Blackwater interim head coach Aris Dimaunahan apologized for his outburst late in the third quarter of the Elite’s 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup match with the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters on Friday evening, which led to his ejection.
Dimaunahan got kicked out with 33 seconds left in the third after being assessed with flagrant misconduct. He slammed the officials’ table following an apparent non-call on Elite import Alex Stepheson moments prior.
“I just wanna apologize for what I did earlier in the game. It was totally uncalled for. I lost it,” he said. “I apologized to our management, our players for doing that.
“I learned from it. Hopefully, it won’t happen again.”
Blackwater lost, 98-103, putting an end to their unbeaten run.
But as disappointing as his Friday night turned out, the 41-year-old bench strategist still expressed his appreciation towards his players for not simply rolling over when the Rob Dozier-reinforced Fuel Masters built a big lead.
From 19 down, the Elite came back roaring and managed to trim the deficit to just two, 98-100, when Mac Belo calmly sank his freebies – which came from the sixth and final foul of Calvin Abueva – with 11 seconds left to play.
Unfortunately, Lady Luck was not on their side, as Blackwater failed to execute a play that would’ve led to a good shot.
“Sobrang saya ko nung nakita ko after. It shows a lot of character of the team. They fought back from 19 down. They stuck together and played the hardest. I was watching sa isang room kanina, I thought we will pull it through,” he beamed.
“I want to thank the players for playing that way and our coaching staff also for doing a hell of a job when I was out,” Dimaunahan said.
“Nandoon sila for the team. We will just look at the positives.”
