PBA suspends refs involved in controversial Ginebra-GlobalPort game

The PBA has suspended referees Rommel Gruta and Edward Aquino after a review showed that the two officials missed calls during Sunday's matchup between GlobalPort and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.

The two referees have been banned by the league's technical committee for the rest of the Philippine Cup, whose semifinals begin next week.

The Batang Pier won Sunday's game after time ran out against the Gin Kings in the final possession. But officials of Ginebra complained that violations should have been called against GlobalPort in the final possession.

While the Gin Kings did not put the result under protest, the PBA reviewed the sequence and found the two referees liable.

"In the deliberation with the technical committee, it was determined that two (2) violations were not called. One was the 5-second ball hogging violation which was the responsibility of referee Rommel Gruta," the league said in a statement.

"The second infraction was the backing violation of GlobalPort’s Stanley Pringle, whose responsibility was that of referee Edward Aquino’s," it added.

"As a result of these two non-calls, Barangay Ginebra was denied final ball possession." —JST, GMA News