THIS refers to the amazing putback of JC Intal of Ginebra Sunday night and the conclusion of our article on the famous Talk and Text walkout.
So, who get the blame now? There is a tenet in sports which runs like...players win games; coaches lose it. Chot Reyes has to admit that whatever bright plan he had, boomeranged in their faces. The big bosses may have second thoughts now why they walked away from the fight and fined P500,000.
Worst, the Texters lost a trip to the semifinal. Could have gone either way if they did not make a big fuss on Ranidel de Ocampo's ejection. Better to have continued and tried their best without their starting center.
Why be antagonistic with the referees on Friday and be meek as a lamb on Sunday. As a veteran coach, he should know that getting the ire of the officials will bring his team nowhere but an early exit.
His antagonism with the referees proved to be his waterloo. You just can't win when you are up against the men in gray. Not even the PBA Commissioner or the chief of referees’ commission will reprimand the whistleblowers on a live show.
The most that erring officials could get is suspension or dismissal from their jobs. And even in crucial games where the stakes are high, these referees will be subjected to investigation not by PBA but by the NBI.
Instead of winning game 4 on the court, he gave the Kings the psychological advantage in their final meeting. And it was very glaring on TV that he was frustrated with the way his wards played boring.
There was no way the Talk and Text could win Game 5. They were lost before the tipoff because for all we know, not all the players wanted to walkout. Ahh, but that's professional game for you.
We did not even know how much bet was at stake on that Game 4. Imagine if you tried your hard-earned money with T & T on that night. The gins flood in all Barangay Ginebra. A little imagination will do us good.
Perhaps next time, it is better to see and relax when you are glued to the PBA. No bet. No worry. No need to collapse in front of the boob tube.
But isn't it that losers never quit as quitters never win.