MANILA, Philippines – Yeng Guiao lamented a bunch of turnovers coupled with “bad officiating” led to another NLEX loss as the Road Warriors remained winless in 3 games in the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup.

NLEX committed 26 turnovers en route to a sorry 80-85 loss to TNT, which on the other hand barged into the winning column after back-to-back defeats, on Wednesday, January 23. 

“Last game we had 23 turnovers, and it’s hard enough to win with 23 turnovers. Tonight we had 26. The game was still close despite that and bad officiating,” Guiao told reporters. 

“It’s hard to survive 26 turnovers and bad officiating at the same time.”

A frustrated Guiao reached a breaking point with 4:22 minutes left in the 3rd quarter as he got thrown out of the court for incurring two technical fouls. 

Trailing by as much 14 points, NLEX managed to get within shouting distance late in the 4th period only to fall short against a determined KaTropa side. 

According to the 59-year-old mentor, the lapses in officiating have been a recurring theme since their five-point loss to NorthPort on January 20. 

“They’re missing the obvious. I cannot understand that. There is something wrong with that. There’s a problem with that. I’m just frustrated,” Guiao said in a mix of Filipino and English. 

He was referring to what he deems as a faulty call when the Road Warriors’ Poy Erram was called for his fifth foul despite getting his hands clipped by the Batang Pier’s Mo Tautuaa in their last game. 

Guiao also said that Kevin Alas and JR Quiñahan were not awarded free throws when they were apparently fouled against TNT during their respective shot attempts. 

“We’re already struggling, masama pa officiating (and the officiating is bad), you’ll really get frustrated about it.”

Guiao, though, says hope is not lost for the Road Warriors.

“Ang feeling ko rito kapag nakakuha kami ng momentum, we’ll be okay. Maka-dalawa o tatlong laro kami, get to the 50 percent winning percentage, then kakayurin mo na lang ‘yan.”

(I feel that if we gain momentum, we’ll be okay. If we can win two or 3 games, get to 50% winning percentage, then we’ll just have to grind it out from there.) 

NLEX looks to avoid slumping to a 0-4 start when it clashes with Columbian at the Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, January 27. – Rappler.com