Bacolodnon center Reynel Hugnatan of Meralco Bolts denied he was the one who accused referees of game rigging in their 91-84 defeat to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in Game 3 of the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals on Sunday night.
Bacolod City-native Reynel Hugnatan of Meralco Bolts denies accusing referees of game rigging in their 91-84 defeat to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in Game 3 of the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals on Sunday. (PBA photo)
In an interview with Spin.ph, the Bacolod City-native center said he never uttered “Ref, lutong-luto ‘to ah” during the fourth quarter of the Kings-Bolts game after being tagged with a personal foul and technical foul for continuous complaining.
“Sure ako, hindi ako ang nagsabi ‘nun,” Hugnatan said. “Hindi ko na pinapansin mga ‘yan (bashers). Alam ko naman kung ano ang totoo. Kasi kapag pinansin mo pa ‘yan, baka ma-stress ka lang.”
“Sa akin, okay lang naman ‘yun. Alam ko ang totoo. Sila, nakita lang nila sa TV ‘yung nangyari. Hindi ko rin sila masisisi. Opinion nila ‘yun. Hindi ko hawak ang nasa isip at puso nila. Sa akin, okay lang ‘yun. Basta ako, alam ko ‘yung totoo,” he added.
The former Bacolod Slashers center cannot blame the fans watching at home and over the internet because he was the one shown on the screen moments after the words were heard.
“Nagkataon lang na ako ‘yung nandoon na parang nagrereklamo. Narinig nila siguro ‘yung salita na ‘yun tapos timig na ‘yung camera, nasa akin kaya lahat ng nanonood, akala nila ako ang nagsabi,” said Hugnatan.
“Hindi naman totoo. Walang problema sa akin ‘yun. Sa lahat ng nagsabi nun malalaman nila ang totoo,” he added. “Kapag nalaman nila na hindi pala ako ang nagsabi, wag kayo mag-alala, love ko pa rin kayo.”
Hugnatan and the Bolts are currently down 1-2 in the best-of-five semifinals series heading into Game 4 this afternoon at the AUF Sports Arena & Cultural Center in Pampanga./ASC, WDJ
