CHICAGO - The ongoing PBA Philippine Cup semifinals started on the wrong foot on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.
The 15-foot line.
In its 100-95 win over sister team Meralco, TNT chucked 47 free throws, a windfall for Tthe Tropang 5G who converted 37 freebies while the Bolts hit just 12-of-19.
The imbalance induced Meralco coach Luigi Trillo to cry foul.
READ Trillo rues 47-19 TNT edge in free throws, inconsistent officiating
Besides lamenting the no-calls on Chris Newsome being bumped, Trillo accused TNT players Rey Nambatac and Roger Pogoy of flopping and complained that Calvin Oftana did not get a technical for saying "a bad word."
While coaches can rail about unfair officiating, talking about the actions of opposing players is frowned upon.
BAD SOUNDS. BAD OPTICS.
Meralco had no bone to pick, so it went petty.
Although injured by free throws, it didn't cost the Bolts Game One.
They made more threes, 7-3, hit more shots overall, 37- 29, and produced more assists, 22-13. They also had less turnovers, 10 against TNT's 11 and held their own off the boards, 43-42.
The Bolts exploded for 38 first-quarter points before storming to a 52-31 lead.
Trillo said they "could have played better." which was a nice touch had he not sprinkled blame on the refs and shade on three TNT players.
OFTANA DID IT.
The source of Meralco's misery wasn't wearing a shirt with zebra stripes. The buzzkiller wore TNT jersey No. 8 and he poured 28 points on a helpless Meralco defense.
When there is a large disparity of free throws between two competing teams, it doesn't always mean the refs were bad, incompetent or playing favorites.
Sometimes, it only means the other team was just too physical or were constantly beaten off the dribble and resort to hacking to compensate.
The noise Trillo is making shouldn't obscure the facts.
TNT is the better, deeper, more talented team.
And the Tropang 5G will advance to the PBA Finals even if they take fewer free throws than Meralco moving forward.
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