NLEX coach Yeng Guiao blasted the referees once more after what he called 'bad officiating' in the fourth quarter of the Road Warriors' 87-85 win over Phoenix in the PBA Commissioner's Cup on Friday.
Guiao was ejected with 42.9 seconds left in the game after getting slapped with two technical fouls for directing profane language at officials. He thought some bad calls down the stretch nearly cost them the game.
"It's a good thing we won our last game. At least we'll be able to bring home a win. We survived a badly-officiated game. Good thing we survived it," a visibly frustrated Guiao said after the game. "I don't think the officiating was up to par to the effort that both teams put into this game."
NLEX led by as many as 20 in the game before the Fuel Masters roared back to life in the fourth, nearly stealing the win a couple of times in the final minute. Fortunately, the Road Warriors managed to drain some crucial free throws while coming up with important stops on the defensive end to go home with the win.
"It's just frustrating because the calls... they mean a lot to the teams. But for the referees, it's nothing to them. They don't feel what we feel. I think there's a problem with that. They don't experience what we feel. That's where my frustration comes from," he continued.
Aside from putting a dent on Phoenix's playoff hopes late in the Commissioner's Cup, Guiao and the Road Warriors see this win as a positive send-off into an early break as they focus on integrating key pieces back into their lineup.
NLEX finished this conference with a 3-8 card.
"We'll take the win however it is. We'll start preparing for the next conference. We'll have a short break but after that, we'll start working on our preparations," Guiao said.
"It's really just trying to blend in Kiefer (Ravena) again and Kevin (Alas), hopefully, can come in mid-conference (Governors' Cup)," he added. "We also took into consideration that it's better to start early because I'll be missing some practice days with my team because we'll be in China [for the FIBA World Cup]."