Why no ejections?

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) commissioner Noli Eala lowered the boom the other day on Red Bull’s Lordy Tugade and Barangay Ginebra’s Mark Caguioa for engaging in extracurricular violence during a game at the Ynares Center last Friday.

Tugade was slapped a fine of P25,000 for clotheslining Caguioa after he fell to the floor from an elbow on the chest. Caguioa retaliated by throwing the ball hard on Tugade’s face. The unsportsmanlike conduct could’ve triggered an ugly free-for-all but cooler heads prevailed.

What I couldn’t understand was how Tugade and Caguioa escaped ejection. Referees ruled a double technical on both players. Caguioa was tagged a flagrant foul, penalty one, for digging his elbow into Tugade’s rib cage prior to the clothesline and ball-throwing.

In the old rules, a player is ejected only if he throws a closed fist–regardless of whether or not it connects–or swings an elbow above the neck. The rulebook was that specific. But PBA technical director Perry Martinez confirmed the new rules leave it to the referees’ judgment on whether or not to eject a player. He said a flagrant foul, penalty two, means an automatic ejection for unnecessary and excessive contact. Martinez explained a flagrant foul, penalty one, is assessed for unnecessary contact. Both flagrant fouls will mean two free throws and possession.

To differentiate the two types of flagrant fouls, Martinez said: "In a simple example, we call a flagrant foul, penalty one, if a player pushes a player out of the way in unnecessary contact while we call a flagrant foul, penalty two, if a player pushes a player out of the way in unnecessary contact and slams him to the floor."

In the Red Bull-Ginebra incident, both Tugade and Caguioa should’ve been ejected. But apparently, the three referees, including supervisor of officials Ernie de Leon, decided the clothesline and ball-throwing were not excessive. I beg to disagree. A clothesline is as excessive as a punch particularly since it came on a deadball situation, in full view of everyone. And Caguioa throwing the ball hard on Tugade’s face was certainly excessive, too.

De Leon and the two other referees probably forgot the new rules no longer specify the kind of contact to merit ejection. With that kind of tolerant mindset, I wonder what the penalty would be if a player picked up a chair and threw it at another–without throwing a punch–or if a player spat at another–without throwing a punch. You could actually do more harm hurling a chair, spitting or kicking than throwing a punch.

One other thing, Caguioa should’ve been automatically ejected after incurring a flagrant foul, penalty one, and a technical. But Martinez said the rules stipulate automatic ejection on two flagrant fouls, penalty one or two technical fouls or a flagrant foul, penalty two. There is no provision for a combination of a flagrant foul, penalty one, and a technical. He said the omission will likely be taken up in a discussion to amend the rules next year.

Because Red Bull and Ginebra are in the same elimination bracket, they play each other twice under the Reinforced Conference format. In fact, they’ve already squared off twice in a pair of tumultuous contests. It’s possible that the archenemies might face each other in the quarters or semis, renewing a bitter rivalry reminiscent of the Crispa-Toyota era.

At the end of the first meeting, fans of both teams brawled outside the PhilSports Arena. A Ginebra fan was hospitalized. Red Bull fans said they were ganged up by Ginebra diehards who smelled of liquor and PhilSports Arena guards also joined in the fray. Who started the fisticuffs is beside the point. The fact is a brawl erupted and lives were endangered–unnecessarily and excessively.