JHONARD Clarito insisted there should’ve been a foul on Rondae Hollis-Jefferson late in Rain or Shine’s 81-79 Game Four loss to TNT that put the Elasto Painters on the verge of elimination from the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals on Wednesday.
With the E-Painters down by just two with two seconds left, Clarito and Hollis-Jefferson battled for a 50-50 ball off a missed layup by Gian Mamuyac, with Clarito initially grabbing the ball before turning it over to the TNT import.
RoS was forced to commit a foul on Hollis-Jefferson to stop the clock. Although the NBA veteran missed both free throws, the E-Painters, with no timeouts left, had no time to throw up a shot from the backcourt as it settled the final score.
READ: TNT knocking on PBA Finals door after outlasting ROS in Game 4
But Clarito felt there was initially contact after he clearly held the ball first.
“Meron, meron,” Clarito said when asked if he felt there was contact.
“Ang ganda ng posisyon ko eh. Ako ang nauna nag-grip ng bola, then nagulat ako na binump ako ni RHJ sa taas. Nakita mo bumagsak nga ako. Yun nga lang, hindi tinawagan ng referee.”
RoS coach Yeng Guiao felt it was just one of what they felt were non-calls that factored in their downfall.
“Breaks lang sa endgame. Marami ring na-miss na calls ang tingin namin na pwedeng mag-swing ng momentum to our side, but we didn’t get those calls. But it’s a one-possession game,” the outspoken coach said.
Clarito, though, was quick to shift his focus to Game Five on Friday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo where ROS will try to stay alive after going down 1-3 in the best-of-seven series.
“Wala ka nang magagawa dun kasi dying seconds na lang. Kung ma-foul man, good. Eh hindi tinawagan ng referee, kaya wala, move on na lang.”
“Tsaka good game naman eh,” he was quick to add. “Hindi naman nanalo, maganda naman yung laro kanina. Yun nga lang, medyo kinapos lang. turnovers lang din. Madami din kaming turnovers. Kailangan lang din namin mag-execute ng maayos para maiwasan namin yung turnovers.”
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