THE UAAP will have its own pool of referees beginning this season.
League president Nilo Ocampo of host school National University shared the league created its own referees pool "to ensure that there will be quality and improvement in our officiating."
This will be the first time the UAAP will employ in-house officials after years of enlisting referees from Basketball Referees Association for Schools, Colleges and University (BRASCU).
UAAP basketball commissioner Junel Baculi came up with the idea to have officials exclusive to the league, and it got the approval from executive director Rebo Saguisag, managing directors, and the UAAP board of directors.
“I was discussing with president Nilo Ocampo and ED Rebo Saguisag about the group that we want to hire for Season 81. An idea came out: Why don’t we initiate having our own set of referees?” said Baculi.
“An exclusive one. They cannot officiate in other leagues. If ever we suspend them, they stay here. Every game, they will be in the venues.”
A total of 25 referees will handle the men's and women's games in the first semester, and will be kept busy for the rest of the year officiating the juniors' tournament and 3x3 competitions in the second semester.
They will all be employed by the UAAP, which is now a full-pledged corporation like the PBA.
Saguisag shared the stringent process that the applicants went through before becoming part of the 25-man referees' pool.
"Invitations were sent to different officiating bodies in the country, all of whom underwent a rigorous selection process which included written proficiency tests, physical fitness examinations, and game feel tests, among other things," the affable executive said.
Baculi will be joined by deputy commissioners Tonichi Pujante and Vic Ycasiano, and technical head Raffy Britanico in supervising the officials.
The UAAP cage wars begin this Saturday at Mall of Asia Arena.
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