GILAS Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes said he was left in disbelief that a sucker punch on June Mar Fajardo was not seen by game officials during their Fiba Basketball World Cup match against Dominican Republic on Friday night.
Reyes said he is perplexed that referees didn’t call anything against Dominican Republic’s Angel Delgado, who was caught in photos and videos taking a shot at Fajardo’s midriff in the fourth quarter of the Philippines’ 87-81 defeat.
“I really can’t believe they missed that,” said Reyes. “I think we deserve a lot more respect from the officials.”
READ: Fajardo stunned by Delgado sucker punch: 'Nayanig ako'
The Fajardo incident wasn’t the only call that was missed, Reyes claimed.
The Gilas coach cited an incident involving Jordan Clarkson where a landing spot foul was not called. Reyes revealed that Clarkson sustained an ankle issue following the play, but not major enough that will keep the Filipino naturalized player out in the next games.
“Even the landing spot [foul] on Jordan Clarkson was very, very clear. They should have called that. It could have easily been a disqualifying foul,” said Reyes.
“Jordan Clarkson twisted his ankle lightly because of that foul. When I asked the referee, he said ‘wala daw.’ Hard to argue,” he added.
On whether Gilas Pilipinas plans to seek action on the Fajardo incident, Reyes said: “I think you have to address that to team manager Butch Antonio.”
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