Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 24 | Page 30
30
SPORTS
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY December 16 - 31, 2018
PBA ‘Grand Slam’ for
San Miguel Corp.
SPECTATOR
By Al Mendoza
IT is weird but it keeps of the referees after Game 2
happening.
and he got it,” said Victolero
in Tagalog.
“I’m now also
A team defeats a team two attracting the attention of the
in-a-row—one win by a ghastly refs…and what I’m just asking
rout—only to bow to the same is consistency on calls. What
squad in the third game. Not they’d call on the other side,
only lose but to end up beaten they should also call the same
black and blue.
on us.”
That’s what’s happening in the
Well, it is a given that
ongoing title showdown for the referees are key cogs in every
PBA Governors’ Cup between championship showdown. One
Magnolia and Alaska.
bad call by a ref could swing the
Magnolia won the first two outcome of a game.
games, 100-84 and 77-71,
But then, let’s be fair.
respectively.
Referees may not be perfect,
With those results, you would, but they shouldn’t be blamed
of course, put your money on for defeats we suffer.What’s
Magnolia in Game 3. Piece of happening at times, if not most
cake.
of the time, is seeing coaches
But then, what do you know? point an accusing finger at the
Alaska came roaring back refs when setbacks hit them.
and proceeded to massacre
Will it happen again in tonight’s
Magnolia 100-71 to inch to Game 4 between Magnolia and
within 1-2 in the best-of-seven Alaska?
Finals.
But really, this ref-bashing
“I think we had a great habit has got to end if we are
defensive effort and amazing to continue believing in PBA’s
shots,” said Alaska coach Alex reason for existence.
Compton. “But the overall story
The league has been there
of the game was we made a 43 years and it would not have
bunch of shots in the first three survived this long if it did not
quarters. We didn’t commit have the resilience and staying
many turnovers and we played power to weather every storm
defense with great intensity.”
that came its way, lapses in
But Magnolia coach Chito officiating included.
Victolero saw the game
Let’s just then play ball,
differently, was short of accusing please?
Compton of baiting the referees
Anyway, as I was busy
to side with Alaska in Game 3.
composing this, Game 4 went to
“Compton drew the attention Alaska before Magnolia fought
back to make it 3-2 and inch to
within a game of clinching the
Governors Cup crown.
On Wednesday night (PHL
time, 19 December), Magnolia,
leaning heavily on import Romeo
Travis, murdered Alaska 102-86
in Game 6 to pocket the crown
in a 4-2 decision witnessed by a
jam-packed crowd at the Ynares
Sports Center in Antipolo City.
Travis, a lefty, was Alaska’s
import when the San Miguel
Beermen rallied from 0-3 to
defeat the Alaska Aces and
pocket the PBA title 4-3 in
2014.
No team other than San Miguel
Beer, down 0-3, has ever rallied
to achieve four straight wins in
a best-of-seven championship
series to pocket a PBA crown.
In victory, sophomore coach
Victolero of Magnolia thanked
San Miguel bosses Ramon S.
Ang and Danding Cojuangco
“for all the support they extended
to me.”
He also paid tribute to the all-
out backing of Al Francis Chua,
San Miguel’s sports director,
who, Victolero said, “has
supported me starting from my
playing days and for believing in
me all the way.”
Alaska’s import, Mike Harris,
was totally outplayed by Travis
in the title-clinching Magnolia
win in Game 6.
In his final PBA game for the
season, Travis fired 32 points as
against Harris’ 26 points.
With his championship-rich
performance, Travis seemed to
be making a statement: “I should
be the rightful best import of the
conference instead of Harris.”
Complementing
Travis’
superlative efforts was Mark
Barroca, who was voted Most
Valuable Player in the Finals,
for his consistency, edging Paul
Lee.
But Lee had his sterling
moments, particularly in Game
5 when he uncorked a buzzer-
beating corner jumper for the
marginal basket that gave
Magnolia a pivotal 3-2 edge in
the title showdown.
After that game, Lee, covering
his face with a towel, burst into
tears—tears of joy.
“I’ve been struggling all
throughout the series as I am
still recovering from my injury
(foot),” said Lee. “Thank God
I made that shot. It erased all
doubts about my abilities to
deliver the goods when they are
needed most.”
Magnolia’s victory sort of
completed a Grand Slam for
San Miguel Corporation’s three
PBA teams: San Miguel Beer
won the First Conference,
Ginebra San Miguel Second
Conference and now Magnolia
as Governors’ Cup champion.
My salutations!
History repeats itself in Fil-Am golf
HISTORY repeats itself, goes
the saying.
Some three years ago, a player
and his marker were disqualified
in the Fil-Am Golf Invitational in
Baguio’s Camp John Hay and
Baguio Country Club.
That was a rarity in the annual
event for amateurs classified
into Seniors and Men’s Regular,
each division playing one week
apart.
The player in question was
disqualified for signing a wrong
scorecard.
His marker was also disqualified
for signing a score on one hole
that he insisted he knew to be
incorrect.
That was a serious breach on
the rule of honesty, which is the
game’s back bone, indeed.
The marker said he signed it
“under protest,” after which the
player dropped his scorecard in
the box.
Had the marker referred the
issue to the Rules Committee
before the scorecard was
dropped at the box, the
marker might have escaped
disqualification.
Under the rules, a marker
must not sign for a score that
he “knowingly knew” to be
incorrect.
Once the scorecard is
submitted, the marker is
doomed.
It happened again in the just-
ended 69th Fil-Am Golf.
A player insisted he wrote the
correct score on a hole, signed
the scorecard and dropped it in
the box.
But the marker knew the player
wrote an incorrect score.
“I was forced to sign it because
the player kept complaining,”
he said.
When the case was brought
by the duo’s two flightmates
to Rules Committee, the
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
player’s position as well as the
marker’s position had become
indefensible. Both were axed.
But here’s heroism at work.
Jun Saavedra of Davao’s Apo
Golf Club knew he had signed
for 32 points on Thursday. Then
hours later, the internet reflected
33 points for him.
An eagle instead of a birdie
that he had actually scored on
No. 8 of Baguio Country Club
was recorded in his scorecard.
Jun’s huge 32 points was
replaced by the score of his
team’s fifth man: 19. That
dropped
Apo
from third overall CONT NEXT PAGE