners will advance to the best-of-three semifinals:
          • SF1: QF1 vs QF3
          • SF2: QF2 vs QF4
          • Finals: SF1 vs. SF2 (best-of-three)
      • Women’s Division (for 4 teams):
        • Double round robin elimination; 3 games per team.
        • Ties are broken among points differences of the tied teams (quotient system).
        • Semifinals (knockout)
          • SF1 – #1 seed vs #4 seed
          • SF2 – #3 seed vs #2 seed
        • Finals (1 game)
          • SF1 vs SF2
    6. Tournament Proper:
      • The tournament’s opening ceremonies will be held at the Asia Pacific College Gymnasium on Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 2pm. The schedule for the games will be given (by draw lots) during the tournament orientation on April 29, 2023. All games preceding the opening will be held at the APC Gymnasium every Saturday afternoons. three to four games will be held per game day.
    7. Player/Team penalties:
      1. Any form of fights and unruly behavior will not be tolerated. Referees, with the consultation with the APCRAA basketball tournament committee or its assigned tournament commissioner, will be given full discretion to give penalties, as well as downgrade fines and/or penalties.
      2. Player and coaches violations are as follows:
        1. 1st technical or un-sportsmanlike foul of the tournament – P1,000.00 fine
        2. 2nd technical or un-sportsmanlike foul of the tournament – P2,000.00 fine, 1 game suspension, and ineligibility to receive any of the tournament individual awards.
        3. 3rd technical or un-sportsmanlike foul of the tournament – P2,500.00 fine, tournament suspension, ineligibility to receive any of the tournament individual awards.
        4. Disqualifying foul for flagrant unsportsmanlike behavior – P3,000.00 fine, tournament suspension, ineligibility to receive any of the tournament individual awards.
        5. Disqualifying foul from physical altercation (fighting) – P5,000.00 fine and lifetime ban.
        6. Any player receiving an unsportsmanlike technical foul will have an automatic 3 game minute cool-off period and can return to the game after 3 game minutes. A second unsportsmanlike technical foul from either team will increase the cool-off period to 5 game minutes.
        7. A player with an outstanding fine or who is suspended may not play until they settle their fine. All fines must be paid to the APCRAA Board prior to the start of the game in order for the team or player/s to be eligible to play again.
        8. All technical, unsportsmanlike, and disqualifying fouls are reviewed by the referees. Penalties and fines may only be waived by the referees who made the associated calls.
      3. A player or coach that will commit their second technical foul during a game will be automatically rejected from the playing venue and must be away by at least 100 meters from the venue. The same rule will be applied for suspended players.
      4. Only the team captains and/or coaches are allowed to approach the referees and table officials for any clarifications before, during and after any game. Excessive resentments can be merited with a warning and/or a technical foul and will be subjected to fines as stated above.
      5. At the discretion of the commissioner and/or the APCRAA basketball committee, violators may be summoned in a later date to explain their side and appeal their case. Players that failed to attend the set meeting after being summoned will not be allowed to play in their next game.
    8.  Forfeitures:
      1. Teams must have a least five (5) players before tip-off. The following rules will apply if they do not complete this after 10 minutes of the scheduled tip-off:
        • Additional 5 minutes will be given in exchange for technical free throw/s for the opposing team.
        • If after 5 minutes and the team still does not complete the five (5) players, the opposing team will be given discretion to win via forfeiture or provide a final 5 minutes, in which the game will be played on running time, and no time-outs for the late team.
        • If after the final 5 minutes and the team still does not complete the five (5) players, the opposing team will officially be declared winners via forfeiture.
        • The winning team via forfeiture may use the court hours for a practice game.
        • Forfeiting teams will be assessed a fine of P5,000.00.
        • If both teams failed to have the minimum five players, the game will be forfeited. Both teams will incur a loss and will be fined P5000.
        • For quotient purposes, please refer to Section 11 (tiebreakers).
      2. A 2nd default incurred will result to the team forfeiting the rest of their scheduled games and being banned from joining future APCRAA tournaments.
      3. In case of a team walk-out that will cause delay in the game that is being played, the team will be assessed a loss by forfeiture. No game stats of the team will be considered. Members of the team who participated in the walkout will all be suspended for the remainder of the tournament, and each member will be assessed a fine of P5,000.00. Failure to comply will ban the team from joining future APCRAA tournaments.
    9. Game Schedule Revision:
      1. No games will be cancelled under any circumstance aside from force majeure (weather conditions, or anything that will prevent players from coming safely in the playing venue) and suddenly announced holidays. The new schedule of games will be announced by the APCRAA basketball tournament committee within three (3) days after the original playing date.
      2. Swapping and/or changing of game schedules will only be allowed once all of the teams involved in the swap have agreed.
    10. Roster Revisions
      1. Teams that will request for changes or player swapping in roster should inform the APCRAA board via email at least three days before their next game
      2. Team captain will provide the new player’s details (name, date of birth, jersey number, playing position, classification (rules as per section 2), course and year of graduation/admission) and the player that will be replaced
      3. Replaced or removed players will not be allowed to play for the rest of the tournament.
      4. The approved revisions will be posted at the “transactions” section of the APCRAA Basketball Tournament website.
      5. The new player can play to the team provided that the request was approved two days before the team’s next game.
      6. Teams and/or their replacement or additional player/s will be responsible to purchase their own sets of uniforms
      7. Replacement and addition of players will be allowed only up to May 31, 2023.
    11. Technicalities
      1. Shot clock/game clock technicalities will be assessed by the table officials in case of buzzer-beaters and shot clock violations. Upon assessment, the referee and table officials’ decision will be final.
      2. The FIBA Instant Replay System (IRS) rule will be applied only on the last two minutes of the fourth quarter and subsequent overtime periods. The video that will be used will be coming from a video taken from an APCRAA Board authorized personnel.
      3. The FIBA Challenge Rule will only be applied if the game is being livestreamed (first game night, semifinals and finals)
    12. Protest procedure
      1. A team may file a protest if its interests have been adversely affected by:
        • an error in scorekeeping, time-keeping or shot clock operations, which was not corrected by the officials.
        • a decision to forfeit, cancel, postpone, not resume or not play the game.
        • a violation of the applicable eligibility rules.
      2. In order to be admissible, a protest shall comply with the following procedure:
        1. The captain of that team shall, no later than 15 minutes following the end of the game, inform the head referee or the commissioner that his team is protesting against the result of the game and sign the scoresheet in the ‘Captain’s signature in case of protest’
          column.
        2. The team shall submit the protest reasons in writing no later than 24 hours following the end of the game.
        3.  A fee of P5,000 cash bond shall be applied to each protest. The bond will be returned if the protest decision is upheld in favor of the protester, otherwise it will be forfeited in favor of APCRAA.
        4. The commissioner shall, following receipt of the protest reasons, report in writing the incident which leads to the protest, to the APCRAA board.
        5. The APCRAA board shall issue any procedural requests which it deems appropriate and shall decide on the protest as soon as possible, and in any event no later than 72 hours following the end of the game. The board shall use any reliable evidence and can take any appropriate decision, including without limitation partial or full replay of the game. The APCRAA board may not decide to change the result of the game unless there is clear and conclusive evidence that, had it not been for the error that gave rise to the protest, the new result would have certainly materialized.
        6. The decision of the APCRAA board is also considered as a field of play rule decision and is not subject to further review or appeal. Exceptionally, decisions on eligibility may be appealed as provided for in the applicable regulations.
        7. Official protests regarding player eligibility will only be entertained until the 2nd week of the tournament. Any protests succeeding this will be considered invalid.
    13. Financial obligations from previous tournaments

