Rules & Regulations

Goals

The SBA 5×5 Internal League gives students fair, level-appropriate competition and serves as a development pathway toward the Singapore Premier Basketball League (SPBL) and other external competitions.

Administration

The league is overseen and managed by SBA coaches.

FIBA rules

Unless stated otherwise on this page, all play follows the FIBA Official Basketball Rules. The modifications below exist for the development of youth sport, in line with best practice adopted locally and internationally. The league adopts amendments to these rules when FIBA institutes them.

Age groups

Age groups are set by year of birth and reviewed at the start of each calendar year.

• U10 — born 2016 or after
• U12 — born 2014 or after

Game times & venue

For consistency for players and families, each age group is assigned specific time slots where possible, and all its games are scheduled within those slots. Venue details will be announced later.

Fixed schedule

All scheduled games are final and may not be moved.

League format

• Minimum 4 teams per division.
• Round-robin within division — every team plays every other team.
• Semi-Finals and Finals, if the schedule allows.

Points

Tiebreakers (in order)

1. Head-to-head record
2. Season point differential
3. Point differential in games between tied teams

• Once a player has played a game for a team, they may not transfer to another team for the rest of the season.
• Minimum 5 players to begin a game; maximum 10 on the roster.
• If a team’s available players fall below four during a game, the coaches and referees jointly decide whether to continue as a 4-on-4 contest or stop the game.
• Scoresheets are pre-printed by the league and provided at the venue before games.

Playoff eligibility

Same for U10 and U12.

• 4 × 8-min quarters
• No shot clock
• Overtime — sudden death: the first team to score wins.
• Time-outs — 1 in the first half, 2 in the second half.
• Substitutions — allowed every quarter.

Clock

The clock runs continuously, except in the last 30 seconds of the 4th quarter — and then it stops only if the score difference is 6 points or less.

Ball size

• U10 — Size 5
• U12 — Size 6

Rim height

Standard FIBA (3.05 m) for both age groups.

Team uniforms

• All players in the same colour uniform.
• Numbers 00–99, clearly displayed front and back.

Defence

Man-to-man defence only. The first violation earns a warning. On a second violation:

• U10 — 1 point is awarded to the opposing team, plus possession from the centre line.
• U12 — 2 free throws to the opposing team, plus possession from the centre line.

No full-court press

• No full-court press on the inbound pass after a score or dead ball.
• Teams can play half-court defence.
• Full-court press is allowed only in the last 30 seconds, when the score difference is less than 6 points.

Free throws

U12 — standard FIBA free throws, no changes.

U10 — no free throws are taken. Shooting fouls are scored instead:

For infringements within, before or after a game, the league reserves the right to enforce a penalty based on the severity of the infraction — whether by a player, coach, club administrator or spectator.

Example escalation

• First offence: warning.
• Second offence: penalty — may include loss of game points or suspension of teams or individuals.

The SBA Code of Conduct for players and for parents/spectators applies to the league.