MANILA, Philippines – Adamson Falcons head coach Mike Fermin lamented the late calls that saw his hard-fighting team succumb to National University, 85-79, in overtime Wednesday in the 78th UAAP men's basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Fermin was referring to the last 26 seconds of regulation time where the Falcons were leading 70-67 when the referee whistled a foul on Jerome Garcia during a 3-point attempt by Bulldog shooting guard JJ Alejandro.
Garcia looked at Fermin across the floor and yelled, “Wala!”
The referee slapped a technical foul on Garcia that also saw his disqualification.
Alejandro hit the four free throws that gave NU a 71-70 lead. In the ensuing possession, Paolo Javelona added another free throw for a two-point lead. Falcons power forward-center Ivan Villanueva scored off an inbound to send the game into overtime but the Falcons, visibly frustrated at the calls, ran out of gas.
Fermin tried to stay positive in the aftermath of the game but lamented the calls. "Judgement again,” decried Fermin. “I will side with my player when he says he didn’t foul Alejandro. But judgement yan. The technical foul though was very harsh. Game changer yan kasi it gave ball possession and two points to NU."“Jerome looked at me and not the referee. I asked the referee for an explanation and he only said, “Coach, kulang ka ng players five fouls na yung isa.”
“Yung explanation ng refs sa ganito ay it is the gestures. I asked, 'Do we have a list of gestures that are forbidden?’ Wala daw. So it is upon their discretion."
Added Fermin whose Falcons are 1-9, "In the dugout, I told the boys that we gave the referees a chance to blow their whistle. It’s partly our fault. Pero give credit to our team. We’re hungry. We’re filled with rookies. Frustrations? Meron. Pero alam mo pag-bata madali makalimutan. Tapos na. Bukas ibang araw na yun. Positive pa rin kami. We are going with youth. The moment we step on the court, we will give our all and we did. Our mindset is positive. Depsite the loss, we gave our best. heads up. baka sakali makadali pa."