After University of Santo Tomas fell to Ateneo in Game One of the UAAP finals, Growling Tigers coach Pido Jarencio was less than enthused about the quality of refereeing.
“Ako diretsa ako makipag-usap. Hindi naman patas yung tawagan. Sobra naman yun,” he told reporters the SM Mall of Asia Arena after the game. “Umakyat pa nga ako sa kanila. Sabi ko maging fair tayo sa mga decision natin.”
Jarencio charged from the bench toward the referees gave them an earful after the final buzzer. He made it clear, though, that his team was not planning on making a formal protest, but just wanted to be heard.
“Basta ako umakyat ako, bumunot ako ng referee at sinabi ko sa kanila, ‘Physical game ito. Let the players decide the game, not the referees.’”
He rued the way the game was called in the third quarter, when UST center Karim Abdul got into foul trouble amidst a whopping 17-0 run by the Blue Eagles that turned the tide for the four-time defending champions. He also insisted that the referees should’ve given Jeric Teng three free throws on their final possession after it was the officials themselves who blew the whistle on the play.
“I’m not against Ateneo. Pero bakit ganun? Unfair naman sa ‘min,” Jarencio ranted. “Dahil UST lang kami ganun ang tawagan?”
“Kailangan ba mag-e-english ako para paburan ako? Ganoon ba labanan dito? Nasa Pilipinas tayo, dapat tayong mga Pilipino mahalin niyang mga iyan.”
Jarencio added that he felt sorry for the UST gallery that trooped to the arena only to see them fall in this manner.
“Naawa ako sa mga estudyante, babayad 250, pilila madaling araw. Ala-una nang madaling araw nandyan na para mapanood lang kami, mapanood ang Ateneo-UST game,” he said. “Tapos gaganunin lang? Dedeprive kami ng fair officiating.”
The coach is aware that he might be facing disciplinary actions for his rant, but isn’t worried about it at the moment.
“Bahala sila kung ano desisyon na ibibigay nila sa akin. Ako, sinasabi ko lang yung totoo.”
source: interaksyon.com
