MAPÚA Head Coach Atoy Co’s histrionics on the sidelines during their victory over Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) on Friday will cost them dearly in their quest for a playoff berth in Season 91 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) seniors’ basketball tournament.
During the fourth quarter of their 109-95 win over the Pirates, the 63-year-old Co, visibly disgusted at the perceived missed calls by the officials, removed and waved his shirt to the delight of the Mapúa gallery but merited a technical foul and his subsequent ejection.
Prior to Co’s ejection, guards Andretti Stevens and CJ Isit tried to draw fouls on the defensive end, but game officials whistled technical fouls for “faking a foul” during both situations.
As a result of his actions, Co will stand to serve an automatic one-game suspension for his ejection, which he will serve in their next game against College of Saint Benilde on Friday.
Despite being apologetic for his actions on the sidelines, Co maintained that he is still very much critical of the officiating done during their second-half collapse, where he alleged that the referees had a hand in helping LPU mount their comeback. “I’m very sorry that I did something stupid in the fourth quarter just to make a statement. I made a statement because there are so many calls that the referee is really making to decide the game. ‘Yung mga tawag sa amin na may foul, walang tawag. ‘Pag sa amin, may tawag naman,” Co said.
“Sa tagal kong naglalaro ng basketball, kailangan minsan mag-make ng statement. Alam ko mate-technical ako, pero ‘yung ginawa ko para magising naman ang mga referees na mali na ang ginagawa ninyo,” he added.
However, Co also noted that aside from the one-sided calls, his players also played lackadaisical by the end of the contest.
“We won the game, but I’m not happy because we looked stupid in the third and fourth quarters.