UNIVERSITY of Perpetual Help players grumbled about the officiating after the Altas bowed out of the Final Four, again to powerhouse San Beda, for the third straight year in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
Graduating Altas Justine Alano, Juneric Baloria, Harold Arboleda, and Joel Jolangcob rued the calls that they believe favored the Lions, who reached the finals for the ninth straight time with an 81-75 win on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“Unfair eh,” a teary-eyed Alano, the undersized big man, said. “Maliliit na nga kami, minamaliit pa nila kami. Bakit? Porke’t Perpetual lang kami? Hindi ko naman sila sinisisi pero yung mga nangyayari, mas pabor sa kanila (San Beda) eh.”
“Kahit anong natatanggap naming sakit, okay lang sa amin. Pero bakit sa kanila, kaunting bunggo lang, may tawag agad?”
The Altas actually had 22 fouls, five less than the Lions.
“Kaya nagkakaroon ng away sa court dahil din sa mga referee,” Alano added. “Hindi ko sila sinisisi, pero yung mga nangyayari nakikita naman ng nanonood at mga naglalaro eh.”
“Yung first half medyo malambot yung tawag nila,” Arboleda said.
Baloria felt those calls affected how they defended the Lions.
“Hindi namin alam kung anong klaseng depensa ang gagawin namin kasi konting banggaan, may foul agad. Pag sa amin, ako nga nagkasugat-sugat na nga ako.”
Jolangcob, the 5-foot-3 point guard, rued flopping calls against him when he would defend bigger opponents, including doubling on 6-foot-8 Lions slotman Ola Adeogun.
“Ganung ka-laki, banggain ka, tapos flopping?”
Altas coach Aric del Rosario echoed his wards’ sentiment.
“After the game, napaiyak ako, pero hindi dahil sa talo namin. Ang iniyak ko lang, bakit ganun? Bakit hindi kami bigyan ng pagkakataong manalo?”
“Hindi ko naman sinasabi na kampihan nila (referees) kami, pero sa tagal ko sa basketball, alam ko kung tama o mali ang tawag,” added the veteran mentor, a former NCAA commissioner.
Del Rosario commended his graduating players for leaving it all out on the court.
“Wala na akong masasabi sa kanila. Surrender ako sa kanila sa pinakita sa akin. Talagang yung puso nila na siguro sa pagmamahal sa akin. Maski alam ko na napapagod na sila, sige pa rin.”
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