Liam McMorrow calls Canada refs ‘awful’, loves PBA officiating

MANILA, Philippines – The referees of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) don’t often get commended by players and coaches, but the import of the Barako Bull Energy Cola is a fan of the league’s umpires. 

When asked to compare the officiating in the PBA and the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL), Liam McMorrow didn’t shy away from being critical of the latter. 

“I got fouled a lot, they just didn’t call a lot of them, yeah,” McMorrow said about his time in Canada, where he played for the Halifax Rainmen, “but the refs there aren’t FIBA-certified refs, so they’re very bad. The referee-ing in Canada is awful.” 

“I mean, that league will stay at the level it’s at until they get certified FIBA refs in there,” later added the 7-foot-2 import. “It’s going to stay the same. It’s like amateur basketball because of the refs.”

(READ: The new, fun, and improved Barako Bull Energy Cola)

McMorrow praised the referees of the PBA, who have a history of being criticized by players, coaches – particularly Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao – and fans of the league. 

“I love the refs here. I think they’re great,” he said. “I just gotta learn how to play with them because the guys are going to hold me all-game, so it’s like sometimes they call it, sometimes they don’t, so it’s just inconsistent. But I think overall, it’s pretty good referee-ing, though.”

McMorrow has been key to Barako Bull’s hot start in the Governors’ Cup where they’re currently tied with Alaska at the top of the league standings with identical 4-1 records. The big man is averaging 26.4 points and 22.6 rebounds a game, better than the 13.5-points and 7.7 rebounds a game averages he had in Canada.

‘Tough league to play in’

“It’s a very tough league to play in,” he said about the NBL. “The officiating is awful in Canada, it’s awful. They really need to change that. It’s something they really need to work on.” 

McMorrow received a $5,000 fine while his entire team received a total of a $90,000 fine after they decided not to play in Game 7 of the league finals against the Windsor Express.  

According to reports, a pre-game discussion about the balls that would be used in the game turned into a heated argument that eventually escalated into a physical altercation. According to McMorrow, he was hit with a chair by Windsor’s point guard. 

Halifax decided to forfeit Game 7 for fear of their safety. Their head coach, Josep Claros, was subsequently given a lifetime ban from coaching in the NBL, which condemned the franchise’s actions. 

Said McMorrow:

“I mean, you can tell just from the Game 7… we sent in some stuff to FIBA to say, ‘look what they’re doing, the refs did nothing, they eject a guy for one game and then he’s back the next game for obvious flagrant fouls, like trying to injure people.’” 

“They gotta fix that. I don’t think I ever want to play there again. Or I’m banned right now I think, too. I’m banned because of the Game 7 – because we never played Game 7. So they banned us, they fined us. It’s ridiculous, man, it’s ridiculous.” 

“I got hit with a chair,” the import explained. “Their head coach tackled me, I got hit with a chair by their point guard. It’s crazy. I still got the mark on my hand.”

McMorrow’s Energy Cola will be back in action on Sunday, May 31, when they take on the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.

– Rappler.com