Black on aftermath of Newsome's last shot: "We'll just play by the rules"

Chris Newsome made a jumper with the game already settled to the ire of Coach Yeng Guiao. PBA Media Bureau
By Ivan Saldajeno

QUEZON CITY--With Meralco just 1.6 seconds away from formalizing a blowout win over NLEX on Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Chris Newsome still opted for a mid-range jumper that went in.

Coach Yeng Guiao, knowing that his team already lost, went mid-court to congratulate Coach Norman Black, but he later lashed out at Newsome for the said shot. Cooler heads quickly prevented the commotion from escalating.

Black then shared his sentiments on the now controversial jump shot, saying, "I don't really know what they want us to do about that. The rules are 'We play with the quotient.' We'll just play by the rules."

Due to the quotient rule, the teams are enticed to still give their all even if the winners have already been known.

"The rule says that you have to win by quotient if in case you end up in a tie, so we'll try to score as many points as we can," Black continued.

However, he reiterated that if the quotient rule is not in play, he would have told Newsome to not take the jumper.

"If they take that rule out, then we'll respect the game and not try to score in the endgame. Me as a coach, I'm not naive. I know that normally, if the game is over, the game is over. No more need of putting on the other team's face," Black further said.

He concluded, "Until the PBA changes the rules into something else and until they continue to keep this rule, then we'll just follow the rules."

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