Trio of referees, a first here
Spectators who came to see Sunday’s (September 24) decider between PLS Hawks and Premium Cobras saw a first in Seychelles’ basketball. For the first time here, a basketball match was officiated by three referees. The trio of James Joubert, Adi Constance and Alain Uzice went into the sport’s history books as the first three Seychellois officials to run a game here.
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Spectators who came to see Sunday’s (September 24) decider between PLS Hawks and Premium Cobras saw a first in Seychelles’ basketball.
For the first time here, a basketball match was officiated by three referees. The trio of James Joubert, Adi Constance and Alain Uzice went into the sport’s history books as the first three Seychellois officials to run a game here.
National Basketball Technical Committee (NBTC) chairperson Tracey Moustache told Sports Nation that with three referees on the court, it is easier to make calls on malicious plays as officials are better positioned to spot infringements. It also allows referees to keep pace with the match.
She also noted that with three referees, there were fewer fouls in Sunday’s match as players were aware that there was always someone watching them closely.
“It’s a good thing to have three referees in one game but we have a shortage of officials and I doubt that we can do this for all matches,” Moustache told Sports Nation.
If Constance and Uzice got to work in a refereeing trio for the first time, Joubert got his first taste of it earlier this year when he was chosen as a neutral referee for the 15th African Nations Cup reserved for male under-18 teams in Durban, South Africa.
It is to note that the Fédération internationale de basket-ball (Fiba) opted for three referees in matches in September 2004.