CHANGSHA – Compared to the Beijing Asiad matches in 1990, coach Norman Black felt Team Phl was a lot more competitive here against the host team, except that the Nationals struggled with their shooting and with the horrible officiating.
“We’re much more competitive today than in Beijing. I don’t think it’s (officiating) a factor (then) unlike today when the game was pretty close. It’s always within reach,” said Black, assistant coach in Team Phl both in Beijing and here in the Changsha meet.
The Philippines placed second to China in both tourneys.
“In Beijing in 1990, we weren’t in the game. We’re blown out right from the start and the refs never became a factor in the game,” Black pointed out. “Today, it’s obvious because the game was relatively close.”
Black pointed to the two early fouls called on naturalized player Andray Blatche, the only Gilas player who can really match up with any of China’s four seven-footers.
“It’s a perfect example. I have no idea where the fouls were. (Blatche) just slid with the offensive player, and he was called for two fouls. That was crucial. The third foul put him down on the bench when we’re down 10. Then they started in the fourth with a run that put them ahead by 15,” said Black.
The Meralco coach in the PBA, however, didn’t take away the credit from the Chinese team.
“In my opinion, we didn’t (get the fair shake in officiating). But we’re in China. You have to expect that we’re not gonna get calls. I thought they played well, better than us,” he said.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well. We missed a lot of foul shots. We’re in a situation where we had a very small margin for errors because we’re playing a team that’s obviously good. They’re quite big, athletic and at home, so we really can’t afford to miss foul shots. We didn’t shoot from the perimeter. It’s a combination of us not playing our best game in the tournament. At the same time, they are a good team, no question about that,” he added.
While he lashed out at officiating, Black stressed the need for Team Phl to dish out a flawless game when vying for the championship on a hostile turf.
“The officiating was horrible. I don’t think I can say anything clearer than that. But that’s part of the game. We’re here in China. So you don’t expect to get the calls to begin with and for you to beat them here, you have to play a flawless game and we didn’t do that today,” said Black.
“To win a championship, you have to bring your best game to bring that championship,” he added.