All games will be played according to the FIBA 1 October 2018 Rules. Exceptions to these rules are only in the areas mentioned in this document.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of thirty-two (32) high schools and sixteen (16) primary schools will be taking part in the 2018 St John’s College Basketball Tournament. 

ELIGIBILITY

This is strictly an Under 19 and Under 13 tournaments. Players must be born on or after the 1st of January 2000 or 2006, respectively. All players must be students and must be enrolled at a school participating at the tournament. An age verification process with original ID, passport or birth certificate will take place prior to each team’s game. 

TEAM ENTRY WITHDRAWAL POLICY (effective 2019)

1. General – One of the biggest challenges to managing events is late withdrawal of teams. Such entry withdrawals shift resources and energies away from preparing for future events to damage control for a late change in a group. One of St John’s College’s operating goals is to offer great value to participating teams. To continue offer outstanding value to teams, St John’s College has adopted the Tournament Entry Withdrawal Policy.

2. No Participation Fee will be refunded.          

3. No duty to find replacement. St John’s College assumes no responsibility to find a replacement entry for any Late Withdrawal. 

FORMAT

The participating teams will be grouped into four (4) pools – Pool A, B, C and D. Teams will play round-robin format within their group stages. The draw will be forwarded at least two weeks prior to the tournament, together with the fixtures for the first round of matches.

The first phase of the competition will be a round-robin within each pool. A log will be done with 2 points for a win, 1 for a loss and 0 for a forfeit.

 PLAYOFFS

The second phase of the competition will be a round of 16 – the top four (4) teams in each pool will proceed to the Top-16, quarterfinals, semi-finals and then to the finals. 

There will also be NO plate final. 

TOP-16

Top 16 – Pool A will cross with Pool C and Pool B will cross with Pool D

Cross pool explanation: At the Top-16 stage there will be a cross draw – the team at the top of Pool A will play against the third placed team in Pool C, where the second placed team in Pool A will face the fourth team in Pool C and Vice-Versa. Same approach applies for pools B and D.

Top-16 Play-off structure

A1xC3                           B1xD3

A2xC4                           B2xD4

C1xA3                           D1xB3

C2xA4                           D2xB4 

CLASSIFICATION

 There will be no classification matches for positions 3-32.

Ranking/Classification for position after knock-out matches will be determined by the FIBA ranking system which can be viewed and studied in the FIBA Rules for 2017 on pages 75-80.  

KIT

All teams are expected to abide by FIBA 2018 regulations [applicable since 1 Oct 2018] and have the correct playing kit with numbers. Please avoid a duplication of numbers.

The home team will always be the team featured first on the fixture and will wear a light colour. The away team will be on the fixture and will wear a darker kit.

Please liaise with your opponents to avoid colour clashes. Bibs will also be available. 

GAMES 

Games will consist of four quarters of eight (8) minutes on the running clock. Each team will be allowed a maximum of two (2) time outs in the first half and two (2) in the second half. The clock will be stopped during the time out.

The last two minutes will be stop-start in the last quarter if the score between teams is less than ten (10) points [meaning 9 points or less]. The final is 8 minutes start/stop.

Halftime interval will be strictly three (3) minutes.

In the case of a tie at the end of regulation time, an overtime period of three (3) minutes will be played.

LOG CALCULATION

Where teams are tied on points, the position will be calculated by looking at head-to-head results between the teams. Should this not produce a result, then a points difference between the teams shall be used to determine log standing. Should

LiveStats: Kindly follow results and stats online as information will be available for all to see and follow. Tournament officials will not be printing out stats at the end of quarters, halves or end of game. It is the attempt of SJC Basketball to promote a Green-Conscious environment.  

FORFEIT

A grace period of three (3) minutes from the scheduled time or the end of the previous game will be given. Any team that fails to be on the playing court at the scheduled time will lose the game by forfeit. All FIBA 2017 rules regarding game forfeit will apply.

If for any reason whatsoever a team refuses to go onto the court, or causes a game to be disrupted, the referee shall end the game and record it as a forfeit and that team will cease to participate in the tournament. 

PROTEST

The following procedure should be followed.

The captain shall inform the referee and sign the score sheet (in the prescribed area) within 15 after the game. This must be done in a polite and respectful manner.

To make the protest valid, it is necessary for an official representative of the team (coach or manager) to give confirmation of this protest in writing. This must be done within a period of 15 minutes from the end of the game. The team representative shall then deposit a fee of R1 000 as security. Protest in writing should be delivered to the commissioner, no later than 60 minutes after the concerned game.

The representative shall then submit to the Tournament Director or representative of the technical committee the report and the fee. If the protest is found to be valid in favor of the team that has protested, then the deposit will be refunded. 

NB: Teams are urged to familiarize themselves with the procedures for a protest within the FIBA 2018 Rules to ensure that we don’t file any invalid protest. 

TOURNAMENT DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE

The Disciplinary Committee will comprise of the Tournament Director (or her representative), the most senior referee and any other member elected at the technical meeting. Their decision will be final. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

All athletes and coaches are urged to apply serious caution on what will be posted on all SJC Basketball social media platforms. Any serious offences or infringement of the rights of individuals, teams or even the institution can result in the expulsion or disqualification of a team or individual. Coaches and Managers are advised to monitor their athletes’ activity on social media. Let us enjoy the tournament and post material that promotes good spirit and sportsmanship throughout the tournament.