Host China gets the 50/50 calls, says Baldwin

Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tab Baldwin. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

CHANGSHA CITY, China – Playing on foreign soil has a built-in disadvantage for all of the visitors.

“They (China) will get the 50/50 calls, even if the referees are not Chinese,” Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin answered when asked how officiating has been so far in the Fiba Asia Olympic Qualifier here.

“There’s a history for that,” he went on, pointing out to the one-point victory China had over a Jordan crew he was coaching in the 2011 edition in Wuhan when a bum call in the gold medal match cost Baldwin the championship.

“I was on the wrong end of a pretty tough call four years ago and I won’t forget that,” he said. “It’s a lesson that I certainly learned. We protested vociferously and protested to the wind because that’s the only entity that hears it.”

Baldwin steered Jordan past mighty Iran in the quarterfinals that year, got back at the Philippines, which was under Rajko Toroman then, in the Final Four, before stumbling in the waning seconds against China.

China could be a foe for the Filipinos late in the KO stages, depending of course on how the Filipinos fare in the second round of the preliminaries starting with their 4:45 p.m. clash with Japan on Sunday.

Finishing in the top two after this round would more or less arrange a showdown with either China or Korea in the Final Four, and Baldwin said there’s no way to prepare against the homecourt edge other than work very hard.

“We need to be able to avoid going into those 50/50 calls by getting to the ball quicker and such,” he said. “Because, how do you prepare for that (homecourt disadvantage)?

“Mentally, you have to be prepared not to get the 50/50 calls.”

Baldwin, though, was thankful for having been on the losing end of that controversial call in Wuhan.

“Things like that (call) change your life. Who knows, I might be living in a palace (in Jordan) had we won that (game), instead of coaching the Philippines,” he said with a wide smile.

“I’ll take the result. I’ll take the aftermath,” he concluded.