PBA implements new rules for league, announces conduction of overseas games

“2019. 44th Season. 12 teams. 1 league.‬ Before the season starts on the 13th of January!” (Photo: PBA 44th Season Press Conference/PBA Official Website)

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is attempting to make the league more exciting and fast-paced for their 44th season, announcing at their January 8 press conference the implementation of International Basketball Federation (FIBA) rules to their system and inclusion of overseas games for the upcoming year. The press conference took place at Conrad Manila, Pasay.

PBA Chairman Ricky Vargas first told the media that they’re “looking forward to an exciting PBA Season 44 with all the changes and improvement in team lineups, and the changes and improvement in [their] rules to make the game more exciting.”

Commissioner Willie Marcial added, “We took into consideration many things in coming up with this, foremost is to make the game better for the better appreciation of our fans.”

With the game proper, the three major rule changes include: goal-tend review during the match itself, following FIBA rules when it comes to traveling violations, and allowing the coaches to make verbal calls on player timeouts, meaning “the players can now do that when the coaches call for a break, not just a gesture” Marcial clarified.

Meanwhile, Marcial also excited fans when he said, “We’re still in the process of finalizing contracts but there might be one or two international games this season.” With that still pending, he did however confirm that the 2019 All-Star Week will be happening at Calasiao, Pangasinan and that there will only be one leg. All of these developments are due to the professional league’s success last season, where Marcial revealed they earned around 160 million pesos.

During the event, Marcial also spoke about the importance of supporting the Philippine National Team. He stated, “Like I said a while ago, we have a FIBA window in February so the league is taking a break to support the national team,” and that “if we make the FIBA (World Cup), [the PBA] will also take a break for 10 or 12 days,” believing, “We should be able to get our best players and create the best team to play in the SEA Games. It’s important because we are the hosts.”