Adamson University guard Matthew Montebon refused to dwell on the officiating after the Soaring Falcons suffered a narrow 67-69 defeat to the University of the Philippines in the UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament, insisting that players must focus on what they can control.
Montebon was involved in the final sequence of Wednesday’s game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, attempting a desperation three-pointer from three-fourths court after Adamson failed to secure possession following a late interception.
Asked whether he heard a whistle during the final play, Montebon said he was focused on recovering the ball and getting a shot off before time expired.
“I mean, I didn’t hear the whistle. I just knew there were a couple of seconds left. I saw the ball, so all my focus was on getting the ball and trying to throw up a shot just to give us a chance,” Montebon said.
The Adamson guard added that he had yet to review the sequence to determine exactly what happened, as no replay was shown to the team when he went to the sideline.
Montebon also admitted that he felt he had been fouled on several plays throughout the game but acknowledged that officiating decisions do not always go a team’s way.
“Yeah. I know it’s hard for the refs to call a foul toward the end of the game, but I think so. I felt that throughout a couple of plays during the game, I got fouled and the refs didn’t call it,” he said.
“But that’s how basketball goes sometimes. Sometimes the whistle goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t. Unfortunately, today, it didn’t go our way.”
Despite the frustration, Montebon stressed that he preferred to leave officiating concerns to Adamson’s coaching staff rather than allow them to distract the players.
“As a player, you try to control what you can control,” he said. “I just try to control what I can on the court.”
Montebon finished with 10 points as Adamson surrendered a 10-point advantage entering the fourth quarter and allowed UP to complete a comeback victory.
The loss dropped the Soaring Falcons to 3-3, leaving them looking to bounce back as they continue their UAAP Season 89 campaign. (Jesus Nathaniel Valdez)
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