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PBA PICTURES
SMART CLARK GIGA CITY: This extraordinary staging of the PBA Philippine Cup has presented many surprises. And in addition to the brilliance of a few truly capable athletes, complaints have also arisen, ranging from understandable to unnecessary.
Commissioner Willie Marcial said Monday that the league is investigating a malicious complaint filed against a referee in the heat of the third game of the semifinals between Barangay Ginebra and Meralco on Sunday night.
An as-yet unidentified delegate said: “Ref, lutong mourning ah! (Ref, the game is obviously rigged!) ”During a break in fourth period.
The accusation was heard on national television and has become the subject of many commentators in sports media and even on league websites.
“We are about to open an investigation into the matter,” Marcial told reporters here by phone. “We cannot just point at people.”
“This needs to be corroborated by the referees, our table officials, my staff and even the video team. And I still have no news of them, “he added.
Several online viewers pounced on Bolts veteran Reynel Hugnatan and labeled him the culprit simply for being on the receiving end of a foul that happened to play.
“That’s fine with me. I know the truth,” Hugnatan said in Filipino during a chance meeting near the hotel pool. “However, I can’t blame the viewers. They were just based on what they saw on television.”
Hugnatan said he was aware of the unfair labeling as of Sunday night, but insists it doesn’t bother him.
“It so happened that they also saw me on the video (feed) at the time I was disputing a call,” said the Bacolod native, whose accent is closely perceived.
“Why would I bother if it’s not true?”
“We can’t really say who he is at this moment,” Marcial said. “It really can be anyone right now.”
“If it was someone like Tim Cone or Norman Black whose voices are different, then we could easily identify who he is.”
“But we still have (no leads),” he said. “I can’t blame Reynel as we don’t demand justice in that way.”
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