Players can no longer call for timeouts to challenge calls, but coaches can do this when the Philippine Basketball Association opens its 48th season with the 2023-2024 Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
This is just one of the 12 new rules that the league will be introducing, beginning with the curtain-raising game between the Magnolia Timplados Hotshots and the TNT Tropang Giga at 5 p.m.
Commissioner Willie Marcial said this rule that was often used to beat the five-second inbound violation, is gone and will no longer be followed.
“Napagkasunduan ng competition committee na wala nang timeout ang players. Kapag successful ang challenge, there will be another at wala nang timeout, tanggal na,” said Marcial on new rules that they studying since May.
Under such ruling, a player could call for an emergency timeout and save ball possession. But in this conference, the proposed changes are expected to make the games faster, more exciting and run smoothly.
Now that the COVID-19 pandemic is over, the league will be able to once again follow its usual Wednesday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday playdates, with 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. games.
Another proposed change involves the game clock. This time, the timing device shall no longer be stopped during the last one minute of the first, second and third quarter.
Marcial said that in the coming season, a coach will be given one more challenge if the first challenge is successful.
Once this happens, a team will not be charged a timeout whether or not the challenge is successful.
The league celebrates the return of competitions following a long break and a mission to bring home the gold that was accomplished in the recent Asiad in Hangzhou, China.
PBA chairman Ricky Vargas said the league is beaming with pride following Gilas Pilipinas’ epic gold-medal run in the Hangzhou Games.
The Philippine team, composed of Ginebra resident import Justin Brownlee, Gin Kings Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar, San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Chris Ross and Marcio Lassiter, NorthPort’s Arvin Tolentino, NLEX’s Kevin Alas, TNT’s Calvin Oftana, Meralco’s Chris Newsome, and Ange Kouame, will be feted by the league.
“The year ended by us taking the challenge of building a hastily-formed team and we came home with the gold. The PBA is now the gold standard of basketball in the Philippines, that’s what I think. But more importantly, we’re the best in Asia for the next four years,” said Vargas.