There was no love lost between Colegio de San Juan de Letran and Mapua University during their first-round clash in the NCAA Season 98 Seniors Basketball Tournament – their first meeting since the Season 97 Finals.
Already physical in the first 35 minutes of the game, it hit a pitch midway through the final frame.
Right at the 5:39 mark in the fourth and the Knights up 57-50, both Brent Paraiso and Adrian Nocum were fighting for the loose ball. Paraiso then accidentally dropped his elbow at the back of Nocum’s head.
Referees called no foul, and play continued.
Fran Yu missed a long ball before Paolo Hernandez fouled a cutting Paraiso to the basket.
The referees then proceeded to review the foul on the final play.
Hernandez was called for a foul while Paraiso absorbed a huge one. He found himself called for a disqualifying foul for an “act of violence”, which threw him out of the game.
Despite losing Brent Paraiso and, later on, Louie Sangalang due to two technical fouls, the Knights were still able to hack out a 67-62 win.
Still, Knights head coach Bonnie Tan felt perplexed with how referees assessed the DQ foul on Paraiso.
“Malungkot kasi loose ball e. Walang clear ball possession, and may tawag na sa ano [foul]. Pwede pala ireview yung mga ganyan so kailangan ko pagaralan yung ganung klaseng calls,” said the two-time NCAA champion coach.
“Coach, tayo pero syempre may mga organizers and commissioner. Di ko lang alam kung pwede ireview tyung mga ganyan na foul ano. Alam ko kapag ganyan syempre… Di ko sure,” he continued.
“Baka tama sila, pero we just follow kung ano yung decision nila.”
Tan admitted that he felt surprised at the foul call since two possession already happened after that play.
Aside from that, the official’s review should have been on the Hernandez foul on Paraiso.
When asked about the ejection, Paraiso could not help but scratch his head.
“NCAA’ to e, wala naman tayo magagawa e. May sarili silang rules eh,” said the 24-year-old shooting guard out of La Salle, who wound up with five points, six rebounds, three assists, and a steal in 22 minutes of play.
“Pano ako babagsak, di ba? Ganun talaga tawag ng referee, di na natin mababago yung mga ganon,” he wondered.
“Di ko alam kung anong planeta ba tawag nung may ganon e. Sa NBA wala naman ganon e pati sa PBA.”
Suspensions loom for both Paraiso and Sangalang, which they will serve when Letran takes on San Beda on Friday.
