EXPERIENCED basketball referee Romy Guevarra sees a lot of potential in the pool of Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) after working with them in the first of a two-day refresher course in the University of San Carlos (USC) Main Gym yesterday.
“I see a lot of them with potential,” Guevarra told SunStar Cebu. “What’s important is they follow what I taught them. Because most of the time, if they are in the actual game, they usually don’t follow the proper mechanics. Basketball today needs a team of three referees and not three individual referees. They have to work as one instead of trying to outsmart their co-referees.”
More than 40 referees and table officials showed up and participated in the refresher course that taught them proper rules, mechanics, positioning and physical fitness.
“We are explaining to them the correct interpretation of the rules and proper positioning of the game official inside the court,” said Guevarra.
The Cesafi has a current pool of around 60 referees and table officials from the Cebu Basketball Referees Association (CBRA) group that will be officiating the collegiate, high school and the new Under-12 division.
Guevarra has officiated a total of over 17,000 basketball games. He was trained in London and has officiated in FIBA games in Asia, the PBA, PBL, NCAA, UAAP and Jones Cup.
He was a referee in the PBA for 14 years and was named the best referee in the PBL for two straight years.
Nowadays, Guevarra just wants to share his vast knowledge of the game and improve the quality of referee officiating here in the Philippines.
“I just want to share my knowledge,” said Guevarra. “Everyone has the potential to be a good referee. But it’s all up to them, they have to have initiative and passion for the game.” EKA