After a century, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is making a major overhaul in its format.
The NCAA Management Committee will be formally adopting a bracketing system when it rolls out Season 101 of its basketball events on 1 October at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
A distinguished San Beda University alumnus in Atty. Rico Quicho presided over the draw on Friday, formally marking the very first time for the Grand Old League to use a new format that will make basketball events more exciting and more competitive.
Prior to the format overhaul, the last time the NCAA made a key change was in 2010 when it welcomed three new members as guest teams in Arellano University, Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) and Angeles University Foundation (AUF) following the expulsion of Philippine Christian University.
The Pampanga-based Great Danes eventually left while the Chiefs and the Generals stayed.
NCAA mancomm member Peter Cayco of Arellano stressed that they changed their format to raise the level of excitement and adhere to the changing times.
“We want to make it more exciting,” Cayco said in a message to DAILY TRIBUNE.
Reigning champion Mapua University, which will host Season 101, will banner Group A together with Lyceum of the Philippines University, University of Perpetual Help System Dalta, San Sebastian College and Arellano University.
Meanwhile, Group B will be composed of last year’s runner-up College of Saint Benilde, San Beda University, Letran College, Jose Rizal University and EAC.
Unlike the previous format of having a double round robin, the tourney will unfold across five phases.
The group stage will feature a double-round robin within each group while facing teams from the other group once, giving each team a total of 13 matches.
The top three teams from each group will advance to the third phase — the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, the bottom two teams from each group will be relegated to the second phase, the play-in round, for a chance to secure the fourth and final quarterfinal spot.
In the crossover quarterfinals, the top seed of each group will face the fourth seed from the opposing group while the second-ranked teams will take on the third seed from the other group. The top two seeds will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage.
Then, quarterfinal survivors will move on to the fourth phase, which is the best-of-three semifinals.
The victors in the semis will collide in the fifth phase — the best-of-three finals — while the losers will slug it out in the sudden-death battle for third place.
The juniors tournament will also adopt the same format and will now be played in the first semester with its games mostly being played at the equally historic Rizal Memorial Coliseum.