ALL Chot Reyes needs was a nod from somebody big at the Talk and Text VIP gallery. The PBA best coach then led the walkout with only a minute left in the first quarter against Ginebra on Friday.
After losing the third game, Reyes felt the referees are favoring the Kings. Too many fouls on his best players. With his reliables on the bench, he cannot expect to win and move to the next round.
With Coach Jong Uichico's game plan to attack the lane, and the Texters whacking every King driving, the arbiters whistles just made it easy for Reyes to get his act going.
Ronald Tubid was floored by Ranidel de Ocampo. Referee number 57 happened to be the PBA best whistleblower. Tronjay Aldaba from Bacolod and his assistant number 74 and 80 went to check the instant replay. The verdict was flagrant foul 2.
De Ocampo was vanished and suspended for one game. That game, where Ranidel cannot play, was number 5 yesterday and we don't know (as of this writing) if the SmartCom players showed up.
Talk and Text is giving PBA a sign -- they cannot lose the series unless the referees favor Ginebra. Chot may have talked and cleared with MVP of the situation after losing Game 3 thus preempting a scenario that the referees will give Game 4 to the Kings.
A longer series is good for the only professional basketball league in the country. But for Chot it is bad for him since PLDT's name and credibility is at stake. How can he be the best PBA coach if he cannot win this conference?
The P500,000 fine for a walkout is peanuts compared to the title and the perks that go with it. Endearing him more to MVP, who happened to be the big man in the Samahang Basketbolista ng Pilipinas and the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines, is the reason why he cannot afford to lose.
But the PBA commissioner ruled that they were following the rules on flagrant fouls and has to implement to consequence of a walkout. T and T was given five minutes to return to court. They did not.
Another minute is given with an announcement for them to reconsider. After that they are given a technical when an extra minute lapse. A total of seven minutes is given to a team who walked away from unfinished game.
Whether Talk and Text played yesterday it does not matter to Take Two. We are not a fan of PBA. We are fans of local players making big like Boyet Fernandez and Noli Locsin of Colegio San Agustin Bacolod.
Now we have Reynel Hugnatan, a former Negros Slasher; Tubid, the son of Lorna from COA-Iloilo and Jeff Chan of Rain or Shine who was a junior Stinger from USLS.
Opps, we almost forgot, the son-in-law of the late Senator Benigno Aquino and former president Cory Aquino -- James Yap who played with Tay Tung and later on to Iloilo Chinese Commercial High School.
The most popular nephew of MM Yap never gave University of the East a UAAP title under Coach Boysie Zamar but he got Noynoy's younger sis and superstar Kris.
Going back to Chot, if the T & T wins Game 5, his "walkout" got the result he needed. If not, he was right that Ginebra won because either the PBA wants to extend the series through the referees.
Either way, don't you think it is absurd that a respected mentor of numerous RP selection and PBA teams, accuse the referees of rigging the game, so his team can't go to the next round?
Or was the former executive director of the defunct MBA, just afraid to lose face of being beaten by Barangay Ginebra, the crowd's favorite?
Reyes should come to Bacolod often and see how the local referees officiate. That game where he led the walkout was well-covered and better officiated.
His was a shallow alibi -- a mind game in order for him not to lose face or the series.
But did he thought about the paying public and the millions glued in TV?
In street lingo: Ang manginit pierde. Ang mangutos pan-os!