MERALCO coach Ryan Gregorio said he hopes the league will do something about the “flopping” of Alaska sophomore forward Calvin Abueva, which led to an altercation with Jared Dillinger early in the fourth quarter that left the Bolts guard with a bloodied nose.
“I respect the game of Abueva. I think he brings in a lot of positives in the game,” Gregorio told Spin.ph afterthe Bolts leaned on Gary David’s 24 points and Dillinger’s near triple-double of 10 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to pull off a 74-65 victory over the Aces on Friday.
“However, his (Abueva) extra curricular activities seem to hurt other players. Probably, inadvertently, but still, I thought some were overreactions,” he added.
Gregorio cited the incident in the fourth quarter when Abueva and Dillinger got tangled up as they fell over the railings, with the Alaska forward hitting Dillinger with a wayward elbow for what he said was an "overreaction."
“The bloodied nose of JD (Dillinger) was a prime example. Damage was done. But I leave it to the league. The PBA has a strict anti-flopping policy. They know better,” said the Meralco mentor.
“We don’t like flopping in the league,” he added. “It’s hard enough for the referees to call the legitimate calls and legitimate non-calls. Now if you fake it, wow, it’s gonna be harder for them (referees to make the right call)."
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