There’s harm, no foul?
NO FORMAL complaint has been filed regarding the new rules on officiating just yet, but PBA commissioner Chito Salud has started making the rounds of the PBA teams in practice to clarify any questions they may have.
After the first eight games of the season, the reintroduction of the “No harm, no foul” guideline, has raised murmurs of concern about the rule being subject to misinterpretation.
“Even if a foul is warranted under the new guidelines, the referees don’t blow their whistle. They seem to be unable to distinguish the difference between actual physical contact and what the commissioner has termed as ‘incidental’ or ‘marginal’ contact which can be let go,” said one coach.
“Consequently, the games have resulted in roughhousing, with some players getting hurt. The other players exploit the situation and resort to dirty tactics. Good thing the number of active players in a team was increased from 12 to 14, because I foresee multiple injuries.”
On the other hand, another coach said he didn’t mind the physicality of the game, but what he was concerned about was the inconsistency of the referees’ calls.
“The calls should be consistent all throughout the game, from start to finish,” he said.
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So far, Salud has already dropped by the practices of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, Air21 Express and B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados. He expects to complete the rounds by the end of this week.
Chito reminded the players that the “No harm, no foul” guidelines were designed “to allow the players to play hard, honest and correct basketball, [without resorting to] dirty and harmful acts.”
Before the opening of the season, everybody got a copy of the “new ” guidelines which read: “A player shall not hold, push, charge into, impede, the progress of an opponent with an extended arm, leg, knee or by bending his body into a position that is not normal. The mere fact that a contact occurs does not necessarily constitute a foul. Contact which is incidental/marginal/negligible due to an effort by a player to play an opponent, reach a loose ball, or perform normal defensive or offensive movements shall not be considered illegal. If however a player attempts to play an opponent from a position where he has no reasonable chance to perform without making a contact, the responsibility is on the player in this position.”
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HOOPVINE: Pato Gregorio of Smart promised to e-mail the storyline of “Rosario,” a film being produced by his boss Manny V. Pangilinan, but as of presstime, it hadn’t arrived… Pato said Rosario is the grandmother of MVP and this is her story. “It was written by MVP himself and directed by Albert Martinez. It is an entry in the 2010 Manila Film Festival… Why did a hardcore businessman like MVP go into showbiz? “Why not?” replied Maynilad head Ricky Vargas… “MVP loves watching showbiz talk shows, pang-relax ba. He also likes watching movies, and producing a film like Rosario is a dream come true. It’s a world class Pinoy movie.”… I didn’t know that excising the thymus gland entailed open chest surgery until I got a text message from Abet Guidaben last Sunday at 3 a.m. According to the medical encyclopedia, the thymus is located in the chest beside the heart… SMS from Scoop president Eddie Alinea: Sportswriters, beware: “Last week it was Malaya sports editor Jimmy Cantor who was the victim of criminal elements. Today (Oct. 10) it was me who was the victim of holdup men. I fought back, but still I lost my necklace to them. Dugo nguso nung isa, yung dalawa may patalim pero tumakbo.”
