Ayo ‘pissed off’ by ref confusion, hints at unfair officiating of Mbala

MANILA, Philippines – DLSU Green Archers head coach Aldin Ayo was unhappy after the game with the UAAP referees officiating his team’s final contest of the Season 79 elimination round against the FEU Tamaraws on Saturday, November 12.

Prior to the second half of the heated and physical match-up, the game’s officiating crew talked to Ayo and FEU assistant coach Eric Gonzales at mid-court, and the DLSU play-caller was left confused by what one of the referees was trying to explain.

“Actually I was pissed off on that conversation we had in the middle of the court before the third quarter started,” said the first-year La Salle coach, whose team defeated the Tamaraws and claimed the top seed with a 13-1 record.

“One of the referees said, ‘Coach, pag hindi na namin kinaya, tatawagin na namin.’

(Coach, if we can’t take it anymore, we’re going to call it.)

“What does that mean?” questioned Ayo, who was also assessed a warning in the third quarter for continuous complaining.

“Ibig sabihin discretion na pag hindi namin kinaya? Ano yun? Pakiramdaman yung pag tawag, wala ba tayo rules dito nang basketball? 

(Does that mean we’ll just use discretion if you can’t take it anymore? What’s that? We’ll just go with what we feel? Don’t we have basketball rules to follow?)

Ayo was also especially unhappy with how the referees made calls on plays involving DLSU big man Ben Mbala. The Cameroonian center went to the foul stripe 10 times, but was visibly agitated during physical moments of the game and hit the ground numerous times.

“Pag dating duon sa ganon situation, sabi ko nga sa referee, ‘Patayin nalang nila si Ben eh.’ Patayin nalang,’” Ayo said.

(When it comes to those kind of situations, I told the referee, “Just kill Ben instead. Kill him.”)

Ayo explained his belief that since Mbala is stronger than most UAAP players, the referees require aggravated physicality on the La Salle big man before assessing a foul against the player defending him.

“Anong klaseng foul ang bibigay kay Ben? Malakas katawan nito, so ang gusto nila, kailangan malakas na foul, para tumawag nang foul. Kung mahina na player, bigyan mo nang mahina na foul, foul na rin.”

(What kind of fouls do they give Ben? His body is strong, so they want a strong foul before calling it. If the player is weak and he gets a weak foul, it’s called.)

The DLSU head coach wants to see more consistency with how the referees make their decisions.

“Pero ibig sabihin, uniform ba yun? Diba? Dapat uniform ang tawagan, regardless kung mahina or malakas ang player.”

(Is it uniform? Right? Calls should be uniform, regardless if the player is weak or strong.) – Rappler.com