RAIN or Shine showed up with a lot of fight and heart before dropping a crucial 85-93 loss to TNT in Game 4 of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals battle last Wednesday night.
But Elasto Painters coach Yeng Guiao saw it otherwise, claiming his team was at the receiving end of what he deemed as “bum calls” by the officials.
“The refs messed it up for us and in such a crucial game. Kasi sa tingin ko, you win this, you changed the whole momentum of the series for us. TNT won it, they’re one game closer to winning the series,” Guiao said. “So, kung kailan pa napaka-importante ang laro, iyong lahat ng tawag ng referees cost us almost 10 points which were admittedly mali. Maski sila naman sinasabi nila na mali iyong mga tawag na iyon.
“Ganoon talaga. Pero mahirap iyong dehado ka na, malakas iyong kalaban mo, tapos iyong mga calls hindi mo pa makuha,” he added.
While Guiao admitted his local crew struggled, with import Deon Thompson carrying much of the cudgels with game-highs of 44 points and 13 rebounds. No other Rain or Shine cager scored in double digits.
Some calls—and non-calls—in the endgame spelled doom for the Painters, according to Guiao.
“It’s just too bad that it came na iyong locals namin malamig. Si Deon maganda inilaro, naka-44 points siya,” Guiao said. “There was a situation na sa tingin ko would have changed the momentum of the game, the result could have been affected. Hinila ni (Roger) Pogoy si Mamu (Gian Mamuyac), binigyan pa sila ng three points.
“Dapat iyon free throws namin. Naging three points pa sa kabila. That’s almost 10 points lost doon lang sa bad calls.”
Those “mistakes” would have turned the tide, according to Guiao.
“So, kahit na malamig iyong locals namin, kung nakuha lang namin iyong tawag na dapat para sa amin” he said. “We would probably have the chance to win the game.”
With a 1-3 series deficit and their backs against the wall, Guiao and his squad should move on from the fourth tiff and focus on the job tonight in Game 5 to avert elimination.
