MANILA, Philippines -- National University (NU) on Thursday announced that it has appointed international referee Yul Benosa as the commissioner of the UAAP Season 81 volleyball tournament.

An international volleyball referee since 2009, Benosa has officiated various tournaments such as the Asian Men’s Club Championships held in Manila in 2014 and the ASEAN University Games in Singapore in 2016.

Benosa, who hails from Pangasinan, was the UAAP's chief referee from 2008 to 2018. Aside from officiating in the collegiate league, he has been serving as assistant tournament manager of the Palarong Pambansa volleyball tournaments since 2012.

He is also a coaching clinician and volleyball event organizer for the Philippine Volleyball Federation and teaches senior high at the Pasay City North High School-Tramo Campus.

Benosa holds a degree in Education, major in Physical Education, Health and Music from the University of Santo Tomas. He was a student athlete in college who helped capture three UAAP men’s volleyball titles for his school from 1989 to 1991.

As an athlete, he represented the country as RP Youth Team captain in Kanchanaburi, Thailand in 1992, as member of the national men’s senior volleyball team in Fukuoka, Japan in 1993, and the National Beach Volleyball Competition in Yokohama, Japan in 1993 before moving on to coaching and officiating.

His volleyball career began as a high school junior at Pasay City West High School when he was selected to the RP Youth volleyball team that competed in Australia in 1987. Benosa brings this wealth of volleyball playing and technical experience to the Season 81 volleyball tournament.

The UAAP Season 81 volleyball tournaments start on Saturday, February 16, at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

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