Cone blames format, not referees

MANILA, Philippines – Ginebra San Miguel coach Tim Cone is not pointing his finger at the referees following the Gin Kings’ unceremonious exit in the Smart Bro-PBA Philippine Cup.

The tournament format, he said, is the culprit.

“In my humble opinion, I blame the format more than I blame any referee. I hope we do away with this format in the future,” the Ginebra coach told local sports portal Spin.ph.

Ginebra faced GlobalPort in a one-game playoff last Sunday. At stake was the right to meet Alaska Milk in a best- of-seven semis.

The game was tight from start to finish and was only decided in the final seconds, when GlobalPort’s Stanley Pringle held on to the ball longer than the rule allows.

GlobalPort won, 84-83, but not after a storm of protests from Cone, who felt that Pringle should have been called a ball- hogging (five-second) violation or a backing violation.

The three referees on the court did not make any call, allowing the Batang Pier the victory.

Two of the referees who worked the game were suspended by PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa the other day for the rest of the conference or a maximum of 21 playing days.

The PBA had determined that the referees erred in not making the calls in the dying seconds.

Cone said he understands the situation as far as the referees are concerned, and that he’d been in games before where a crucial call or non-call decided the outcome of the game.

Referees make mistakes as much as coaches and players do.

Instead, the league’s winningest coach said it’s the format that PBA should consider revising in the future, adding that one game is not enough to decide the better team.

“Mostly, I just wish we didn’t have single knockout games in the playoffs,” said Cone who blared at the referees and table officials after the game at the MOA Arena.

He left the Ginebra dugout without speaking to reporters because he knew that if he did he would get into trouble himself.

“That kind of format doesn’t reward the best team – just the team who had the better shooting night, or the better referee’s call, or the luckier shot down the stretch,” he said.

“In a ‘best of’ series over a five or seven-game series, the best team will win out,” Cone added.