      1. Teams who have not yet settled their financial obligations with APCRAA for the past basketball tournament/s (fines, tournament fees, etc.) will be banned from joining. The ban will be lifted once the financial obligation has been settled.
      2. The team’s registered players will not be allowed to participate, unless the player will settle his share of the remaining financial obligation to be directly paid to APCRAA. (total fines and/or tournament fee balance divided by the number of registered players for the team).
    14.  Tiebreakers:
      1. The following rules will be applied at the end of the elimination round, to determine the proper seeding of the participating teams:
        1. Win-over-the-other rule will apply for two teams with identical records.
        2. Win-over-the-other rule will apply for three or more teams with identical records, if one team wins all its elimination round games against the teams it is tied with.
        3. Quotient system will apply for three or more teams, if no team was able to win all its elimination round games against the teams it is tied with. For the computation, see sample below.
        4. In cases of default or forfeiture, the team with the forfeited/defaulted game will be ranked last regardless of the results of their games against the teams they are tied up with. If two or more tied teams that have forfeitures, FIBA classification rules will apply. (2 points for win, 1 point for loss, 0 points for lost via forfeiture)
        5. If teams still have equal quotients, win-over-the-other will be reapplied to the remaining teams. If not applicable, the quotient system will be reapplied to said teams.
        6. If teams are still tied after the #5 scenario, seeding will be based on the quotient system against their first common opponent or until the next common opponent where the tie is broken
        7.  SAMPLE quotient computation:
          A. Games played between teams:Red (88) vs. Blue (82)

          Blue (67) vs. Green (65)

          Green (79) vs. Red (85)

          B. Formula: a= b/c

          where:

          (a) = (b) / (c)

          team = (sum of score made by team) divided by (sum of score by opponent)

          		 example:(a) = (b1+b2) / (c1+c2)

          Red = (88+85) / (82+79)

          = 173 / 161

          = 1.0745

          Blue = (67+82) / (88+65)

          = 149 / 153

          = 0.9738

          Green = (79+65) / (85+67)

          = 144 / 152

          = 0.9473
    15. Individual Awards
      • Individual awards will be given on the following categories
        • To be awarded during the semifinals
          • Rookie of the year
          • Defensive player of the year
          • Most Improved Player
          • All-Defensive Team
          • Mythical Team
          • Most Valuable Player
        • To be awarded after the finals
          • Finals Most Valuable Player

        The Mythical Five will be selected based on their total Statistical Points (SP) for the whole tournament, including the playoff round, plus votes from the APCRAA Basketball Tournament committee members.

        Statistical points (SP) will be computed as follows:

        • 1 SP for every point scored, rebound, assist, steal and shot blocked.
        • 10 bonus points for every game won where the player played up to the playoffs.
        • 15 bonus points for every game won where the player played in the Finals
        • Deduction of 1 SP for every turnover, 5 SP for every technical or flagrant foul without ejection, and 15 SP for any technical or flagrant foul that results in an ejection.

        For the Most Valuable Player, the following criteria will be used:

      • 40% average statistical points
      • 60% APCRAA tournament committee votes
    16. Amendments
      • Amendments of these rules may be proposed, upon a vote of more than half of the total number team representatives in a division. The amendment will only be applied to the approving division and will be effective the following season.