STANLEY Pringle said he 'felt like a criminal' after he was thrown out for the first time in his PBA career, but insisted there was no intention to hurt two Blackwater stars when he was called for two flagrant fouls on Wednesday night.
The GlobalPort star guard was forced to miss the endgame of GlobalPort’s 99-91 loss to the Elite in the PBA Philippine Cup eliminations after he was called for two landing-spot violations in the third quarter that led to his ejection.
The Batang Pier guard picked up his first flagrant foul 1 with six minutes and 43 seconds left in the third while trying to block a shot by Art dela Cruz, forcing him to take a seat for three minutes.
But shortly after coming back in at the 2:41 mark, the Filipino-American guard picked up a second flagrant foul after committing the same violation, this time on Mac Belo, leading to his ejection.
“Both accidental, but sometimes, ball rolls like that,” Pringle said. “I was looking for a TV (to review the play).
[See Mac Belo continues to impress as Blackwater claims GlobalPort scalp]
“I went ahead to sit down (on the bench), they were like, ‘No, you have to leave the gym.’ I was like, ‘Oh, man!’ I felt bad. I felt like a criminal,” he added. “But refs were just doing their job.”
Pringle still finished with 14 points, second most in the team, along with four boards, and two assists in 23 minutes, although he failed to help the team in its comeback bid in the final frame.
“First time ever I got ejected in my life,” Pringle said. “Sometimes, it happens like that.”
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