San Miguel sports director Alfrancis Chua cried foul over the statements made by coach Nash Racela following San Miguel’s 97-86 Game 4 win over TNT last Tuesday.
“We at San Miguel express concerns about the statements of (coach Nash) Racela about special treatment,” Chua said said on Thursday during the halftime of Game 5 at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“When we lost two games in a row, you didn’t hear from us. Special treatment for what? Because we won? For us, we’ve been here for the longest time. When we lose, we don’t say anything. Even our coach has been silent about it. But when we won, he says there’s a special treatment and the referee is this?”
Racela pointed to the officiating as one of the possible factors in the KaTropa’s defeat, but did not generally pin the blame on the referees.
The TNT mentor said: “I’m not saying that I was disappointed on the officiating today. What I’m saying is that there was no lady referee. We expected that already before the game but what I didn’t expect was what they are saying that is like entitlement. Just because they are the defending champion and they have the MVP, all of a sudden they are expecting special treatment when they enter the court. I don’t buy that as a coach. If you demand something, demand that the right calls be made by the referees.”
“If you lose by getting the right calls, we’ll accept that. But demanding for some special treatment? That’s wrong.”
Chua, who also serves as the governor for Ginebra, said that the only thing San Miguel did was to raise what it felt was uncalled for fouls on the defense played on June Mar Fajardo, citing previous cases wherein the three-time PBA Most Valuable Player even injured his knee.
“The only thing the coaching staff did was to present the disc. June Mar is a good guy and doesn’t say a thing. But for him to raise his concerns, something is wrong,” Chua said.
Chua said that rather than insinuate slated officiating, Racela should focus more on his team.
“I hope he sticks to coaching. Special? There’s no egg on my team. When we lost two straight, he should have said his piece there. When we won, there’s suddenly a special treatment. It’s not good for us. That’s why I never talk. But it doesn’t seem right,” the SMC executive said.
“We in the San Miguel group, we’re asking for a fair (officiating). You never heard anything from us complaining. When it’s called, it’s already called. We move on,” added Chua. “I hope they mind their own team and we’re going to mind our own team.”