Alaska head coach Jeff Cariaso did not conceal his frustration with Topex Robinson’s decision to call for a timeout late in their PBA Governors’ Cup duel with Phoenix Super LPG on Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“Coming from the Alaska culture, I expect more class from Coach Topex,” he wrote in a text message to Tiebreaker Times moments after the 99-104 defeat.
Robinson played for Alaska from 2010-11 before becoming an assistant coach there from 2012-17.
Cariaso and Robinson were also teammates in 2010 as they were part of the Tim Cone-coached Aces that won the Fiesta Cup.
Cariso though did not let Robinson off the hook in this one, saying that it was ‘unnecessary and disrespectful’ since the game was all but settled, with the Fuel Masters up five with 3.5 seconds left.
Robinson explained that he simply did so as he wanted to safely inbound the ball — they would’ve inbounded from the other side if he did not call for time.
But then again, Cariaso wasn’t a fan of that idea. And he showed how disappointed he was when he did not shake the hand of his former teammate after the game, and instead went straight into the dugout.
“Up five with three seconds left and you call a timeout. For me, it’s unnecessary and disrespectful,” expressed the 49-year-old.
“If only I had one more timeout, I would have given it to them.”
Robinson had also said that his timeout was even a show of respect to Alaska, since he knows its capability to come back and win.
Cariaso, for his part, congratulated the Fuel Masters, who went back to .500 with the win to keep their quarterfinal hopes beating.
“Nonetheless, congratulations to him and the team. Good luck moving forward.”
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