MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner Chito Salud claimed the league's integrity remains intact despite the recent axing of 3 referees who were part of the 12-man pool in the Philippine Cup semifinal series. “All the games so far this season have been won on the merits, and our referees have been and will continue to be a non-factor in deciding the outcome of the games,” he said in a PBA.ph report.
Salud identified the 3 officials as Dennis Barbacena, Ronald Mauricio and Ariel Bermeo. He said the sacked referees were removed for various reasons involving different games.
The commissioner stressed the 3 referees were not found guilty of making game-altering calls, but were instead evaluated for their performance in terms of knowledge and judicious discretion.
“The Office of the Commissioner deemed that the 3 refs committed serious repeated lapses in judgment in different games they officiated during the playoffs," Salud said.
“And after a thorough review of their performance, the technical committee decided that the three game officials will no longer be part of the pool of refs that will officiate in the Finals,” he added.
However, Salud clarified the 3 officials– except for Bermeo– are not the same ones who had officiated Game 4 between B-Meg Derby Ace and Talk N’ Text last Sunday, contrary to an earlier report.
Earlier, the PBA chief said he assembled the 12-man pool “to ensure that only the most proficient of the league will be officiating until the championship series.”
Meanwhile, the 2 other referees who officiated the Derby Ace-TnT game last Sunday, namely Peter Balao and Noy Guevarra, remain part of the pool.
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