ANTIPOLO – In a bid to further enhance game officiating in the country, the Premier Volleyball League has enlisted two Asian Volleyball Confederation international referees to officiate matches starting from the semifinals of the 2024-25 All-Filipino Conference.
Hong Kong’s Adams Wong and Thailand’s Sari Hmogmungmuang will take turns as first referees throughout the round-robin semifinals, the bronze medal series, and the best-of-three finals, working alongside a local official.
“Yung plan is all the games beginning today until the end, they will be assigned as first referees most of the time, if not all the time,” PVL commissioner Sherwin Malonzo told reporters minutes before the semifinals at the Ynares Center here.
“Palitan lang sila. First game si Mr. Wong, second game si Ms. Sari. Supported sila ng local, ng Filipino international referees. In this case, nandito si Ms. Joy de Imus and Ms. Jocelyn del Rosario. Ganun yung magiging sistema.”
Wong will debut as the first referee alongside Filipino international referee Joy De Imus in the opening semifinal match between Choco Mucho and Akari.
Later in the evening, Hmogmungmuang and Jocelyn Del Rosario will officiate the highly anticipated clash between Creamline and Petro Gazz at 6:30 PM.
According to Malonzo, this initiative aims to raise the league’s officiating standards by integrating internationally certified referees, ensuring consistency and fairness in every match.
“This is the league’s initiative to show that, for one, we want to be world-class. We’re hoping to reach that level. At the same time, these neutral referees don’t have any affiliations with the teams,” Malonzo explained.
“In terms of bias, we don’t favor any team. I hope people don’t get that notion. That’s why we brought them in — to reinforce that we are fair.”
The league, in collaboration with the Philippine National Volleyball Federation, had already taken steps toward this development before the season began by appointing Yul Benosa, chairman of the federation’s Referees Commission, to oversee PVL’s officiating crew.
