THE PBA suspended one of the game officials who worked the Governors’ Cup quarterfinals series between Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel.
Commissioner Willie Marcial made the disclosure amid complaints from both teams on bad calls that marred the best-of-five playoff especially after the Beermen came back from a 0-2 deficit to forge a winner-take-all.
The league chief though, declined to disclose the name of the referee, who will no longer be assigned for the coming semifinals and finals playoffs.
“Suspended na for the rest of the season,” said Marcial.
READ George King rues Game 5 FT disparity: 'That was the difference'
In the just-concluded Game 5 which the Kings won to advance to the next round, 110-94, both San Miguel coach Leo Austria and import George King raised the discrepancy in fouls called and free throws awarded, both favoring Ginebra.
The Beermen were whistled for more fouls, 25-14, as King fouled out and nine-time MVP June Mar Fajardo had five.
The Beermen were also awarded only eight free throws compared to the 30 by the Kings.
“We did not get a good break especially dun sa mga non-calls, bad calls dahil makikita ninyo naman sa discrepancy in free throws, si (Jordan) Murphy 15, kami eight. And ang total nila 30, kami eight. So ang laki ng discrepancy,” said Austria.
“Maybe because they were very aggressive, but there’s a lot of calls na… especially on George King,” added the San Miguel coach, noting Ginebra’s game-turning run in the fourth quarter came when King and Fajardo got into foul trouble.
The Beermen led by as many as 13 points in the third period.
In Game 4, Ginebra coach Tim Cone also lamented how a foul called on Scottie Thompson derailed the Kings’ endgame rally, paving the way for a 108-102 SMB win that forged the sudden-death game.
Ginebra complained King travelled during one sequence which an official ignored and instead called a foul on Thompson with Ginebra down by just three in the final 20 seconds.
“In a situation down the stretch like that, referees got to be better,” said Cone.
READ Cone says Ginebra momentum 'got killed' by Scottie foul on King
The Kings lost grip of a 17-point lead after the Beermen sizzled for 46 points in the third quarter. They then fell behind by 19 points, but rallied their way back in the endgame only to be stymied by that foul called on Scottie.
“It was really hard to turn that game back around. And then when we do, we got killed in that call.”
During halftime of the same game, a heated exchange ensued between veteran guard Chris Ross and Ginebra deputy Olsen Racela as the referees failed to call a technical on SMB's Fil-Am playing assistant coach for excessive complaining.
“I-technical ninyo na yan,” Racela hollered to the game officials while walking out of the Smart Araneta Coliseum court at the break.
Ross overheard the former San Miguel star, and went after him, while asking Racela, ‘You’ve got a problem with me? You have a problem with me?’ in a heated confrontation that nearly escalated into a scuffle.
READ Feeling disrepected, Ross says verbal spat vs Racela fired him up
Ginebra guard Nards Pinto later questioned why not even a warning was slapped on the 41-year-old Ross, who had been repeatedly carping on game officials.
“Sa akin lang naman, si Chris Ross grabeng umangal. Walang warning,” said Pinto. “Pero kapag kami ang umangal, warning agad.”
Marcial later admitted the referees erred in both cases.
“Para sa akin, technical na dapat yun,” he said, while adding King should have been called for a travelling violation instead of a Thompson foul.
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