NCAA basketball format undergoes minor tweak for Season 102

The group-stage format of the NCAA basketball tournaments will undergo a minor tweak for Season 102.

For the upcoming season, the group stage will still consist of three phases, with teams in the same group facing each other first before crossing over to the other group and then returning to their original group.

However, instead of the fourth- and fifth-place finishers playing a single knockout game in the play-in tournament for a spot in the quarterfinals, the No. 4 team will now have a twice-to-beat advantage.

“For this season, we will be introducing the twice-to-beat because last season, sa play-in, walang advantage ‘yung No. 4. So ngayon sa format, the No. 4 will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage. It hopes to increase the level of competition at any level,” NCAA Season 102 Management Committee chairman Atty. Jonas Cabochan of San Beda University said.

“Hopefully, with this change in the format, the excitement will be there, the hope that the teams will still be making it to the [Top] Four within the group will still be there, and we hope to increase the level of competition,” he added.

San Beda will enter the season as the defending champion in the seniors’ division and will open its campaign against De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde on September 13 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Colegio de San Juan de Letran, meanwhile, will face the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA on the same opening day at the Mall of Asia Arena.

—JKC, GMA News