WHAT is game-fixing again?
It is the act of shaping a game into having a result that suits one’s personal interest.
A win or a loss can be a fixed game, depending on the will of the fixer.
In a basketball match for example, the game may normally be fixed either through the player or the referee, or the coach.
The fixed game has many faces.
Examples are the winning margin, points a player has to score, fouls a referee has to slap a key player, and playing time a coach will give his stars to consume.
Game-fixing is bad per se because it deprives the public of the natural course of a contest.
But in some instances, a coach can fix a game and he comes out of it clean as a sheet.
The fixing process is so complex that oftentimes, the spectators normally could not usually detect it.
Until Tim Cone, of all people, uncorked one himself last weekend, spoiling our fans’ Sunday Suspense Theater.
So crudely done it was that even non-basketball devotees readily saw through Cone’s con artistry.
Cone benched his stars willfully, soaked his bench unabashedly and mocked the gods of the game with impunity.
Cone’s men were like sacrificial lambs for the Passover, slaughtered haplessly by the Beermen as fans, cursing the heavens, watched helplessly.
Cone confessed to the malfeasance and has apologized profusely.
I forgive him because God commands that we forgive not just once, not just 77 times, but 7 million times.
The current Philippine Cup format is loophole-laden because the leader can use a game to choose its quarterfinal opponent. Cone knows that. Everybody does.
“I was looking at the bigger picture,” said Cone in his oblique way of justifying his misdeed.
The following is his statement he gave to Spin.ph.
“Our thoughts going into SMB game: 1. If we lose both of our last two games, we’re not assured of Top 4 finish. 2. We had to make a decision. If we fall behind early, we’re going to rest guys that were banged up: Stan, Jap, LA, JD. We weren’t going to risk losing two games trying to fight back in one game. Playing 5 games in 7 days was a real concern. 3. Being down 17 at the half, I said we would observe our starters in the first few minutes and determine if we would stay with them or go with the second group. It was the second group with Scottie that brought us back to within 3 pts. 4. Ultimately, our guys didn’t show up for SMB and that was disappointing and unacceptable. They know that. But that’s also on me. I didn’t prepare them well…4. It’s always on me to see the Big Picture. Hopefully, I’m doing that. I truly apologize to the fans if what we did was construed differently.”
Forgive, fellas. Cone convincing.
THAT’S IT Despite a blistering final-round, 9-under-par 63, Yuka Saso settled for second in the Toto Classic in Japan last weekend won by South Korean Jihai Shin (66). It was a strong comeback for Saso, who missed the cut the week before after winning her first leg in the Tour.