PBA summons Bay Area players for comments on officiating after Game 3 loss

FILE – Bay Area Dragons in the PBA Finals. PBA PICTURES

MANILA, Philippines – PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial on Thursday called up Hayden Blankley and reserve import Myles Powell after taking shots at officiating after the Bay Area Dragons lost to Barangay Ginebra in Game 3 of the Commissioner’s Cup Finals.

Marcial confirmed the meeting with the two players, who expressed their displeasure on social media shortly after Bay Area squandered seven points in the final four minutes and lost 89-82 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Blankley had a since-deleted Instagram story calling for justice before concluding with a farewell picture.

“It’s got nothing but love for it [Philippines] and his people, but at this point, obviously, it’s just fair game,” said Blankley. “As the locals say – it’s ‘cooked.'”

Powell, meanwhile, showed the difference in free throws, which showed that Ginebra took 38 free throw attempts compared to only 10 for the visiting team from Hong Kong.

“Y’all said we shot 21 free throws in game 2 & y’all only shot 5 proves my point,” Powell tweeted.

“Something is not right, the refs are making the difference between a winner or not when it’s just a so-called fair game,” he said.

Coach Brian Goorjian, who was animated for most of the contest, was in no mood to show his frustration.

Goorjian declined to speak to reporters as he left the locker room, but he appeared upset with how the game went.

“I really don’t want you to hear what I have to say. You see the game. Done…. it’s for everyone to see,” said Goorjian, who received a technical foul before the start of the fourth quarter.

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