Bay Area Dragons’ Hayden Blankley in the PBA Finals. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–Hayden Blankley of the Bay Area Dragons took a shot at the way officiating was handled after his team lost Game 3 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals.
“Got nothing but love for the [Philippines] and its people, but at this point, it’s obvious, just let it be a fair game, please,” Blankley said in an Instagram story posted after the Dragons absorbed an 89-82 defeat on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.
Blankley then concluded his since-deleted post with a parting shot.
“As the locals would say—it’s ‘cooked,’” added Blankley, who fouled out midway in the fourth quarter.
Reserve import Myles Powell also aired his grievance on social media by pointing out the freethrow discrepancy.
Stats showed Ginebra had 38 free throw attempts as compared to just 10 for the guest team from Hong Kong.
“Y’all saying we shot 21 free throws in game 2 & y’all only shot 5 proves exactly my point,” Powell tweeted.
“Something ain’t right clearly the refs making the difference between who wins or not when it should just be a fair called game,” he added.
WATCH: Bay Area Dragons coach Brian Goorjian was in no mood to talk with reporters after his team’s 89-82 loss in Game 3 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals.
“I don’t think you wanna hear what I have to say,” says Goorjian. | @jonasterradoINQ pic.twitter.com/1XoLLKkXz4
— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) January 4, 2023
As his two players wanted to see the series played fairly, coach Brian Goorjian was in no mood to voice out his own frustrations.
Goorjian declined to talk to reporters as he emerged from the locker room, but he was visibly upset with how the game turned out.
“I really don’t think you wanna hear what I have to say. You guys saw the game. Completely…. that’s for everyone to see,” said Goorjian, who at the start of the fourth quarter got whistled for a technical foul, prompting him to make an animated reaction.