DongGuan, China » Hawaii is playing by somebody else’s rules now.

For all the cultural adjustments the Rainbow Warriors must make during their 17-day basketball tour of China and Japan, the FIBA rules that govern hoops play here could be tougher to adapt to.

Forget the language and cultural barriers. Gib Arnold’s team, in many ways, will play a totally different game.

UH arrived today in the south China city of DongGuan, where two of its seven total contests will be played.

That’s where the scheduling of two "practice" games against World University Games teams Australia and Brazil on Monday and Tuesday comes in handy. Before UH plays four games against Chinese Basketball Association teams, it will have a more informal setting to test out some of the differences that make international basketball foreign to the USA.

Here are some of the primary differences they will encounter over their seven international exhibitions:

» Free balls on the rim — Usually, players know to avoid touching the ball at all costs when it’s on the rim. In FIBA play, however, any ball is live after touching the rim. Offensive players may tip-dunk in the imaginary cylinder above the rim or defensive players may bat the ball out to clear it. UH, with one true center on the trip, 7-footer Davis Rozitis, could be at a disadvantage here.

» 24-second shot clock — One of the biggest differences. The 35 seconds allowed by the NCAA is pared down to match NBA rules. The Rainbow Warriors must be decisive in their halfcourt offense.

» Trapezoidal lane — The rectangular paint area is replaced by a trapezoidal area nearly twice as wide along the baseline as the width at the free-throw line, affecting where players may position themselves in foul shot box-outs.

» Quarters, no halves — The 20-minute halves in NCAA play are swapped for four 10-minute quarters. It’s still 40 minutes, but this can affect substitution patterns and game rhythm.

» Timeouts — Only a team’s coach may call a timeout. Players may not. Two timeouts are allotted for the first half and three for the second half.

» Substitutions — No substitutions are allowed between free-throw attempts.

» Inbounding — An inbounder positioned past the halfcourt line may not pass to a teammate who frees himself from the defense by running into the backcourt, as is common in American basketball.

» 3-point arc — The FIBA 3-point line is 20 feet, 61/4 inches from the hoop. That’s 23/4 inches shorter than the NCAA distance. No problem there.