The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) will implement some changes in its playing format as it ushers its 97th season.
Instead of a usual double round robin, games will be played in a single round robin format for the elimination round. The top two teams at the end of the elimination round will advance to the semifinals, while the third and fourth seed will battle for the no. 3 spot. The loser of the third and fourth seed game will play the winner of the fifth and sixth seeded teams for the no. 4 spot.
From there, the usual Final Four format will be played for the semis and eventually the finals. The no. 1 spot will play no. 4, while no. 2 and no. 3 will face each other in the semifinals. The top two teams will still have a twice-to-beat bonus.
NCAA Season 97 management committee president Manuel Raymund Castellano, Jr. said the new tournament format is expected to be an exciting tweak amid the basketball season's shortened run.
"We wanted to introduce play-in to make it more exciting and to give our teams seeded 5 and 6 a chance to play in the semifinals," Castellano said in a press conference.
The said format will be implemented for the volleyball tournament also this season.
Catch the games live on different platforms of GMA Network and NCAA Philippines.
—JMB, GMA News
