Adamson Lady Falcons’ coach laments ‘controversial’ officiating

Beatrice Go

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Adamson Lady Falcons’ coach laments ‘controversial’ officiating
Head coach Air Padda says the referees' calls were crucial in how certain matches would have turned out

MANILA, Philippines – Victory for the Adamson Lady Falcons never tasted as sweet as this, after they defeated the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors on Sunday, March 18.

After stunning reigning champions De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Spikers with a 4-set victory, Adamson went downhill as they experienced back-to-back 5-set losses against UE and the University of the Philippines (UP) Lady Maroons.

Within the week’s break, starting outside hitter Chiara Permentilla sprained her right ankle, forcing her to sit out Sunday’s game. It’s still unsure if Permentilla will be available by their next game against the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs.

“She just started walking, and her ankle is still, it’s really swollen. So even though her pain tolerance isn’t at a 9 or a 10 anymore, it’s the flexibility of her foot, because of the swelling,” said Adamson head coach Air Padda.

Despite the victory without Permentilla’s services, Padda believes that their win could have come sooner if it weren’t for “bad” calls during the 5th set.

As the Lady Falcons led 12-11 in the match, Adamson middle blocker Lea Ann Perez capitalized on Lai Bendong’s oversetting. The Lady Falcons celebrated for “winning the point,” but the referees didn’t award it to the Lady Falcons just yet because Judith Abil enforced a “pancake save.” Me-an Mendrez then committed an attack error at that moment that saw Adamson go up by two, 13-11.

For Padda, the call was controversial because it was not supposed to be a “pancake save” for UE as the ball already landed on the court. If UE won the point in that sequence, the score would have been even at 12-all. 

There was no pancake. Clearly, the ball was down. She wasn’t even close to getting a pancake. How do you call that a pancake?” said Padda.

The coach recalled that in Adamson’s previous game against UP, there were also “controversial” calls made in the 5th set.

“I do believe we lost the 5th set to UP because of the refs. I do believe there [were] two controversial calls, that you can’t make those calls in the 5th set. You need to be perfect as a ref,” said Padda.

With all the setbacks Adamson has experienced, Padda is proud that team captain Jema Galanza stepped up to lead her team as she exploded with 22 points off 17 spikes, 3 aces, and two blocks while making 22 excellent digs and 11 excellent receptions. 

“[Since] we’ve been experiencing the tough times we’ve been going through, coming off two game losses and then Chiara going down, I needed her to be good today, I needed her to be a leader, and I know sometimes it’s hard for her, but today I thought she did good,” said Padda. 

“She’s one of the reasons we pulled the win off,” the coach added.

The pressure is heavier on Adamson to stay in contention for the Final 4 as they will be facing first round leader NU on Wednesday, March 21, at the Filoil Flying V Centre. – Rappler.com

 

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Beatrice Go

More commonly known as Bee, Beatrice Go is a multimedia sports reporter for Rappler, who covers Philippine sports governance, national teams, football, and the UAAP. Stay tuned for her news and features on Philippine sports and videos like the Rappler Athlete’s Corner and Rappler Sports Timeout.