THE collective eruption of expletives from Ginebra fans, when referees Rommel Gruta and Edward Aquino did not call two flagrant violations in the dying seconds of the Ginebra-Globalport elimination match, could have shaken the Mall of Asia Arena to its foundations.
Two flagrant violations, not just one, escaped their eagle-eyed attention. So much for rare coincidences happening in a crucial elimination game for the semifinals. I suspect, as most unforgiving Barangay Ginebra fans do, that they were deliberate acts of omission.
Even the most ordinary fan could spot those violations—a five-second and a backing violation— from kilometers away simply because, unlike some infractions, such as a blocking or charging fouls, these don’t require a judgment call. There was the shot clock that does not lie and, yes, there was the centerline.
How come the ones trained professionally to do that job to ensure that a game is played fairly according to the rules could not?
Some irate Ginebra fans believe the referees played god in this game by determining which way the game would go. They took away the qualifying hope of one team in favor of another. The score indicated it all—a hairline win by Globalport in overtime, which the noncalls preserved, when Ginebra, if given ball possession, could have tried mightily to swing the game the other way.
My reply to them is this: Then what kind of farce is being played before unknowing basketball fans? A league that begins to lose its credibility is a league that doesn’t deserve the loyalty of its fans.
If the Ginebra faithful were more savage and quick to let their tempers run loose, the two referees would not have walked out of the arena unscathed. As it was, the cascade of expletives á la Rody Duterte was mild compared to what actually could have happened to the referees in a savage setting.
Days later, what really got my goat is this. Sure, the referees deserve to have their dignity intact, even to be forgiven. But what is there to forgive if they failed to show even a hint of remorse?
Imagine when Catholics commit sin and go to confession, they are made to pay penance, they go to such lengths as to self-flagellate in church during Lent, and they unashamedly imitate the lives of martyrs. They could endure even walking barefoot some 18 hours—beginning at daylight and ending just before the light of the next dawn became a glow in the east—to show utter devotion to religious icons, such as the Black Nazarene.
Not referees Gruta and Aquino, even if they destroyed Ginebra one night in December. Not only did they escape physical harm; they are enjoying a bonus of sorts. They are being made to feel as though the guilty parties in this whole episode aren’t them but the authority in the pro league that meted out to them a suspension.
Only a few days ago, even as Ginebra fans were still stewing, Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner Chito Narvasa addressed this topic, but unfortunately said the wrong words.
“It bothered me a lot doon sa suspension ng dalawang referees,” he said, chatting with PBA scribes. “I told Rickie [Santos, the league deputy commissioner] that I don’t know if this is fair, but I have to base my decision on what my predecessors did, kasi out of respect din.”
In short, his heart went out for the two game officials. Hard as I tried to see it his way, I cannot imagine a more misplaced admission, especially from someone who has already put down a boxing icon for trying his hand in basketball, and for summoning without the least show of respect the Mahindra team consultant for defending Manny Pacquiao.
Such insensitivity is difficult to understand, taking into account the commissioner’s background as a college player—and his training as a lawyer. In fact, if the commissioner is fair and true to form, Ginebra fans suggest that he put the referees through an inquiry and order them to explain in writing why they should not be made to suffer a penalty lighter than dismissal.
Part of Narvasa’s remark offers something minimally positive. The standard of officiating in the league obviously needs improvement, and he admits that “there must be improvement.”
“We will change it,” he told PBA scribes. “We have to create a development program if something like this happens again.”
Happens again? So we need a new, deeper agony to befall another team before the commissioner would act? That would be a tragedy next to a farce.
Surely, by now it must have occurred to all in the pro league that officiating leaves so much to be desired. One fearless about his views, Coach Yeng Guiao of Rain or Shine has a mouthful to say about the confused, and confusing way, fouls are being interpreted.
In the Rain or Shine-San Miguel Beer (SMB) series, SMB superstar June Mar Fajardo enjoys as many as plus-10 free throws a game, he said, because defending him has grown more difficult, if not puzzling, given the present rules.
“Ang daming maninipis na fouls na tinatawag, kaya kung malaki at malaki ka, ang laking advantage mo. I guess sa free throws lang, ang dami mo ng makukuha,” Guiao said.
After the Elasto Painters won on Thursday night, he puzzled over “what a foul is and what not a foul is.”
“It’s been how many games now in the conference, and I’m still confused. Hindi mo pa rin matantiya. And the players are the same I guess, not only for my team but for both sides.”
“I think Coach Yeng is right,” said SMB Coach Leo Austria before Chairman Robert Non, the San Miguel board of governor, abruptly cut him. “Hindi na siguro ganun ang tawagan next game,” Non said.
Ah, ganon na pala. Are we at the mercy of referees?