Rico Maierhofer tries to block ball with his shoe. AUGUST DE LA CRUZ
Barako Bull forward Rico Maierhofer took playing defense to a whole different level.
In a bizarre sequence during the second quarter of a close game between the Energy and the San Miguel Beermen, Maierhofer lost his right shoe after making a layup but had the presence of mind to run back on the other end and make a defensive stop, using that same his shoe in his hand, to disrupt an offensive play that even led to a fastbreak for his team.
“On-going yung play hindi namin pwede i-foul yung opponent kasi penalty na so kinuha ko yung shoes ko live yung game so hawak ko yung shoes ko siyempre kapag didepensa ka gagamitin mo yung kamay mo eh nagkataon yung sapatos ko nasa kamay ko so kasama siya sa depensa,” Maierhofer recalled of his play.
(The play we on going and we couldn’t foul the opponent because we were on penalty so I grabbed my shoe. The game was live and I was still holding my shoe. Of course you use your hands to defend, it just so happened that my shoe was in my hand.)
“Hindi ko alam kung legit ba, legal ba o illegal. Siyempre sayang yung pagfinoul mo yung opponent so tuloy tuloy na yung play. Siguro, 50-50. siguro kung natamaan yung bola ng shoes ko [I would expect the referees to stop the play ]pero hindi naman tinamaan.”
(I don’t know if that was legit or legal. I just thought that it would be wasteful to foul so we continued the play. I think if the my shoe had hit the ball, the referees would’ve stopped the play but my shoe did.)
But his size 13 shoe, the kind of pair which NBA superstar Kevin Durant wears, actually did hit the ball as San Miguel Beer’s Gabby Espinas attempted a pass to Arwind Santos and it resulted to teammate Joseph Yeo scoring on a transition layup.
“Dami kong tawa,” said Espinas. “Kaya pagkatapos nung play tawa akong tawa kasi pinalo ng sapatos yung board.”
(After that play I was really laughing hard because he hit the board with the shoe.)
“Hindi ko naman kino-consider na embarrassing yung play kasi nga on-going yung play so siyempre kami player so kahit anong mangyari kahit matanggal yung sapatos o medyas play defense pa din kami,” Maierhofer added.
(I don’t consider it as embarrassing. As a player, you always have to play defense even when you don’t have your shoe or socks.)
In fact, Maierhofer felt what he did was a “smart” move on his part because his team was able to make a stop and convert at the other end.
The former De La Salle star also said he thought of just wearing his shoe loose but couldn’t as the opposing team had already inbounded the ball.
Beermen head coach Leo Austria, meanwhile, thought what Maierhofer did was “illegal” because his shoe was able to disrupt the play.
“Naka-block yung sapatos niya and besides nailang yung player. And for me, it should be illegal. Dahil kung pwede pala yon, pwede palang hubadin yung tshirt at hahabulin ko yung bola at masusupalpal yon,” Austria said.
(His shoes was able to block and disrupt the shot of the player. For me, it should’ve been illegal. Because if that was allowed, then other players could just remove their shirts and start blocking the ball with it.)
“It should be goaltending,” Austria said with a laugh.