MANILA, Philippines—The NCAA men’s basketball tournament is back to a full cast of eight teams this year.

But if the coaches’ predictions prove true, the same four squads that survived the eliminations last year would still be around when the league reaches the knockout phase.

Last year’s losing finalist the Letran College Knights, the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers and the Mapua Institute of Technology Cardinals have been tipped to crowd the “three-peat” seeking San Beda College Red Lions for top honors in the league’s 84th season, which opens this Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

And the Lions’ second-year mentor Frankie Lim is anticipating an even tougher time this season.

He added the improved San Sebastian College Stags to the title mix, along with the returning Philippine Christian University Dolphins.

“The competition is very strong,” said Lim, who guided the Lions to back-to-back championships as a rookie coach last year. “It’s not going to be easy.”

Lim will be banking this time on newly appointed skipper Pong Escobal and holdovers Ogie Menor, Nigerian Sam Ekwe, Bam Gamalinda, Garvo Lanete and former PCU juniors’ standout Elvin Jake Pascual, who was declared eligible to play by the league Monday.
Meanwhile, in a move that could greatly determine the outcome of games, the NCAA is introducing the “Challenge Rule” that allows coaches to contest if buzzer-beating shots at the end of the quarters are counted or not.

League commissioner Joe Lipa said that if the challenge is overruled, it will be charged to the challenging team’s timeouts.

If there are no timeouts left, the team will be slapped with a technical foul, he added.

Another new rule, Lipa said, is that a player will now be charged with an “unsportsmanlike foul” when he fouls an opposing player away from the ball before an inbound play.