CALAMBA - Franky Johnson has no doubt that the next time his Uling Roasters-Butuan City and Family's Brand Sardines Zamboanga City face off in the 2020 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 President's Cup, it's his side who will have the upper hand.
But he has one caveat for that to become reality: better officiating.
"Yeah," he said if asked if Butuan has what it takes to topple the mighty Zamboanga City side, "if we have better referees this time."
It's a rare explosion from Johnson, the No. 8 ranked 3x3 player in the Philippines, who was obviously unhappy with what he felt were bad calls made against Butuan everytime they face the three-leg titlists.
But to him, the proof is in the pudding.
"Every time we play them, we watch the film, there's a lot of bad calls that are being made. They get the ball back and give them two, three possessions in a row can really affect the outcome of the game," he said.

The two teams have met thrice this conference, all going the way of Zamboanga City - 21-17 in the Leg 1 Finals, a 21-18 defeat in the semifinals of Leg 2, and the latest a close 21-20 heartbreak in the Leg 4 Finals just last Tuesday.
"We always rewatch the film and there's always three to four bad calls, blatantly bad calls every time we play them," said a frustrated Johnson.
The only way Butuan can get another crack at Zamboanga City is if both teams go all the way and clash in the P1 million peso game in the Grand Finals on Friday.
"I just hope the officiating will be fair to give us a fair shot," Johnson said.
But that's still too far off down the road, and the focus for Butuan will be to hurdle the victor of the knockout game between Bacolod Master Sardines and Bicol Paxful 3x3 Pro.
"We're all prepared," said Johnson. "We got to come in, respect every team and don't underestimate them, and play our hardest. We're really prepared and we feel confident going into the Grand Finals."
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