Pinoyliga Cup Inter-Alumni Division 101: The rules and regulations of the league

The Pinoyliga Cup Inter-Alumni Division started last weekend and now let us get to know more about the league rules and regulations for our better appreciation of the tournament that aims to serve as an avenue for alumni of different colleges and universities to play competitive basketball and don their school spirit just like the old days. 

There are two divisions in the inaugural tournament this season - the Division A (40 and up) and  Division B (38 and up). 

The players must be born at least 1982 for Division A and 1984 for Division B and they must be former students of the colleges and universities they are representing. Pros and ex-pros can play with no height limit in Division A while it's the other way around in Division B as pros and ex-pros are not allowed to be included in the line-up and play. Moreover, all players are also required to submit government-issued IDs and any other proof of being former students of the school they are representing and no player should play for more than one team in the tournament. 

A team is composed of a maximum of 25 players, the list will be given to the tournament committee one day before the event, but only 20 players will be allowed to play per game. The 20-man roster can be changed every game and the list must be submitted to the game committee at least 10 minutes before the game. 

There is a mandatory substitution every five minutes in the first half for Division B.

All teams must have both light and dark top jerseys with designated numbers. A player wearing a uniform that is not identical to his team’s uniform will not be allowed to play. Jewelry is not allowed but other soft, non-abrasive apparel will be allowed. 

The tournament will be based on FIBA rules. There will be four 10-minute quarters with a 1-minute stoppage between quarters. The game clock runs continuously and only stops during timeouts, free-throw shooting, the last two minutes, and when officials call for it at any point during the game. 

Five team fouls will be allowed before entering the penalty situation in regular time and only five personal fouls will be allowed before sitting out for the rest of the game. Two technical fouls and/or 2 unsportsmanlike fouls will result in a player’s disqualification from the game. All technical and unsportsmanlike fouls will result in 2 shots plus ball possession and any unsportsmanlike foul with intent to harm will automatically result in a one-game suspension. 

There will be 1 timeout each quarter except in the fourth quarter where there will be 2. Unused timeout will not be carried over to the next quarter.

The participating teams will play a single round-robin elimination where the top 4 teams will enter the knockout semifinals. The finals will be a do-or-die game.

All game statistics will be available on the Pinoyliga website (https://www.pinoyliga.com) and all game photos and live video coverage will be available on the Pinoyliga Cup Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pinoyligabasketballcup).