ANGELES CITY – The PBA is not about to tolerate errant calls especially with the game on the line.
A stiff sanction awaits referee Sherwin Pineda as he's set to be sent home and relieved inside the PBA bubble for his bum call that cost NorthPort its Philippine Cup game against Rain or Shine on Sunday night, 70-68, at the Smart 5G-powered Angeles University Foundation gym.
"Pauuwiin na natin (siya). Hindi ko matatanggap yung tawag na yun," said Marcial on Monday.
Commissioner Willie Marcial admitted Pineda shouldn’t have whistled a foul on Paolo Taha against a driving Rey Nambatac with 3.1 seconds left and the game tied at 68.
That led to two free throws by Nambatac that proved to be the marginal baskets.
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."Wrong call," was the curt reply of deputy commissioner Eric Castro, who also acts as head of the league's technical committee.
Marcial made an off the record disclosure on the sanction to be meted on Pineda an hour after the game. He later revealed to TV5 that the bad call wouldn’t go unpunished.
“Mali ang referee doon,” said the commissioner. “May malaki akong sanction na gagawin doon.
“Nagalit din ako doon sa tawag na yun.”
It was NorthPort coach Pido Jarencio who was really left fuming mad as the call sent his team tumbling to a third straight loss in the bubble.
The Batang Pier had one more shot at winning the game, but rookie Sean Manganti’s three-point attempt was deflected at the buzzer by Javee Mocon.
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