Fans’ fury halts game in Bacolod

BACOLOD -- Fearing for the safety of the players, officials yesterday decided to reschedule Game 5 of the National Finals between San Juan and Negros following an uncontrollable debris-throwing incident early in the final quarter at the USLS Gym in Bacolod City.

Commissioner Ogie Narvasa said he will meet with team officials today to decide if the game will be replayed from the start or will resume with 11:38 remaining and the Knights enjoying a commanding 87-65 lead.

"No decision yet. We will meet tomorrow to discuss what kind of action we have to take after this very untoward incident," said Narvasa, who is also considering a neutral venue for the replay or resumption of the game.

The game was first stopped with 4:30 left in the third quarter when the pro-Negros crowd, in protest of the officiating, peppered the court with all kinds of debris – from coins to plastic mineral water bottles to canned softdrinks and even lipstick cannisters.

The referees drew the ire of the crowd when pointguard Dennis Madrid of Negros, while being trapped by San Juan defenders in the sideline, tried to call a timeout but was ignored by the officials, forcing him to go out of bounds for a turnover.

The stoppage took place with San Juan comfortably ahead, 78-62, and lasted for 45 minutes before play resumed. The Knights, with Chris Calaguio scoring at will, then unloaded a 9-2 run to pad their lead to 87-64 entering the final quarter.

Before play resumed, Narvasa, made an announcement: "Both teams and the office of the commissioner have agreed to resume the game and the agreement was that if any coin or any other object is thrown into the court, we will stop the game."

With barely 22 seconds gone in the final quarter and San Juan up, 87-65, John Ferriols of Negros was slapped his fifth personal foul off a driving Calaguio, leading to another debris-throwing incident. This time, the game was officially stopped.

Cyd White of Negros was suspended for one game for elbowing Calaguio in Game 4. San Juan’s Kelani Ferreira, who was thrown out last Saturday for a flagrant foul on Reuben dela Rosa, escaped suspension. The decision did not sit well with Negros fans.