New PBA rules applied in pre-season games

People's Journal
September 8, 2007

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has adopted a new set of guidelines -- including a couple of FIBA-inspired rules – that will take effect this 2007-08 season.

Adjustments in the three-point line, hand checking, goal tending, zone measurement and penalty situation are among those approved by the league’s competition committee that will be implemented for the entire PBA pre-season games starting today.

In the event no glitch is encountered in the imposition of the new rules, the league will formally adopt it beginning the 33rd season that begins on Oct. 14.

“The new rules are expected to add more excitement, speed up play and likely increase the scoring in the league,” said PBA Officer-In-Charge Sonny Barrios.

PBA operations director Rickie Santos, a member for the competitions committee, believes the new rules will help improve the players’ defensive acumen.

From its original measure of 20-feet away from the basket, the three-point line has been shortened to 20-feet and patterned after FIBA.

The zone measurement has also been reduced from the PBA restricted area of a rectangle that measures “16' x 18'-10” or 301.44 sq.ft to Fiba’s restricted area measuring 3.6 meters (12 feet) wide at the free throw line and 6 meters wide (19 ft. and 8.25 inches) at the baseline or 298.54 sq.ft as per FIBA standards.

Defensive players meanwhile, will now be whistled for hand checking this time if such contact is deemed by game officials as a tool to impede the progress of the offensive players.

Goal interference and goal tending will also be a thing of the past. Under the new guideline, offensive or defensive player may touch the ball provided it touches the ring.

As for the penalty situation, the new rules will have the number of team fouls committed in the fourth quarter being carried over to overtime, the extra period now having been considered as an extension of the fourth quarter as far as the number of team fouls and the team fouls penalty rule are concerned.

During regulation, a team that commits two fouls under two minutes in any quarter automatically gets into penalty situation, resulting to two free throws for the offended player on the second foul regardless of the number of team fouls.

The last rule on penalty situation was actually approved as early as last year by the same competition committee, but was deferred for this season to give all teams enough time to adjust.

The pre-season games will last for more than two weeks, kicking off with the lone game between Purefoods and Barangay Ginebra today at the San Sebastian College gym in Cavite.