Coach Nenad Vucinic was ejected in the fourth quarter of Game 3 vs. Ginebra in the PBA Commissioner's Cup quarterfinals after arguing an offensive foul. The Bolts challenged the call and won.
Following an incredible breakthrough to win their first PBA championship in last season’s Philippine Cup, a ghost from many playoffs past has come to once again haunt the Meralco Bolts.
After making their claim as the top All-Filipino unit in the PBA, the Bolts’ next two quests for a title have ended in familiar, but still uncomfortable fashion: a playoff loss to longtime nemesis Brgy. Ginebra.
The latest was a tough Game 3 loss to the Gin Kings in the quarterfinals of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup, which increased GInebra’s all-time playoff lead to Meralco to 7-3.
For the Bolts, the elimination was marked by the late ejection of active consultant Nenad Vucinic.
[Related: ‘Playoff Justin’ shines as Ginebra scrapes past Meralco to earn semis berth]
Vucinic was tossed after he ferociously argued an offensive foul call with 5:41 left in regulation and received a second technical. However, Meralco challenged the foul and won.
But the damage was done as Ginebra made the technical free throw and then got a stop.
“I just feel like it’s bad luck that he [Vucinic] got thrown out on a call that was reversed. He got thrown out because he had a point, that was the wrong call,” Meralco star Chris Newsome said on the critical sequence that went against their way in a close game.
“We challenged it, and even though he had a point and he was right, that technical got him thrown out. He doesn’t even have the chance to come back. It’s one of those things that it sucks to be on the receiving end of that,” he added.
(Coach Nenad Vucinic received a technical foul after aggressively arguing a Meralco offensive foul in the fourth quarter of their Game 3 loss vs. Ginebra. The Bolts challenged the foul and won)
Despite the tough development, Newsome asserts that their team is fully behind Vucinic.
Coach Nenad’s outburst might have added to Meralco’s woes in Game 3, but that moment shows he’s willing to fight for the team, as far as Newsome is concerned.
“I got respect for it because he’s fighting for us. That shows that he’s fighting for us and he cares, he cares for the team that he’s coaching,” he said.
“He’s just as passionate as anyone else. There’s nothing wrong with your coach getting fired up, you see that on the other side as well coach Tim [Cone] will go out there and fight for his players. That’s part of the game,” Newsome added.
“I got nothing but respect for coach Nenad, he’s done amazing things for us. He demands the best from all of us, and I think Ginebra respects that as well.”
(With reports from Gillian Trinidad/One Sports)