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MANILA, Philippines – NLEX just could not catch a break.
Road Warriors head coach Yeng Guiao lamented the missed calls as they crashed out of the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals after a 112-106 overtime loss to Magnolia on Sunday, July 31.
“We lost on the breaks. We feel that it could have gone either way, we just lost on the breaks,” said Guiao in a mix of Filipino and English.
“The usual theme in the series is we could not get the calls from the refs. We feel there were plenty of missed calls that should have been in our favor.”
NLEX had plenty of chances to secure the win in regulation, with Calvin Oftana going 1-of-2 at the line to give the Road Warriors a 97-94 lead with a minute left in the fourth quarter.
That split, though, proved costly as the Hotshots knotted the score off a clutch corner three-pointer from Paul Lee.
Oftana then turned the ball over in the next possession as Magnolia forged an extra period, where it jumped to an 11-3 start en route to clinching a semifinal berth.
But Guiao refused to pin the blame on Oftana, who finished with a game-high 32 points on top of 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in 42 minutes – the longest he played in the entire tournament.
“I could not ask anything more from Calvin. He played extended minutes, he was the top scorer of the game, he made big shots, he played both ends,” Guiao said.
“Maybe he just got tired in the end.”
Guiao added the Hotshots were simply lucky.
“The win was probably meant for them. They’re not just lucky, the referees also did not want to give us calls. It is what it is,” Guiao said.
Despite the early playoff exit, Guiao lauded his wards for making life difficult for the Hotshots, who he believes has a shot at winning the All-Filipino championship.
“I’m proud of our effort, we pushed them all the way,” Guiao said.
“This makes us a better team. I feel this will go a long way in our development, being a tougher team, being a team that can match up against the top teams.” – Rappler.com
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