THE PBA is not adopting the Coach’s Challenge anytime soon.
Why, you might ask?
Well, Commissioner Willie Marcial said the league already has a lot of reviews being done during the course of the games and even after games that including a Coach’s Challenge in the menu is not feasible right now.
“As of now wala pa yung challenge call. Ang dami ng review na ginagawa natin - sa fouls, three points, out of bounds, lahat yan tinitingnan natin. Nire-review natin,” said the league chieftain when asked about the issue on Thursday.
Controversies over referees' calls had fans urging the PBA to consider adopting the Coach’s Challenge which the NBA has embraced three years ago yet and is now adopted by all major sports events from grand slam tennis to football.
Even local leagues like the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) will have 'instant replay' challenges in its games beginning next season.
These calls grew in the aftermath of the controversial Game 3 of the ongoing Philippine Cup Finals between TnT and Magnolia where questionable calls and non-calls had TnT team owner Manny V. Pangilinan slamming the ‘worst officiating I’ve seen.’
The league was quick to act on it.
One official who called a 'phantom foul' on Brian Heruela even in the absence of the slightest contact against Magnolia's Paul Lee has since been recalled and will no longer work for the rest of the title series.
The flagrant foul penalty 1 whistled on Jackson Corpuz for bumping Troy Rosario while in mid-air had been elevated to a flagrant foul penalty 2 and meant an automatic P20K fine on the Magnolia forward.
Ironically, the accusation of TNT big man Poy Erram that someone from the opposing team spat on him in the face perfectly illustrated why the PBA has not adopted the Coach's Challenge until now.
Marcial explained that league officials couldn’t act on the complaint simply because the alleged spitting incident wasn't caught by the cameras of television coveror TV5.
Marcial said the league needs to make a significant investment in camera, videos, and other technology to be able to implement the Coach’s Challenge.
“Kahit may challenge call ka kung hindi naman nakikita. Hindi nakikita sa camera namin or camera ng TV, paano mo matsa-challenge yun,” said the commissioner.
Although there are coaches who have brought up the matter to him, the league chief doesn’t see it happening anytime soon.
For now, the coaches will have to make do with post-game reviews.
“Puwede naman silang magsabi na re-reviewhin muna natin. So as of now, wala pa yung Challenge Call,” added Marcial.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph