What Every Basketball Referee Needs to Know About Making the Right Calls
I still remember the whistle hanging from my lips that humid March evening, the stadium lights casting long shadows across the court as two legendary coaches glared at each other from opposite benches. The air felt thick enough to slice, charged with a rivalry that went back nearly fifteen years. You see, what every basketball referee needs to know about making the right calls isn't just about rulebooks or instant replay—it's about understanding the invisible currents flowing beneath the surface of every game, the personal histories that transform ordinary matches into psychological battlegrounds.
That night, I was officiating a crucial playoff game between teams coached by Jeff Napa and Goldwin Monteverde. Early in the third quarter, a borderline charging call had both coaches on their feet, and I caught Monteverde shooting Napa a look I couldn't quite decipher at the time. Later, during a timeout, I overheard an assistant coach mention how the two coaches share a long history, as they had been rivals since Monteverde was calling the shots for Adamson in the UAAP juniors where the Bullpups were mentored by Napa. Suddenly, the tension made perfect sense—this wasn't just another game, but the latest chapter in a rivalry spanning 14 years and approximately 87 meetings across different leagues.
I've been refereeing for over twenty years now, and I'll admit—I have a soft spot for games with deep backstories. They're like living novels playing out before your eyes. That particular game saw 47 fouls called, 12 lead changes, and one technical foul that I still debate with myself about. Should I have called it? Maybe not, but when Monteverde kicked a chair after what he perceived as a missed traveling violation, the situation demanded control. See, that's something they don't teach in referee certification courses—how to manage emotions that have been simmering for over a decade. The rulebook gives you the what, but experience teaches you the when and why.
During the fourth quarter, with just 2:13 remaining and the score tied at 88-88, a player drove to the basket and collapsed amid heavy contact. My initial instinct was to call a blocking foul, but something about Napa's reaction—that knowing smirk toward Monteverde's bench—made me hesitate for half a second. In that moment, I recalled reading about their UAAP juniors clashes, how Monteverde's Adamson squad had beaten Napa's Bullpups by 3 points in the 2008 championship. History was repeating itself, with coaches using psychological warfare as much as tactical adjustments.
I ultimately made the call—offensive foul—and while both coaches protested, I noticed the subtle nod of respect they exchanged. They knew I understood the context, that this wasn't just any game. That's the secret most fans never see: refereeing at high levels is about reading people as much as plays. The best officials I've worked with—maybe 30% of the total—have this sixth sense for the human drama unfolding beyond the X's and O's.
Personally, I believe basketball officiating has become too reliant on technology. Don't get me wrong—replay has its place—but we're losing the art of making decisive calls in real-time. That night's game ended 94-91, with Monteverde's team prevailing, mirroring that 2008 outcome almost exactly. As I walked off the court, both coaches approached me separately. "You understood the assignment," Napa said quietly, while Monteverde simply nodded. They weren't talking about my rule knowledge, but about how I'd navigated the emotional landscape of their enduring rivalry.
What every basketball referee needs to know about making the right calls extends far beyond the court's dimensions. It's about recognizing that every game contains multiple layers—personal histories, old scores to settle, psychological battles between benches. The best calls aren't just correct by the book; they're appropriate for the moment, considering everything from game flow to historical context. Next time you watch a game, watch the officials too—you might be surprised how much story exists in their whistle.
We are shifting fundamentally from historically being a take, make and dispose organisation to an avoid, reduce, reuse, and recycle organisation whilst regenerating to reduce our environmental impact. We see significant potential in this space for our operations and for our industry, not only to reduce waste and improve resource use efficiency, but to transform our view of the finite resources in our care.
Looking to the Future
By 2022, we will establish a pilot for circularity at our Goonoo feedlot that builds on our current initiatives in water, manure and local sourcing. We will extend these initiatives to reach our full circularity potential at Goonoo feedlot and then draw on this pilot to light a pathway to integrating circularity across our supply chain.
The quality of our product and ongoing health of our business is intrinsically linked to healthy and functioning ecosystems. We recognise our potential to play our part in reversing the decline in biodiversity, building soil health and protecting key ecosystems in our care. This theme extends on the core initiatives and practices already embedded in our business including our sustainable stocking strategy and our long-standing best practice Rangelands Management program, to a more a holistic approach to our landscape.
We are the custodians of a significant natural asset that extends across 6.4 million hectares in some of the most remote parts of Australia. Building a strong foundation of condition assessment will be fundamental to mapping out a successful pathway to improving the health of the landscape and to drive growth in the value of our Natural Capital.
Our Commitment
We will work with Accounting for Nature to develop a scientifically robust and certifiable framework to measure and report on the condition of natural capital, including biodiversity, across AACo’s assets by 2023. We will apply that framework to baseline priority assets by 2024.
Looking to the Future
By 2030 we will improve landscape and soil health by increasing the percentage of our estate achieving greater than 50% persistent groundcover with regional targets of:
– Savannah and Tropics – 90% of land achieving >50% cover
– Sub-tropics – 80% of land achieving >50% perennial cover
– Grasslands – 80% of land achieving >50% cover
– Desert country – 60% of land achieving >50% cover
