Mapua Cardinals’ Clint Escamis during Game 2 of the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball Finals against St. Benilde Blazers. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—The NCAA is entering a new century with a fresh approach for the upcoming Season 101 men’s basketball tournament.
Veering away from the traditional double round-robin, the league introduces a group format in the elimination round wherein the 10 teams are equally split into two pools.
READ: NCAA: College of St. Benilde gears up for redemption in Season 101
Teams in the same group face each other twice while playing squads on the other side once, bringing the number of games in the eliminations to 13 from the usual 18.
The top three teams in each group Earn outright quarterfinal slots while the fourth and fifth seeds duel for the last ticket to the last eight.
The crossover quarters will pit the top teams in each group against the lowest-ranked squads in the other pool, with the two best teams in each group claiming twice-to-beat advantages.
Once that’s out of the way, the Final Four will be a best-of-three series.
This is not the first time in recent history that the league made some tweaks to its format.
READ: NCAA set for Rizal Memorial Coliseum homecoming
Back in Season 97, the NCAA worked around the pandemic and played a single-round elimination to make the season shorter.
Defending champion Mapua headlines Group A with fellow semifinalist Lyceum, Perpetual Help, San Sebastian and Arellano.
Final Four squads San Beda and College of St. Benilde banner Group B, which also has Letran, Jose Rizal University and Emilio Aguinaldo College. The league held a draw on Friday.
The NCAA Season 101 tips off on October 1 with the Cardinals taking on the Pirates, followed by a Final Four rematch between the Red Lions and the Blazers.
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