ADAMSON head coach Nash Racela was left ruing a contentious no-call that allowed the University of the Philippines to complete a 69-67 comeback win on Wednesday.
Racela argued that Dikachi Ududo made contact with Mathew Montebon on the latter’s desperate halfcourt heave, with the Soaring Falcons mentor insisting a referee had blown his whistle before the final buzzer sounded.
READ: Remogat heats up in time for UP rally past Adamson
However, game officials had already left the playing court after the final sequence, leaving Racela without the review he was looking for.
“We really heard the whistle. We were asking them to review it,” he said. “The minimal thing they could have done was really just to review it. Kung sabihin nila, hindi, eh ‘di hindi. So that was our request.”
In replays from the broadcast and livestream, though, a whistle can, indeed, be heard, but it was blown after the final buzzer sounded.
Nonetheless, Racela maintained that the timing of it all warranted a closer look, questioning why referees did not at least review the play before leaving the court.
“That's before,” he answered when asked whether the whistle came before the buzzer.
“Usually, tsaka kung ang pumito na referee, after the buzzer, that's when they whistle to say na wala na. Not when there's still a little bit of time.”
Adamson's lesson
Despite the bitter finish, Racela made sure to emphasize the positives in pushing the Fighting Maroons to the brink.
“I told our players to be very, very proud of themselves, ok? Because UP survived them today. UP survived them,” he said.
Tongue in cheek, he also commended their opponents' defensive stand in the fourth quarter, when State U strung together consecutive stops to complete its comeback without yielding any foul.
"I have to study that so we can learn from it and do the same against UP without getting called for fouls. I think the officials allowed them to play, and that's what UP did in the third quarter, too, with a lot of contact," he said.
Asked whether he planned to elevate the matter to the league office, Racela said he was unsure of his options, but believed the play in question deserved a review.
“I think, warning na ako, 'di ba? I don’t know what options we have, but we really heard something. I think the Commissioner’s Office could review it," he said.
"They might say the referee didn’t blow the whistle, but I think it’s their responsibility to at least review the play.”
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