Anger Management

All it took was one missed call.

One missed call.

We almost had a Malice in The Palace. But no, this isn’t Ron Artest versus the whole of Motown City faithful. This was between teammates, an assistant coach and three zebras.

While the Renaldo Balkman issue has been long done and over with, ending with him being kicked out of the PBA for the time being, it still lingers. The stench. The rancid overtures.

But while we are at it, we must also consider that some players play with their hearts on their sleeve. That there are players who have their own sense of justice, or a modicum of it. That there are players, in their basest, competitive nature, they will try to make the arbiters, in this case, the zebras, see their side and their point and get the call. It has been a long standing issue in the world of sports when you have an independent body overlooking the events and calling what is fair and not.

One missed call is all it takes.

One missed call is the difference between a win or a defeat.

You want proof? Just ask football fans. They’d bore you with litanies of how the referees, the linesmen mucked up the match for their favorite club. They’d tell you how it’s better for the players to win the game than for the referees to decide it. And to make matters worse, if their club is playing against Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United, they’d all be begging for their players to just score and score than let the refs handle their match. It is no snide comment to Manchester United, as I respect the club, but yeah, the zebras do suck.

But back to Balkman. Yes you can argue the call, but you have to calm your hot blood. He’s the reason why we’re not watching Petronovela Season 2. If there’s a legit ex-NBA import as we can get, it’s Balkman. When his head is screwed right, he’s a legit producer and role player off the pine for any NBA team. And he can be a deadly force in the local league even if he plays the wing, where he’s the tallest guy there is, and he’s the yardstick for all imports, Denzel Bowles included.

But when Balkman goes undone, as shown in his Latrell Sprewell moment with Arwind Santos, it really is ugly. And no, you cannot blame the Puerto Rican lineage for his hot bloodedness. All talent, all potential, put to waste as he just blazes through on a rampage to get what he thinks he deserves.

And get what he deserved he did.

A boot to his sorry bottom out of the PBA.

It’s what he’ll be remembered best for, instead of hoisting another trophy for the San Miguel franchise.

Well, the end is not yet near Renaldo, try your luck with the San Miguel Beermen over at the ABL. Assuming you are still in the payroll.

But next time, keep your head.

Why?

So you’ll end up as a vital cog in an NBA bench.

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