The NCAA is once again turning to international expertise, deploying a foreign referee to oversee matches in the Season 101 men’s and women’s volleyball tournaments.
Fr. Vic Calvo, OP of volleyball tournament host Colegio de San Juan de Letran shared that the league tapped Angkana Wongrot of Thailand to officiate the championship round for both divisions set for April at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Wongrot is an international referee recognized by the FIVB, the international governing body for volleyball. Wongrot has handled multiple international events and overseas leagues in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand, to name a few.
This will mark only the second time the NCAA has utilized an international referee.
Previously, NCAA made history when Abdulla Marzouk Alhejaili of Saudi Arabia was assigned to officiate the Season 101 men’s basketball Final Four matchups featuring Letran, San Beda University, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, and the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA.
According to Calvo, the league’s decision to once again bring in a foreign official stems from the same objective, citing the positive feedback received from teams and stakeholders following the earlier move.
"We have done this sa men’s basketball an we have a positive response so we’re also doing this in volleyball," Calvo shared during the Philippine National Volleyball Federation's press conference on Tuesday.
The championship round is set on April 5 while the semifinals will start on March 22.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
