PREMIER Volleyball League officials have reviewed controversial calls that marred the PVL All-Filipino Conference semifinal game between Creamline and Petro Gazz which the Cool Smashers won on Thursday night.
According to sources, league officials and the team under PVL commissioner Sherwin Malonzo met on Friday to discuss some calls of referee Bobby Celso that came under fire from some fans at the end of the four-set thriller.
READ Fans hit out at ref over controversial calls
"Normally, thorough reviews of the officiating are no longer necessary since there are already video challenges during games, so crucial calls are immediately reviewed right there after a (coach's) challenge," said a source.
"But in this case, they found a meeting was necessary."
The Cool Smashers won, 25-27, 25-23, 27-25, 26-24, to keep their title-retention bid alive after an opening-day loss to Choco Mucho. The game however was marred by two controversial calls that came at a crucial juncture in the third set.
One was a claim that Creamline's Kyle Negrito committed an overreach with the score tied at 24-all in the third set - a judgement call that cannot be reviewed - and another was a block touch call on Petro Gazz off an Alyssa Valdez attack that sailed out.
The second call was vehemently protested by MJ Philips and Aiza Pontillas, but could no longer be challenged by Petro Gazz since it had none left.
Adding to the confusion, some fans claim Celso was initially seen pointing to Petro Gazz's side before reversing the call.
A video shared on X, formerly Twitter, by Volley Tiger showed Celso in a huddle with PVL officials including PVL chairman Tony Boy Liao and Sports Vision head Ricky Palou during Thursday night's game.
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League sources said the commissioner's office will decide on the next course of action on the issue after the review is completed.
Will punishments be on the way?
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