NCAA to adopt Fiba rules; Generals ready

NATIONAL Collegiate Athletic Association tournament commissioner Aric del Rosario said yesterday that the league will adopt the new FIBA rules on officiating when the 87th season gets going on Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Del Rosario announced during the coaches’ meeting yesterday that the new FIBA rules will help speed up the game, since they call for a 14-second second shot clock instead of the old 24-shot clock rule and a shorter inbounding position.

“Mas bibilis ang laro ngayon kaysa dati dahil sa mga bagong rules,” Del Rosario said.

With regards to inbounding in the last two minutes, an inbounding player is required to make his pass near the three-point zone, and not from the usual place, which is near the mid-court line.

Meanwhile, the league has formed a five-member negotiating panel which will sit down with executives of television network ABS-CBN 2 and negotiate a long-term TV contract.

NCAA policy board chairman Anthony Tamayo of host University of Perpetual Help System Dalta said the panel is composed of management committee representatives coming from host UPHSD, San Sebastian College, Letran and the College of St. Benilde, along with the league’s legal counsel.

The negotiating panel, according to Tamayo, will sit down with television executive Peter Musngi in the coming months.

“We will be asking for a long-term contract, and it’s just not for three years. It’s going to be a long one,” said Tamayo.

Meanwhile, the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, with new coach Gerry Esplana calling the shots, have high hopes that they can rise from the bottom of the standings.

The Generals spent the entire summer honing their offensive system and defensive skills in summer tournaments such as the Fr. Martin Cup and the Filoil-Flying V Pre-Season Cup, where they battled teams from both the NCAA and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.

The Generals won two games in the Filoil-Flying V cagefest and lost all of their nine games in the Fr. Martin Cup, but Esplana said the experience helped his players keep their composure, especially in endgame situations.

“Maganda ang naging experience namin. Nakita namin ang dapat ma-improve, at ito ay ang defense namin,” said Esplana, who took over the coaching chores from Nomar Isla.

The Generals boast of two Fil-Americans in Igee King and Joshua Torralba.

The 6’1” King, who is the son of former PBA player Abe King, will be playing out of Seattle, Washing

Peter Atencio, Manila Standard Today