INTENTIONAL fouls away from the ball in the last two minutes will result in harsher penalties this season in the NCAA, the league’s management committee announced on Wednesday.
Teams that use the tactic will be assessed a technical foul while the opposing team retains ball possession.
The rule change is a reaction to plays that marred several games in last year’s college basketball wars.
“We are going back to the old system,” said Mancom chairman Mari Lacson during Tuesday’s turnover ceremony at The Pearl Manila Hotel.
In the NCAA and UAAP last year, teams that faced deficits in the dying moments used the tactic of fouling a player, specifically a poor foul shooter, away from the ball. It resulted in an awkward situations where players run away from the defense to avoid getting fouled.
No team actually managed to come back and win a game by using the strategy, and games dragged on for several minutes because of the tactic.
The tactic also known as “Hack-A-Shaq” in reference to NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, has become a joke to the NCAA audience, says Lacson.
“Kasi nagiging joke na eh,” said Lacson. “Hinahabol nila ’yung player, ayaw namin ’yan. That’s one of the few things that we changed.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
