Referees ready for playoffs

MANILA, Philippines - PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios said yesterday the league’s pool of 19 active referees, led by top-rated officials Throngy Aldaba, Arturo Herrera, Jess Ferrer and Manolito Quilinguen, is more than ready to face up to the challenge of working the homestretch games of the Philippine Cup.

The best-of-five quarterfinals begin today and the two survivors will advance to take on outright qualifiers San Miguel Beer and Alaska in the best-of-seven semifinals. The best-of-seven finals will be the culminating series of the conference that started with the double-round eliminations last October.

Class A referee Luisito (Boy) Cruz is undergoing therapy after surgery on his Achilles heel and will not suit up for the playoffs. But Barrios said he is confident the rest of the whistle-blowers will be up to the task.

Barrios said supervisor of officials Ramil Cruz and consultant Romy Guevara are constantly evaluating the referees’ performance to raise the officiating bar.

“In the past, performance evaluation was limited to a simple review of each game and a weekly meeting with referees but now, we’re doing much more to improve our standards,” said Barrios.

“First, it’s automatic to review every game with the referees the day after a play date. That requires the use of video from Solar TV and five cameras that the league itself operates to cover every possible angle. Review forms are filled up by the referees, Ramil and Romy. We also keep a record of every wrong call and missed no-call each quarter per referee with a statistical summary for all the games.”

Barrios said referees are reminded to ignore incidental contact and not make “cheap” calls that disrupt the flow of the game.

“The intention isn’t to coddle superstars but obviously, fans pay good money to watch their favorite players,” said Barrios. “We don’t want superstars going to the bench in foul trouble on fouls that we call ‘manipis’ and a coach’s game plan is adversely affected. The rule on incidental contact applies to all players, not just superstars.”

Guevara, who has worked basketball games for over 40 years, including six as an expatriate supervisor in Qatar, said not all contact is a foul as referees blow their whistles only when contact has an effect on a play.

Barrios said in their training routine, the referees report for four-hour on-court drills once a week. “It’s all about muscle memory,” he continued. “We’ve got cameras on the floor during the drills. The referees work on positioning. It’s a fact that 90 percent of a referee’s job is getting good position. They simulate plays. It’s a lot of hard work but they know how important it is to be ready for a game.”

Barrios said the referees undergo regular eye calisthenics and eye coordination tests under ophthalmologist Dr. Charlie Ho, take English communication lessons and are often tested by sports psychologist Dr. Nyra Orbeta.

“There’s a lot of pressure on our referees and Dr. Orbeta helps them cope both as individuals and as a group,” Barrios went on. “Now more than ever, we notice more vocal and a stronger manifestation of resentment from fans, coaches, players and team owners on a call that is perceived to be wrong.”

Before a game, Barrios said Cruz meets with the referees in almost the same way a coach huddles with his players.

“Ramil goes over player tendencies, what to watch for and how to read the coaches,” said Barrios. “This doesn’t mean our referees will try to anticipate what will happen because obviously, that will influence his calls. It’s just a matter of being ready to tackle any eventuality on the court.”

Guevara said one of the toughest calls to make is when contact is made and it is either charging or blocking.

“Different angles will give you different views,” he said. “That’s why it’s important to define the territorial responsibilities of the three referees – the lead, center and trail. The referees are focused on the defense. The defensive player must establish his legal position and it must be determined who causes the contact. The offensive player must go around a defensive player who has established position and stays within his vertical limit. An offensive player can’t lean on or dislodge a defensive player. You don’t penalize good defense by calling a blocking foul if an offensive player creates contact and tries to bait a foul.”

In explaining the no-charge zone, Guevara said the exception is when an offensive player wards off or kicks a defender. The no-charge zone was conceptualized to prevent a secondary defender from undercutting an offensive player.

Barrios said under PBA rules, game-related issues are within the commissioner’s authority to decide.

“Whatever game-related issues are decided by the commissioner are unappealable and irreversible by the PBA Board,” he said. “That’s because the PBA Board mainly takes up high-level policy matters where members are not conflicted, like the awarding of the TV rights and setting playing venues. If the PBA Board gets involved in game-related issues, it will become highly politicized. Imagine calling for a special Board meeting every time a governor wants to question a call that was made in a game. If the PBA Board no longer has confidence in the commissioner to decide on game-related issues, then the solution is to remove the commissioner, not to change the rule.”