AN OUTBURST by Meralco coach Luigi Trillo seemed to be the spark that the Bolts needed in Game Two on Friday night.
Trillo was slapped with a technical foul for complaining after the Bolts were slapped with a fifth foul in the third quarter with 10:07 remaining in the period in the second game of their PBA Commissioner's Cup quarterfinal playoff.
PBA: Meralco beats Ginebra to set stage for do-or-die Game 3
Trillo was so furious that he was caught on television speaking the words “5-0” during the rant, referring to the team fouls that Meralco committed in the third compared to Barangay Ginebra's.
Meralco ended up getting 15 more fouls compared to Ginebra, 34-19.
“Just emotional. All the coaches got it (technical foul). Coach Tim [Cone] got it the last time. Coach Nenad [Vucinic] din. It’s just the heat of the battle. I could be wrong at the time. 5-0 ‘yung fouls and the refs, they are also trying their best to get it right,” said Trillo.
“But just like coaches are called to a higher standard kasi we get fired, I just kept on reminding the referees the same thing. So we have to be on them. It’s nothing personal. I understand, naiintindihan ko ‘yung trabaho nila, mahirap rin. So they have to understand that we have to complain. But it’s not like we’re complaining every time. It’s just the blatant ones,” said Trillo.
Trillo said, during that stretch in the third quarter, he felt like some of the fouls were flops, in contrast to some of the calls in Game One, which the Bolts lost, where he said the referees were giving the players more slack.
“Akil [Mitchell] is sealing, they’re flopping, they are moving, and they are making a basketball call. Brandon Bates sets a screen on [RJ] Abarrientos, he flops, he makes the ref make the call. And those are hard calls.”
“We felt in Game One, Troy [Rosario] is all over, he’s pushing, no calls are being made. So we understand that the refs have a hard call. Obviously, we have a technical committee in place to judge that. But sa amin lang, we’re just fighting for them (players) too.”
After Trillo’s outburst, the Bolts went on a 15-3 run that turned a 62-62 tie into a 77-65 lead. They never looked back to pull off a 108-104 win.
Trillo said Meralco was fortunate that the technical foul sparked the pullaway.
“It’s not like I planned it. But that’s the feeling I have at that time," he said. “The last time I did that, we got swept. Doesn’t mean that it always works. But it’s something that I feel that any coach should do.".
Even after Meralco won Game Two, Trillo said he will call the attention of the technical committee while preparing for the rubber match on Sunday.
“All we did today was leave it to a third game. High respect for Ginebra. They are well-organized, well-managed, well-coached, great character guys. Mababait, humble guys. Our guys too. We are looking forward to this Game Three,” said Trillo.
“We just need on calling (the attention) also. We will send a video to the referees, let them do their job. We will be ready for Game Three,” Trillo added.
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