TALK ‘N Text coach Jong Uichico rued the officiating in the Tropang Texters’ 87-81 loss to San Miguel Beer in Game Two of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series on Sunday.
Uichico expressed disappointment over the officiating, saying there were questionable calls that went against their favor as they fell to a 0-2 hole in the best-of-seven series.
“Let’s just hope the refs do a better job. Yeah (I’m disappointed), but it’s a given when you’re playing against the San Miguel group," he said silently.
He definitely knows what he’s talking about, having handled SMC teams in the past.
“I’ve been there,” he said without elaborating.
[See SMB beats Talk 'N Text in fiercely fought Game Two, takes 2-0 semis lead]
At least, Uichico saw plenty of positives from his wards in the narrow loss after they suffered a 109-86 beating in the series opener.
“We played a lot better than the last game. We defended pretty well,” he said. “We just didn’t score enough points.”
Still, the Texters, Uichico feels, are left in a must-win situation starting in Game Three on Tuesday.
“At this point, everything is a must-win.”
But he is no stranger to comebacks, having led Ginebra to the 2006-07 all-Filipino title after falling into a similar 0-2 hole in the best-of-seven finals series against, coincidentally, San Miguel.
“It’s difficult, but anything is possible.”
Uichico, it turned out, was not the only one disappointed with the officiating.
No less than TnT owner Manny V. Pangilinan expressed dismay over the way the game was called, tweeting, "You can't win these games with bad referee calls' just minutes after Game Two.
[See MVP hits out at 'bad referee calls' after Tropang Texters loss]
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