Philsports and quality officiating

Last week, I wrote about the origins of the Philippine Institute for Sports (PHILSPORTS), tracing its beginnings to the Philippine debacle in the fifth Asian Games in Bangkok in 1966.

In response to this debacle, Ferdinand Marcos instructed Secretary of Education Carlos P. Romulo to submit recommendations on how to arrest the decline.

Romulo subsequently submitted his report, “Toward a National Sport Development Program,” that recommended the “organization of an Institute of Physical Education to train coaches and physical education instructors.”

The existing National College of Physical Education was then placed under the Department of Youth and Sports when the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (PAAF) was abolished in 1975, and renamed the Marcos Sports Academy (MASA).

The PAAF was then headed by Sen. Ambrosio Padilla, a political opponent of Marcos who, because of his martial law powers could abolish and create organizations at will. Perhaps, in a vengeful moment, and in one fell swoop, Marcos abolished the PAAF and added insult to injury by renaming the PAAF after himself!

The Department was itself abolished in 1983 and its functions transferred to the Ministry of Education and Culture. In 1986, following the EDSA People Power Revolution, MASA became the Philippine Institute of Physical Education and Sports. The Institute ceased to operate after the summer of 1989.

Academic degrees and certificates in physical education were usually granted by universities that had colleges of education. On Jan. 29, 1976, the first full fledged institution that was authorized to grant degrees and certificates for physical education and sports was the Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation at the University of the Philippines, with Dr. Aparicio Mequi, who later became Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman, as its founding dean.

The clamor, however, for a national training center for sports athletes, coaches, officiating officials, physical educators, sports scientists, recreation leaders and specialists needed to carry out a mass-based program persisted. Several bills proposing the creation of a national sports academy were filed in both Houses of Congress during the Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos administrations. None of the bills prospered beyond public consultations and second reading.

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Perhaps had PHILSPORTS been used properly and not junked by those who assumed office at the PSC after June 30, 1998 and others who followed years later, there probably would have been quite a number of high-quality accredited basketball referees who would not have ruined an otherwise exciting championship game between De La Salle and Ateneo last Sept. 25.

I had hoped that referees numbered 12, 15 and 19 who nearly spoiled the De La Salle-Far Eastern University on Sept. 14 would not officiate in succeeding UAAP games. Luckily not one of them refereed in the first game of the best-of-three series between De La Salle and Ateneo on Sept. 21. Ateneo won the first game and officiating was adjudged satisfactory.

But alas, referee number 12 (why can’t the UAAP amend its so-called house rules and have referees names and numbers printed on referees’ uniforms?) identified as Bobby Mendoza, reappeared in Game Two of the series and, together with colleagues Magpantay (number 28) and Roel Tolentino (number 14) deftly showed how it is to take a giant leap backward in the field of basketball officiating. Several former players and practicing coaches noted the inconsistent calls of the three, particularly Mendoza and Magpantay.

In contrast, I watched game two of the San Beda College-Jose Rizal University (JRU) best-of-three series in the NCAA on Sept. 26, and I thought that the officiating in that cliffhanger (JRU won, 62-60) preserved the beauty and natural excitement of a basketball game and affirmed the sports rules and all the hard work and preparation that went into the game.

An organization like PHILSPORTS can help upgrade the quality of officiating. But in actually assigning referees, those in charge of referee selection may wish to utilize the solid expertise of the UAAP member schools in computers and operations research to look into, for whatever it’s worth, the 2008 study (“Referee Assignment in Sports Tournaments”) of Alexander R. Duarte and Sebastian Urrutia, both of the Department of Computer Science of the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and Celso Ribiero of the Department of Computer Science of the Universidade Federal Fluminense, Brazil.

We need to look at best practice wherever it is so that games remain enjoyable and worth watching.

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The BRAFE 3 Golf in memory of Br. Rafael Donato, FSC, will be held on Oct. 6 at the Canlubang Golf Club’s south course. Br. Rafe died on Nov. 2, 2006 in a drowning accident. Shotgun tee off time is 8 a.m.. For inquiries, please contact 524 6549, 524 8146, 0917 899 8898.