Jackson Corpuz will likely receive a summons from the PBA for his foul on Troy Rosario in the heated Game Three of the 2021 Philippine Cup Finals last night.
The Magnolia forward will have a chance to explain his side before league officials later today regarding the scary incident during the third quarter. In it, he tried to stop his TNT counterpart on the break only for the latter to fall badly.
“Kakausapin siya ng technical committee natin,” Commissioner Willie Marcial told Tiebreaker Times, Monday afternoon.
Corpuz has drawn flak online for that hard foul on Rosario, which took place at the 3:02-mark of the aforementioned period. The 6-foot-7 big man suffered a dislocated left pinky. He was never able to return to the game.
The second-year Hotshot, for his part, was assessed with a flagrant one. But he then left the match for incurring a technical foul earlier.
Magnolia eventually won, 106-98, to avoid falling to a 0-3 hole. But the match has received much criticism online due to the physical encounters, officiating, and an alleged spitting incident per one of the Tropang Giga’s key guys.
TNT team owner Manny V. Pangilinan himself felt extremely disappointed with how the referees called the game. He took to Twitter just moments after the tiff, saying that it was the “worst officiating by far tonight I’ve seen.”
Not long after, center Poy Erram went to social media as well and alleged that some of their opponents had tried ‘hurting on purpose,’ and that even one player from Magnolia, whom he didn’t identify, spat on his face.
All that will be under review, according to Marcial, as what his technical committee usually does a day after every gameday.
“Every game day naman, kinabukasan, nirereview ng mga technical group,” said the fourth-year league chief.
With the game coming under scrutiny, it remains unknown if officials will reprimand one of the referees who worked in Game Three – particularly the one who whistled against Brian Heruela which fans online have found fault with.
The stocky guard was called for a shooting foul on Paul Lee with three minutes left in the second quarter, sending the Hotshots star to the line for three free throws. Replays, though, showed that Heruela stood far from him.
