PBA refs tap fresh blood

Four rookies were hired by the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) to join 10 holdovers in the league’s officiating staff this season.

Newly-appointed PBA Supervisor of Officials Ernie de Leon said the four were picked from 68 applicants who underwent rigorous screening that included written examinations and drills in the offseason. De Leon said recent visitor Darrell Garretson, who was a National Basketball Association (NBA) referee for 27 years, was involved in hiring the rookies and striking out four veterans from the active pool.

When Garretson arrived here last month, the list of 68 applicants had been trimmed to 23. So Garretson went to work on 23 rookies and 14 veterans. In the end, he picked 10 veterans and four rookies to comprise the active roster. Garretson also chose seven rookies and a veteran to make up a training pool.

Three of the four veterans taken off the active roster were dismissed. They were Efren Garferio, Alex Tangonan, and Meynard Ballecer. A fourth veteran, Art Herrera, was relegated to the training pool.

The newcomers in the active list are Renato Fabrez, Edgardo Nicolas, Hector Villanueva, and Patrick Canizares.

Fabrez, 27, coached a year in the Women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (WNCAA) and four years in the Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA).

Nicolas, 37, coached over two years in the MBA and a year in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). He went to school at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP).

Villanueva, 35, is a member of the Basketball Referees Association of Binan, Laguna, and worked over two years in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL).

Canizares, 32, played in the Negros Basketball Association before joining the Bacolod Referees Group in 1991. He was a referee for two years in the MBA.

De Leon, 55, is the senior statesman in the referees lineup. Aside from succeeding Romy Guevara as the Supervisor of Officials, de Leon remains in the active pool. It’s not uncommon for a Supervisor to continue working games. Garretson was an active referee and Supervisor of Officials in the NBA for 13 years. De Leon is the only ex-PBA player in the referees’ ranks which he joined in 1987. He played for 7-Up and Gilbey’s Gin in 1975-79.

Aside from de Leon, the other holdovers are Franco Ilagan, Jose Bernarte, Luisito Cruz, Mario Montiel, Augusto Ramos, Jose Calungcaguin, Renato Guevara, Wilbur Calunag, and Throngy Aldaba.

Ilagan, 52, became a PBA referee in October 1991. Bernarte, 35, was a PBL referee before joining the PBA in 1993. He is also a Physical Education instructor at the Asian Institute of Maritime Studies. Cruz, 41, is from Far Eastern University (FEU) and was named Best Referee in the 1994 PBL First Conference. He entered the PBA in 1995.

Montiel, 44, was hired by the PBA in 1997. He is also a teacher at Lakan Dula High School. Ramos, 41, joined the PBA in 1998 from Adamson University and Baguio Colleges Foundation. Calungcaguin, 40, has been a referee since 1990 and entered the PBA in 1998. He listed as references former PBA coach Nic Jorge and former PBA player Luke Dacula.

Guevara, 32, worked in the UAAP and PBL before joining the PBA two years ago. Calunag, 32, started out as a referee in Bacolod in 1995 and worked his way to the PBA in 2001. Aldaba, 30, officiated in the University Games, National Collegiate Championships, Palarong Pambansa and the MBA before joining the PBA in 2001.

Among the eight referees in the training pool are Herrera, Jesus Ferrer, and Monico Nolva.

Herrera, 38, officiated in the PBL from 1998 to 2001 then joined the PBA. His brother Pol was a PBA player for nine years and retired in 1988. Ferrer, 35, played two years for the Mapua juniors in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and four years for National University in the UAAP. He has no refereeing experience. Nolva, 34, officiated in the UAAP and MBA. He played for Naga College in the varsity league.

The screening process was the tightest in years, considering Garretson was involved in deciding who would go and who would be hired. Garretson made it a point to check on the referees’ physical condition and took it into major consideration in assembling this year’s roster. Calunag, for instance, lost 10 pounds in 24 days and Montiel also brought down his weight, disclosed Garretson.

De Leon said one thing the referees learned from Garretson is never to take things easy. "Ayaw niya ng palakad-lakad lang sa court," he noted. "Ang requirement niya is always a hard run to get to position. Wala raw ‘yung strolling in the park." De Leon added that Garretson provided refreshers on positioning and mechanics and stressed the importance of working together as a team.

De Leon himself was under scrutiny as a referee by Garretson. He made his season’s debut in the Purefoods-Shell game at the Araneta Coliseum last Sunday while Garretson took down notes from the lower box section. From all indications, de Leon passed Garretson’s test with flying colors.

None of the three referees looked like they were strolling in the park last Sunday.