Failure to communicate

Not too many fans know that Talk ‘N’ Text governor Ricky Vargas was agreeable to resume playing last Friday’s game against Barangay Ginebra but PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios ruled it was too late to come back as the grace period to return had elapsed.

The Tropang Texters walked out with a minute left in the first quarter and Ginebra ahead, 27-20. Under PBA rules, a team has a total of seven minutes to “repent” after a walkout or lose the game by forfeit. The rules allow an initial period of five minutes then the buzzer is sounded to signal an additional minute and finally, one last minute.

A PBA insider said when Vargas brought up the possibility of returning to play, over 10 minutes had passed. His condition, however, was to downgrade the call on Ranidel de Ocampo from flagrant-2 to flagrant-1. But it wouldn’t have been possible anyway to downgrade right there and then. A downgrade is an option only upon review of the incident the day after a game by the commissioner.

Still, someone said Talk ‘N’ Text could’ve been prevailed on to resume playing with a little bit of friendly persuasion.

The problem was the time to reconsider had expired.

“We were in the process of sorting things out when all of a sudden, we were told it was too late,” said Smart Sports head Patrick Gregorio who joined Vargas and Talk ‘N’ Text manager Virgil Villavicencio in a huddle with Barrios. “I thought the whole thing was just poorly handled. We weren’t even informed about the time technicality.”

A kibitzer commented that if Barrios allowed Talk ‘N’ Text a one-hour reprieve to bring in new uniforms in the recent Zamboanga game against San Miguel Beer, he could’ve granted more time to fix the problem last Friday – in spite of the seven-minute grace period. But that would’ve meant bending the rules twice for the same beneficiary.

Also in the huddle were Ginebra governor Robert Non and Purefoods governor Rene Pardo who was overhead as saying, “it’s just a game – let’s play it for the fans.”

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Talk ‘N’ Text coach Chot Reyes said the call on De Ocampo was the last straw. It took the three referees a few minutes before deciding to slap a flagrant-2 which meant ejection, two free throws, possession and a one-game suspension. Reyes said he couldn’t believe that despite the benefit of instant replay, the referees still got it wrong.

Reyes actually had a point. In the replay, De Ocampo failed to establish defensive position against a driving Ronald Tubid, leaned towards the Ginebra guard and created contact with an errant elbow to the cheek. There was no excessive display of physicality, certainly no act of violence. Tubid could’ve been charged with a technical foul for a second motion but got off the hook. At worst, the call against De Ocampo should’ve been a flagrant-1.

Barrios said he would review the film and decide if a downgrade is justifiable.

Reyes said the disparity in free throw attempts throughout the quarterfinal series was glaring. In three games, Ginebra averaged 42 free throw attempts and Talk ‘N’ Text, 28. He argued that the Kings took an average of 30 three-point shots a game, compared to the Texters’ 22, but still got 14 more free throw tries. His basis was the theory that the defense doesn’t usually foul three-point shooters. However, it must be mentioned that the stats are silent on Ginebra’s potential two-point attempts because the Kings were often on the line. Talk ‘N’ Text had 10 more two-point tries than Ginebra on the average but the difference was deceptive.

Reyes vented his ire on referee Throngy Aldaba who worked only once in the series, Game 2 which Talk ‘N’ Text won. Aldaba was suited up for Game 4 last Friday.

“We strongly opposed Aldaba’s assignment and we even put together a video for the commissioner to prove his incompetence,” said Reyes. “By the luck of the draw, he was assigned for Game 4.”

Clearly, Ginebra took advantage of several trips to the line to win Game 3, 102-97, last Wednesday. Five Texters finished with five personals apiece. De Ocampo played only 17 minutes because of foul trouble. Were the referees to blame?

Reyes said the same pattern was evident last Friday. Ginebra had already gone 12-of-14 from the line and the Texters, 4-of-5, when De Ocampo was whistled for a flagrant-2. All Reyes begged for was equal treatment.

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Even assuming Reyes had basis to protest the call on De Ocampo, the solution wasn’t to walk out. If Talk ‘N’ Text wanted to deliver a strong message of protest, even disgust, it could’ve just sent in scrub players to finish the game and let the chips fall where they may. A walkout doesn’t only cast doubt on the integrity of the league but it also hurts the paying public.

Some fans asked to be refunded for their tickets after the walkout and Barrios gave his go-signal to pay out. Araneta Coliseum officials said a lot of ticket-holders inquired about a refund but eventually, decided to watch the second game. For the record, the attendance for Friday’s twinbill was 13,806. The attendance for Wednesday’s doubleheader was 12,649.

What was apparent in Friday’s walkout was a lack of communication between league and team officials.

If Talk ‘N’ Text had serious concerns about officiating, there should have been a major effort to sit down with team officials, discuss terms of reference and agree on working conditions.

The default could’ve been avoided last Friday if there was a strong link of communication.

But it’s not too late to repair the damage. The PBA is far too precious to be jeopardized by a failure to communicate. Once emotions simmer down and the heat of the moment dissipates, let’s hope everyone involved in this exercise realizes that public interest is the primordial responsibility of the league and its franchises.