Fragile is the PBA bubble amid the pandemic

By Al S. Mendoza 

 

THE referees recently grabbed the spotlight in the PBA restart—in a rather negative way.

First, a referee has been sent home not by COVID-19 but by Commissioner Willie Marcial himself.

Second, another referee got himself sidelined when he caught the coronavirus inside the bubble.

As a result, almost the entire officiating army got quarantined.

Good thing there were eight whistle-blowers left to officiate the 12-team league at Clark Freeport in Angeles City, Pampanga.

They were deemed negative as they were not in close association with the rest who were next-door hotel neighbors of the infected referee.

But the good news is, as we go to press, the compromised referee emerged virus-free after three successive tests.

He will only have to complete the 14-day isolation period before he is given the green light to officiate again.

However, it is not immediately known whether or not the banished referee will be recalled.

For me, reinstatement is in order.

The referee erred, all right, but then, sending him home is too harsh a punishment.

We are all human and, thus, we are not perfect.  Only God is perfect that is why He is God.

Referee Sherwin Pineda blew his whistle when he should not.

With 1.6 seconds left, Rey Nambatac hit the floor after missing on a drive, the score tied at 68.

Pineda whistled Northport’s Paolo Taha for a foul, sending Nambatac to the free-throw line.

But repeated TV replays show Taha did not foul Nambatac.

All Taha did was raise his hands on the side of Nambatac, standing and not even grazing the tiniest of skin.

Clearly, the referee had misjudged Taha as having caused Nambatac’s fall. Actually, Nambatac committed a flop.

Deadly at the stripe, Nambatac easily made both charities to give Rain or Shine a 70-68 victory.

Northport’s coach Pido Jarencio could only fume, helpless as a kitten up a tree on his way to the dugout—his eyes on fire while fixed on the referee.

Was the referee on the take?  Meaning, he bet on Rain or Shine—thus his bum call on Northport?

In fairness, I don’t believe so.

This is just the elimination.  Except for positioning, not much are at stake.

If this were the championship, or even the semifinals maybe, you could think otherwise.

If Pineda erred or took the wrong turn, I give him the benefit of the doubt.

I think this was his first major mistake.

Did not the commissioner himself admit he was pained to sack Pineda “as I consider him one of our best referees?”

That is why I find Pineda’s punishment a bit too harsh.

And while his suspension is ego-shattering already, sending him home is counter-productive outright.

Thrown out the window are the painstaking efforts to ensure health protocols amid the pandemic so that every personnel cleared of the virus is as precious as the next.

So that instead of shooing Pineda away for good, a suspension, plus a fine maybe, would have more than sufficed if we look at the overall picture.

The PBA bubble is so fragile it could burst with just one misstep.

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments