Because he made an “untimely decision” that somehow worked in the favor of La Salle in their Season 76 men's cage match against host Adamson last Wednesday, referee Francisco Olivar, Jr. has been handed a three-game suspension by UAAP commissioner Chito Loyzaga.
In an official memorandum addressed to Technical Committee head Levi Valenzuela and released Friday afternoon, Loyzaga stated Olivar “is a qualified and experienced referee who officiates both local and international games.
"Unfortunately, at the Adamson/De La Salle game, he made an untimely decision to call a foul in the last 15 seconds of the game. The call resulted in an advantage to La Salle, which eventually won the game,” added the former pro league player and a one-time PSC commissioner.
Loyzaga was specifically pointing to the crucial unsportsmanlike foul called by Olivar on Adamson forward Gian Abrigo, who was jockeying for position against La Salle forward Norbert Torres with 15.9 seconds left.
In that sequence, the Green Archers, who were protecting a 67-65 lead, were set to make an inbound play, with only four seconds left on their shot clock.
However, Olivar blew his whistle against the 6-foot-2 Abrigo, a call perceived by many as a “game-changer” that resulted in two free throws by the 6-foot-6 Torres, enabling La Salle to stretch its lead to four plus maintaining ball possession.
Echoing what Adamson coach Leo Austria had been griping about, Loyzaga also stressed the players, not the referees, should decide the outcome.
"One of the basic principles of the UAAP Board is to have the outcomes of all games decided by the players and not by the referees," Loyazaga said. "Taking this within the context of the ADU-DLSU game, maintaining the momentum of play in the last two minutes, sometimes achieved by refraining from having to call fouls, would increase the chances of having the players decide the outcome of the game," he said.
Loyzaga also took full responsibility for the incident, saying: “To Coach Leo Austria, the Adamson team and the Adamson community, please accept our sincerest apologies on this matter."
In a phone interview Thursday, Austria also claimed Adamson officials are seriously considering filing a letter of complaint, instead of a protest, while crying foul for the officiating in the thrilling match.
"For me, hindi magpo-prosper kung protest ang ihahain namin. But I think the referee made a mistake. ‘Yung bola nasa kamay pa ng referee habang nagpu-pwestuhan ‘yung dalawa (Abrigo and Torres). Hindi dapat tumawag ng foul kasi wala naman talagang foul,” he said.
"I think it was not great officiating. During the entire game, hindi talaga maganda ‘yung tawagan. There were so many non-calls," stressed the 55-year-old mentor.
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