Lady refs holding fort in men-dominated world

Janine Nicandro (left) and Marilee Orioste —DENISON REY A. DALUPANG

SMART CLARK GIGA CITY—Marilee Orioste could still recall the moment she was slighted by a coach while officiating in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

“I won’t name names, but I remember him telling me: You don’t belong here,” she told the Inquirer on Tuesday.

Janine Nicandro, who was the first to shatter the league’s glass ceiling back in 2016, had basically the same experience.

“It was also my rookie year. [Coaches and players] were testing me how I’d respond,” she said. “I just thought these men simply weren’t used to having women around their game.”

Fast forward to 2020, and both Orioste and Nicandro are now just a few games away from completing a tour of duty for the ages.

The pair is among the 12 referees—out of the original 19—left inside the PBA’s self-contained zone in Clark Freeport here, proving they are not novelties the league is flaunting so it could appease certain demographics.

Not by a long shot.

Not only did Orioste and Nicandro move closer to surviving the league’s unforgiving and character-testing tournament, but they also managed to show the league that lady referees are also capable of performing in such a pressure-packed stage.

Referees are just as under the microscope as the players and coaches. But unlike the delegates from two opposing teams, game officials are also under the keen eye of the league’s head honchos and the throng of fans following the games.

But just how pressure-packed, exactly?

“It’s been a really extraordinary experience, because over here, once you get back to the hotel, you can still run into the players and coaches,” the 28-year-old Nicandro said with a hearty laugh.

“It’s unlike the regular games in the past where once you’re done, you’re discharged. You can really disengage,” she added.

“We target something close to perfection,” the 30-year-old Orioste said.

Pals for over a decade and currently roommates inside the bubble, the two referees said they both turn to mind-setting to be able to deliver commendable officiating once the ball is tipped. INQ