UNIVERSITY of the East coach Derrick Pumaren rued the number of free throws awarded to Ateneo in the Red Warriors' 93-91 overtime loss to the Blue Eagles in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament on Sunday.
The first-year UE coach saw his team lose a 21-point lead in regulation, but insisted it was tough to overcome the 45 free throws awarded to Ateneo by the referees against the 30 given to the Red Warriors.
“I think it will be hard to beat teams if we give them 45 free throws, right? As a team, we only shot 30 free throws,” said Pumaren in a brief interview with the media moments after UE's fourth successive loss.
Pumaren singled out Ateneo hero Kiefer Ravena, who scored 38 points while making 19 of 25 attempts from the charity line.
“Ravena shot 25 free throws. That’s the game right there,” said Pumaren.
When asked if he was, in effect, questioning the officiating of the game, Pumaren left it to the media to answer it.
“It’s up to you guys,” he said.
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