Messed Up Game

Whenever San Mig Coffee loses, you'd normally see me berate the team for their lackadaisical performance. I'd complain about Yap taking too many forced shots. Devance being too soft a forward. Simon's inconsistent games. Marc Barocca taking shots too many when he should be passing. Not to forget Denzel Bowles' undeniably lower level of play. I'd be completely happy to see Coach Luigi Trillo and his boys get one from their former coach as it will happen sooner or later. I like Calvin Abueva's addition to the Aces as he seems to be the missing piece that the team needs to be a competitive team in the PBA.

That is not happening tonight though. I think that SMC played well tonight. Played hard. They were definitely not close to their condition when they won game one. However, the refs' calls (or the lack of it) killed every chance of the team to get a win. Yap played well, dishing assists to teammates and getting rebounds. But Abueva robbed him of 3 fouls which the refs gave to the latter on a silver platter. Abueva would clip Yap's arms and fall down. People were saying that Abueva could pass as a great actor but I beg to differ. He was playing dirty and the refs just had problems with their vision that’s why they’d call the foul on the Mixers instead of Abueva. The Barroca foul on a shooting Casio is one of the worst calls I’ve seen. After all the hacking and pulling down of Abueva on Yap, not one foul on Abueva was called. There was virtually no contact on the shot; but because Casio’s skin hair was shaken up, the refs called the foul on Barroca.

I could go on and on to complain about the many bad or non-calls made by the refs but that would be an exercise in futility as the Aces still wonn over the Mixers tonight. I can give out all the reasons why the PBA board should review this game and make the necessary adjustments to regulate the physicality of the game.

Yes my boys were dominated by Alaska but they were not psych-ed by Abueva alone. The refs played a huge role in preventing the Mixers spark a run. I don’t have a problem with physicality as it is a part of the game. But this is not healthy anymore. And that is what I am pissed off with right now.

Question is, what does Coach Luigi Trillo has to say after being fined a number of times for complaining about the refs' bad or non-calls as well as the extreme physicality they have been receiving now that his boys (especially Abueva) initiated the extreme physicality in this game? Will he be happy with the way he got his first win over Tim Cone given that he had received help from the refs? What will the PBA do about this and the other dirty games that have been happening in the league?

Your guess is as good as mine.