DBA basketball rules and game format for 5v5 and 3v3

A DBA 5v5 game is two 20-minute halves. Each team has five players on the court at a time, and a DBA 5v5 roster has 7 to 10 players.

These are the 5v5 rules for fall and spring games in the DBA basketball league in Winnipeg.

Winter and summer games use these rules.

Two refs work every 5v5 game in fall and spring. A 3v3 game in winter or summer has one ref.

A team forfeits if it can't put 5 players on the court for 5v5, or 3 for 3v3, within 10 minutes of the scheduled start time. The game then counts as a 20‑0 loss. The rule is there because every other team's schedule depends on each game being played.

If a ref ejects a player, he sits out his team's next game. A player who fights is removed from the league, and there's no refund.

Every season ends with playoffs. The top four of eight teams make the playoffs. The DBA playoffs page lists each playoff game.

Subs can play in regular‑season games only. Each team's playoff roster is set before the playoffs start, so only players on that roster can play.

If a game is cancelled, we move it to a later date and post the new time on the schedule and on Instagram.

We track points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and threes for each player in every game. After every final, we name one player as the player of the game and post his stats on Instagram.

We rank the teams once a month by record, point differential and results from the last three games. We post the rankings on the standings page and in a monthly post.