Meralco head coach Norman Black chose not to comment about officiating in Game Two of the 2021-22 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals on Friday night.
There’s a proper avenue for it, he said.
“We’ll just do it the correct way,” offered the champion mentor moments after their 93-99 defeat that allowed Ginebra to tie the series at a game apiece.
Tony Bishop was seen pleading to the referee after a tough shot over Justin Brownlee with 6:32 to go, and with the Bolts in the midst of a rally.
The Panamanian was asking for a foul, since there was a clear contact with his counterpart when he went up for the shot that sliced the gap, 88-86.
That shot from point-blank was practically a clean-up of his own miss — a lay-up against Christian Standhardinger, where there was also contact.
Adding insult to injury for Meralco, so to speak, was that Standhardinger and Brownlee got three-point plays each afterward to make it a 94-86 lead.
“We’ll call the office and ask them to review,” said Black.
“And, get their opinion on some of the calls. It’s hard to complain in public, guys. Doesn’t always do you any good,” he added in between chuckles.
Black refuses to pin the blame whatsoever on how the calls went. He could only concede that Ginebra was a much better team than in Game One.
The Grand Slam-winning coach noted the way their foes shot the ball, where they went 46-percent, including a 13-of-35 clip from deep.
They made seven of their triples in the first half, which saw them explode for 40 big points in the second period to head into the break up 60-42.
“I thought Ginebra shot the ball really, really well tonight compared to the first game,” he said. “And we just seemed to be a step slower as far as closing out on the shooters, and challenging their shots.
“We did a much better job in the second half but we let them get a lead, too, which was pretty difficult to come back from.”
Then, of course, Justin Brownlee was back to his old, deadly ways, which saw him erupt for 36 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists.
“Brownlee was making his shots and all the other guys were making theirs, too, so it became more difficult to defend them,” said Black.
Now, it’s all about going back to the drawing board for Game Three on Sunday, still at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
“It’s a best-of-seven; now it’s a best-of-five.”
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