MANILA – The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) stepped up its efforts of improving officiating with its announcement of the opening of a Referees Academy.

The Referees Academy will be handled by veteran international referee Romy Guevara, a PBA.ph report stated.

The academy will hold classroom and on court trainings on basketball rules and officiating mechanics. It will also provide communication skills enhancement and character and personality development.

“We are accepting applicants for training to eventually be part of the PBA referees pool,” said PBA operations and technical chief Rickie Santos in the PBA.ph article.

Santos noted that applicants must be aged 25 to 35. It is preferred that an applicant is a former PBA or Philippine Basketball League (PBL) player who has earned at least 72 units in college, or a college graduate with or without officiating experience.

Those who will pass the screenings will be accepted as academicians who will receive allowances while training.

The Referees Academy is projected to be a “continuing program” of the PBA.