JR Quiñahan ejected in Game 6 after Jio Jalalon hit

NLEX will have to fight the rest of the crucial game 6 without a key cog as JR Quiñahan was ejected midway through the second quarter.

The burly big man tried to stifle Jio Jalalon’s drive, but whacked the speedy Magnolia guard in the face at the 7:27 mark of the period.

Jalalon fell to the ground and ended up with bloody nose while Quiñahan was slapped with a flagrant foul penalty two.

Before his ejection, the Cebuano slotman had four points in his 10 minutes of action in Game 6.

JR Quiñahan heads back t the dugout after being ejected midway through the 2nd period. #PBA2018 pic.twitter.com/MgACcJVYa4

— Randolph B. Leongson (@RLeongsonINQ) March 20, 2018

Quiñahan argued that it was a bad call from referees’ part as there was no proof of his intention to hurt.

“Bola talaga ang habol ko. Kitang kita naman eh,” he said. “Sumabit lang siya. Kung may intention (to hurt) yun, sana closed fist yun.”

(I was going for the ball. It was evident. He was just caught. If I had an intention to hurt him, that would have been a closed fist.)

Quiñahan even begged for further explanation from the officials.“

Di ko alam bakit ganun. Dapat talaga tinitignan nila kung may intention (to hurt) eh.”

(I don’t understand the call. They have to look if there’s really an intention to hurt.)

Quiñahan has been averaging 10.4 points and 4.2 rebounds for the series.

Jalalon was still able to shoot the freebies before heading back to the bench and gave the Hotshots a 36-35 lead.

It’s still a tight contest as of posting, with Magnolia going for the kill against NLEX in their 2018 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series.