GAME officials that called the Creamline-Petro Gazz game last Thurday were spared from suspension and instead were 'reassigned,' meaning they will no longer officiate another game in the PVL All-Filipino Conference.
PVL commissioner Sherwin Malonzo said referee Bobby Celso and a line judge that made questionable calls in the third set of Creamline's pivotal four-set win over Petro Gazz will no longer be part of the officials' pool for the rest of the camaign.
READ PVL officials review crucial refs calls in Creamline-Petro Gazz game
"Para matigil lahat, ginawa na lang namin is mag-reassign. Walang suspension na nangyari, but we have a pool and every match we select the refs required. But because of the heat, we assigned him [Celso] to a different job," said PVL commissioner Sherwin Malonzo said.
Celso came under fire from Petro Gazz fans for two crucial calls in the third set that they felt swung the momentum in Creamline's favor. The Angels later released a statement lamenting the 'officiating lapses' in the match.
Malonzo, however, insisted there was no mistake made by the game officials.
"After the match, we called the referees to discuss ano ba yung nangyari... and from my point of view, walang maling nangyari, the first referee trusted the call of his line judge," Malonzo told the media in a press conference.
Malonzo continued: "If it happened at 10-all, di tayo nag-uusap ngayon, kaso nangyari at 25-all kaya dumami ang speculation."
The PVL commissioner shared that he called a separate meeting to tackle the issue among the refs, encouraging them to use the challenge system to avoid similar confusion in the future.
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