title: Does small-sided-games' court area influence metabolic, perceptual, and physical performance parameters of young elite basketball players?
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of court size on physiological responses and physical performance of young elite basketball players. Twelve male basketball players (18.6 ± 0.5 years; 88.8 ± 14.5 kg; 192.6 ± 6.5 cm) from an under-19 team performed two small-sided games (matches) with different court areas (28x15 m and 28x9 m; 28x15 and 28x9 protocols). The number of players (3x3) was kept the same in each protocol. The players performed a repeated-sprint ability (RSA) test before and after each match. Blood lactate concentration was collected before (pre) and after (post) the matches, and the session rating of perceived exertion (session-RPE) was determined 30 minutes after the match. Best and mean time in the RSA test were not different between the 28x15 and the 28x9 match protocols (p > 0.05). A significant difference was observed for lactate concentration from pre- to post-match (p < 0.05) in both protocols (28x15 and 28x9); however, there was no significant interaction between protocols. A similar session-RPE mean score (28x15: 7.2 ± 1.4 and 28x9: 6.6 ± 1.4) was detected for both protocols (p > 0.05, ES=0.41). In summary, the results of the current study suggest that the different court areas induced similar responses. Although there was no significant difference in effort perception, players tended to perceive a greater effort in the larger court size.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sport, School of Physical Education and Sport, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Integrated Support Center for Athletes (CIAA) -Pinheiros Sport Club, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Marcelino
authors.affiliation: School of Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.affiliation: Department of Sport, School of Physical Education and Sport, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Afs
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arruda
authors.affiliation: Department of Sport, School of Physical Education and Sport, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Integrated Support Center for Athletes (CIAA) -Pinheiros Sport Club, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Freitas
authors.affiliation: Physiology Unit, Sport Science Department, ASPIRE Academy for Sport Excellence, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mendez-Villanueva
authors.affiliation: Department of Sport, School of Physical Education and Sport, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moreira
keywords: Athletic training; Physical performance; Physiology; Sport