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| Luka Doncic voiced out his frustrations about the officiating of Slovenia's quarterfinal against Canada. Kennelf Monteza |
PASAY--Luka Doncic has been known for voicing out on the referees whenever he ends up on the short stick of a call or non-call, leading to technical fouls.
Even in the ongoing FIBA World Cup, Doncic let his frustrations get the best of him in the officiating.
With 6:37 remaining in the game and Canada already pulling away, Doncic was called for his second technical foul after complaining for a no-call during a rebounding sequence with Lu Dort.
While Slovenia tried to mount a comeback after Doncic's ejection, but the absence of their leader was just too much as Canada prevailed in their quarterfinal battle at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday night.
Doncic declined to grace an interview with reporters during the mixed zone session, but he eventually decided to join the main post-game press conference.
And that was where Doncic voiced out his frustrations about how the referees, namely Roberto Vasquez, Manuel Mazzoni, and Gatis Salins, officiated the game.
Doncic particularly recalled one moment in the game where he heard the referees explaining to his teammate why he did not call a foul against Dillon Brooks.
"The referees told one of the guys they're not gonna call a foul on him because he's coming at us. I think this is not fair," Doncic said.
He then wondered why the referees did not call fouls during the times he thought Canada's defense smothered him a bit too much.
"They've been playing very physical with me, but if you say that, it's not fair," Doncic continued.
Moments after he was thrown out, the majority of the 11,710 fans at the MOA Arena, who came there to see Doncic in action, voiced out their frustrations as well by shouting "Refs, you suck!"
Luka went viral on X not just for his offensive brilliance but also due to his fans also complaining about the calls and non-calls in question that led to his ejection.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
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