Adamson’s Racela airs disagreement with UAAP in full letter addressing crucial call vs Ateneo
MANILA, Philippines -- Adamson head coach Nash Racela questioned the supposed “correct non-call” (CNC) comment of the UAAP on the late “block” of Joseph Obasa on Ced Manzano during the Soaring Falcons’ crucial loss against defending champions Ateneo Blue Eagles in their UAAP Season 86 duel Sunday.
Earlier in the day, the UAAP released a statement that Racela will not be reprimanded after supposedly apologizing to the league for his comments after their 62-58 defeat over the weekend.
The UAAP then said Racela apologized through a letter dated November 14, and the league “officially accepted’ the apology.
The contentious play happened within the final seconds of the game between the number four Eagles and the number five Falcons.
With about 30 seconds remaining in the game and with the Falcons trailing 58-59, Adamson’s Matt Erolon drove to the basket and pulled Obasa away from Manzano.
Erolon then dropped the ball to the rolling Manzano, who attempted a layup.
Obasa, however, recovered quickly. Video recaps showed that Obasa hit the forearm of Manzano, but the referees did not call a foul.
It was ultimately tagged as a block for Obasa.
Racela, also on Tuesday, posted his full letter to the UAAP on Instagram, wherein he pointed out the Manzano play.
“To be honest, I was hoping we would have the same comments about the incident. But, to my surprise, the comments say CNC when in fact, there was a clear hit on the arm of Manzano and it was clear that Obasa never hit the ball,” the letter read.
“We were down 1 during that time and calling a foul on Obasa could’ve given us our only 2 [free throw] attempts of the quarter. I understand there’s no guarantee that Manzano would’ve made his FTs but who knows what could have happened?” he added.
On Sunday, Racela pointed out the apparent free throw disparity between the two teams, and the supposed non-calls in the game.
“I truly believe this is exactly where the problem lies as we coaches cannot reconcile with your office our observations about the game. My vision as a coach in the UAAP is that we see eye to eye hopefully before Season 86 ends,” he said.
“Having said this, I don’t see any reason to apologize for the things I’ve said about how the game was officiated and for the emotions I’ve shared during that time. But, if it will do us any good, then I apologize for the mere mention of the UAAP in the interview. I guarantee that there was no malice intended and there was no intention to cast doubt on the integrity of the league.”
The UAAP, on Tuesday evening, released a statement saying that they officially accepted the apology from Racela. However, they only included the final two sentences of Racela’s letter in their statement.
The apology, the statement read, prompted the UAAP Basketball Commissioner’s Office’ decision “not to suspend [Racela] for Adamson University’s upcoming game.”
The coach, however, was slapped with a “stern” reprimand.
The post-game report also revealed that “there was an acceptable margin of error, and missed calls were divided equally between both teams."
According to the official post-game report, there were three incorrect non-calls and three incorrect calls in the final quarter.
Three of these were in favor of Ateneo, while three were in favor of Adamson.
With two games left in the elimination round, the defending champions are at solo fourth with a 6-6 win-loss record, while the Falcons are at 5-7.
The former will be facing the 4-8 UE Red Warriors and the 9-3 La Salle Green Archers in their final two games, while the latter will face the 10-2 NU Bulldogs and UE as they try to claw their way into the Final Four.
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