Nash Racela talks about "perfectly officiated" Game 3

By Ivan Saldajeno

QUEZON CITY--TNT coach Nash Racela has been a critic of the way the referees officiate the PBA games, making him a frequent staple every time the league releases a list of those who got sanctions for their bad conducts the past week.

But in a rare event on Friday night after Game 3 of the PBA Governors' Cup semifinals between the KaTropa and Barangay Ginebra, Racela somehow lauded the umpires.

"Obviously, it was a perfectly officiated ballgame. The referees did their best in calling the game. I think all the calls were really nice. They made the right decisions. I don't really question that," Racela told reporters.

But if the number of free throws taken are to be considered, one may argue that Racela's words could be half-hearted.

Ginebra made 43 free throw attempts out of 30 TNT fouls compared to the latter's 14 charity tries on the former's 23 fouls.

Curiously, the Barangay's last two attempts almost spelled doom for them as Scottie Thompson botched the said charities that opened the possibility for KaTropa to force overtime.

Luckily for Ginebra, Glen Rice Jr. missed the buzzer-beating three-ball, and the team escaped with the 106-103 win.

[Related Story: Ginebra moves closer to finals rematch with Meralco with Game 3 squeaker over TNT]

However, Racela believes Rice's good look at the basket was something the Barangay did not see coming.

"A lot of people got scared because it almost went in. That wasn't according to their plan," Racela said on the shot, which somehow confirmed the sarcastic approach of his aforementioned statement.

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