SMB import Gillenwater ejected after bumping ref

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

ANTIPOLO — Troy Gillenwater’s shaky outing this 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup continued, this time hitting the showers early.

The San Miguel Beer import was ejected at the 2:29 mark of the second quarter for bumping an official.

Gillenwater was initially whistled for a foul on Rain or Shine import Reggie Johnson and was in disbelief for the call and that was when he bumped referee Rey Yante on his way back to the Beermen bench.

The San Miguel coaching staff argued that the bump was inadvertent, but PBA commissioner Willie Marcial clarified that hitting an official immediately merits a disqualifying foul, as per the PBA rulebook.

Gillenwater left the game with 11 points, theee rebounds, an assist, and a steal against two turnovers in his 14 minutes of play as San Miguel will have to play the remainder of the second half without Gillenwater.

Fortunately for the Beermen, their 40-point second quarter explosion allowed them to grab the 63-49 lead at halftime.

This won’t bode well for Gillenwater, who’s already in the hot seat following his pedestrian 19-point performance in San Miguel’s 85-93 defeat to Meralco last Wednesday, where he only had two points in the second half.

Fans have been clamoring for his replacement, either last season’s Best Import awardee Charles Rhodes or San Miguel Alab Pilipinas reinforcement and ex-Petron import Renaldo Balkman.