Alapag livid over ‘really bad call’ but won’t blame refs for Alab loss

Alab head coach Jimmy Alapag. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Alab Pilipinas head coach Jimmy Alapag made it known that he wasn’t happy with the technical foul he got against Singapore in the ASEAN Basketball League but he insisted it wasn’t the call that cost them the match.

Alapag got called with the infraction with 1:52 left in the game after contesting a supposed non-call on Xavier Alexander’s travel a few seconds earlier.

READ: Alab Pilipinas falls to Singapore at home

Alexander, hearing no whistle blown, went for a mid-range jumper with 2:02 left in the game, barely beating the shot clock, which gave the Slingers an 84-76 lead.

“I’ll never blame the referees for a loss, but that was a bad call, a really bad call,” said Alapag Wednesday at Filoil Flying V Centre. “You know, the game was still in balance it was a six-point game, two minutes left and you made that call?”

“They even told me afterward it was our fault, but it was our fault we were down 10 because you gave me a technical and you count a shot that shouldn’t have counted.”

READ: ABL: Slingers’ Alexander insists no travel in crucial play

Alapag, though, said the technical foul and missed travel call weren’t just the factors that cost them the win and sent them to a 3-4 card.

“Singapore just came out and played a better game than we did,” said Alapag, whose team scored just 16 points in the fourth period. “They’re a quality team, it’s no secret why they’ve been to the finals the last two years.”