ONE player stood up for PBA referees at a time when suspensions are being meted at them one after the other.

Meralco guard Chris Ross said officiating a game of basketball game is one of the toughest jobs and that players – and coaches too - should sometimes not be too hard on the men in stripes.

“The job of officiating is a tough job. It’s not easy. You can’t fault the referee for missing calls,” said Ross in the aftermath of the Bolts’ dramatic 89-88 win over the Air21 Express on Wednesday night in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

The match was without controversy.

For failing to call a foul on Ross as he tried to run after Air21’s Mike Cortez in the final 10 seconds of the match, referee Peter Balao was slapped a 10-day suspension without pay by the PBA, becoming the latest game official to be banned by the league.

The sequence led to Ross stealing the ball away from Cortez, who fell to the floor, and preserved the Bolts’ one-point lead in the end.

Unknown to many, Ross himself was also at the receiving end of a foul that wasn’t called during the same play as a wayward Cortez elbow caught him in his eyebrow.

“When I came towards Mike, I think he didn’t see me coming and that was when his elbow hit me because he didn’t have control. But by then, there was a cut right in my eyebrow,” Ross recalled to Spin.ph

“It was only when the game was finished and Paul Artadi came to hug me when he told me that I was bleeding.”

But the 6-foot-1 guard who’s turning 28 on Friday, said he didn’t mind Cortez not being called for a foul, and vice versa.

“I was just trying to win the game. And the way I play, if there’s no whistle … you can say it’s a good call here, or a bad call there,” said Ross, whose nasty cut required six stitches to close at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan.

Then again, Ross said people should realize officiating is a thankless job.

“There have been games this conference when we’re on the other side (of the bad calls). And you kind of want the players to decide the game,” he said.

“For these referees, they just have to keep watching films and get better and be able to perfect your craft. That’s just like what players do.”

Source: Richard Dy, InterAKTV

finally! someone wise enough to know how hard it is to officiate and has balls to speak up. kudos, buddy! you just won yourself another hard-to-please fan.

^then again, they were on the winning side, so it kinda invalidates his plea..

Ryanimay wrote:^then again, they were on the winning side, so it kinda invalidates his plea..

i wouldn't be so sure about that since this is not the first time a ref was suspended for missing some calls. and just because he spoke after their game doesn't mean that it's only then he came up with the thought.

i have been saying that these refs need some break. we do have the benefit of instant slow motion replays. THEY DON'T. we have the benefit of multiple angle view of what happened (thanks to the media). THEY DON'T.

i dunno what's hard to understand about how hard their job is. it is also their misfortune that coaches and fans alike think that these refs see the game through what the camera has caught.

oh well...

"Then again, Ross said people should realize officiating is a thankless job."

Well said, Mr. Ross! We need more of people like you...

Nice one Ross..
I hope, next time, someone from a defeated team, will be able to say it too.

feroza wrote:

Ryanimay wrote:^then again, they were on the winning side, so it kinda invalidates his plea..

i wouldn't be so sure about that since this is not the first time a ref was suspended for missing some calls. and just because he spoke after their game doesn't mean that it's only then he came up with the thought.

i have been saying that these refs need some break. we do have the benefit of instant slow motion replays. THEY DON'T. we have the benefit of multiple angle view of what happened (thanks to the media). THEY DON'T.

i dunno what's hard to understand about how hard their job is. it is also their misfortune that coaches and fans alike think that these refs see the game through what the camera has caught.

oh well...

yeah, i got you..

but the thing is, i have yet to see anyone from the losing team speak out and say what Chris just said.. it's pretty awkward on his part seeing as they're not the ones who got the short end of the stick..

but the suspensions have got to stop though, it's not good for anyone in the league, the teams, the officials, and specially the fans..

Ryanimay wrote:
but the suspensions have got to stop though, it's not good for anyone in the league, the teams, the officials, and specially the fans..

this one we can agree on, at the very least. yes, PBA need to toughen it up against the teams. one team will always get the raw end of the deal and if PBA would suspend refs each time a team whines, they'll run out of refs faster than they can train. ^_^

i saw ross' tweeter account,and he said 'the referees must not decide the game's outcome,but the players...'
he tweeted this right after their game against petron,where the refs called a controversial foul against ross'team which rewarded lassiter couple of freeshots..
...oh wow,and now he's saying all this in this article...hehe(hypocricy?)

also,he should've told his coach first about what he's saying on this article,cutting-refs-some-slack...remember,RG's complain(with ross'tweet follow-up) led to a ref's suspension,aswell...
that's all..hehe

Ang hindi ko lang talaga maintindihan, bakit hirap ang mga refs makita yung fouls on crucial stages of the game? Hindi naman siguro sila isususpinde ni kume kung walang basis. Isa pa, most of the calls na nirereklamo leading to suspensions eh hindi naman mahirap makita. Etong play na'to involving Cortez and Ross, nasa middle of the court naman sila, at walang full court press yung Meralco, pero bakit hindi nakita nung referee? Nagkakaintindihan ba ang mga refs at ang commissioner's office sa mga rules?

This issue is beyond the point of argument na "tao lang ang mga refs" or "officiating is a thankless job". It's their job at normal lang naman siguro na gawin nila ang trabaho nila ng tama.

i highly doubt that Chris would be singing the same tune had they lost the game.

eneshi29 wrote:i highly doubt that Chris would be singing the same tune had they lost the game.

i couldn't agree more....

kung natawag ng foul yun (ross on cortez), baka umiyak uli ang meralco kay kume

siya lang naman ang tumayo at ipinakita ang suporta sa mga referees kaya deserve pa rin niya ang respeto. bakit iyong ibang players, nung nanalo ba mga teams nila, sinabi ba nila iyan?? hhehe

bigmatch wrote:siya lang naman ang tumayo at ipinakita ang suporta sa mga referees kaya deserve pa rin niya ang respeto. bakit iyong ibang players, nung nanalo ba mga teams nila, sinabi ba nila iyan?? hhehe

true. pero napaka convinient naman na sya yung beneficiary nung non-call.

simple lang, alam talaga ni Ross na foul yun or may mga non calls during the final minute of the game kaya nakisimpatiya siya sa suspensiyon ng referee...dahil kung tinawagan yun ng ref alam ko siya rin maging vocal sa mga pangyayari...in short parang nawawala ang mga referee at nahihirapan sa pag officiate lalo na sa final minute of the game...lalo na dikit ang laban nako kawawa ang mga ref...