ANTIPOLO – Meralco active consultant Nenad Vucinic had little to say about his ejection in the fourth quarter of a Game Three loss to Barangay Ginebra in their PBA 49th Season Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series.
Vucinic was slapped with his second technical foul of the game in the 5:41 mark of the fourth for confronting the referee who called an offensive foul against Bolts forward Bong Quinto and waived off the latter's basket.
READ Nenad on ejection from Game Three: 'I'm sick of something'
“I’m sick of something,” said Vucinic in a brief interview before politely excusing himself after the game.
The Bolts challenged the offensive foul, which was overturned after a video review. But it was too late for Meralco as Vucinic’s ejection stood, and the basket was waived with the score staying at 77-72 in favor of Barangay Ginebra.
The Bolts lost Game Three, 94-87, after Justin Brownlee and RJ Abarrientos made clutch shots for the Gin Kings.
When asked about the incident, Chris Newsome stood by the team’s active consultant.
“I got respect for it because he’s fighting for us,” said Newsome. “That shows that he’s fighting for us and he cares, and he cares about the team that he is coaching. And he is just as passionate as anyone else.
"So there’s nothing wrong with your coach getting fired up," Newsome continued.. “You see that on the other side as well. Coach Tim [Cone] will go out there and fight for his players. So that’s part of the game."
But Newsome also felt that it was unfortunate that Vucinic was already ejected when the challenge was successful.
“I feel like it’s kind of just bad luck that he got thrown out on a call that was reversed. So I’m not too sure of the rules on that, but he got thrown out because he had a point. He really had a point that that was the wrong call.
"And we challenged it. And even though he had the point and he was right, that technical throws him out the game and he doesn’t even have the chance to come back, even if the call was wrong.
“So I think that’s something that we have to look into as a league, that if there is a wrong call and your coach is out there fighting for you., then, at least consider allowing him to come back to the game to help his team win because he was out there fighting for us."
“It’s just one of those things. It sucks to be on the receiving end of that. But again, that's something that the league has to look into. Got nothing but respect for Coach Nenad.
"He has done amazing things for us and for this program. He was able to get us our first championship. Amazing to have him here with us and he’s been refreshing in that locker room and just to see how he demands the best from all of us,” said Newsome.
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