UAAP: UP to share findings, recommendations on officiating after Season 85

UP coach Goldwin Monteverde. UAAP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — University of the Philippines officials bared they will share the findings and recommendations of their analytics and video team to improve the officiating of the UAAP men’s basketball tournament.

Team manager Atty. Agaton Uvero on Saturday said that they will be submitting their formal concerns after the Season 85 basketball season “so as not to put undue pressure on league officials and referees.”

“I think it is fair to say that all of us in the league believe that there is always room for improvement in the way our games are officiated,” said Uvero in a statement. “We have exciting, fast-paced, and physical games, and we acknowledge that officiating these can be challenging. That is why we hope the UAAP can be open to the recommendations of our a-team so that we can have better-officiated games in the future.”

Uvero bared some of the findings of their a-team, claiming that there are inconsistencies in: (1) the amount of physicality allowed from game to game; (2) the parameters involved in allowing a coach to interact with game officials or opposing players; (3) bench decorum guidelines; and (4) factors determining unsportsmanlike fouls.

“It only makes sense because the UAAP needs to study these findings and recommendations, and they need time to determine if the recommendations can be applied next season,” said Uvero.

“Fans of the game know that consistency in the application of the rules is the foundation of fairness. You cannot blame them for shouting at the refs when they see their team called for fouls for minimal contact, while other players get away with dirty plays,” he added.

UP tries to complete its first back-to-back championship reign in the UAAP and its second title in 2022 when it battles Ateneo in a winner-take-all Game 3 on Monday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Fighting Maroons will miss the on-court presence of Zavier Lucero due to an ACL injury he sustained in their Game 2 loss last week.

The UP official, who has been very vocal on social media about the league’s officiating, also said his team seeks to propose to the UAAP that it needs a transparent and regular review of game officials — automatically review video footage after a game so that it can either rescind or levy penalties on erring players and coaches.

“It should also be incumbent upon us to propose ways to address the officiating issues we have observed,” Uvero said. “The referees cannot catch everything the video cameras do. So if certain players are observed on video to have committed unsportsmanlike actions on the court, they can be sanctioned.”

“If the UAAP values sportsmanlike behavior, no one should be allowed to get away with dirty plays,” he concluded.