"The Walkout": PBA team can learn a thing or two from Pacquiao regarding sportsmanship

For the record, "walkouts" in sports are not exclusive to the PBA, basketball nor the Philippines. For example, back in 1991 in game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, the Detroit Pistons led by Isiah Thomas, walked-out the court with still a few seconds left on the clock after being swept by the Michael Jordan led Chicago Bulls.

It was a classless act orchestrated by a team that prior to that season, was repeatedly dominating a young up-and-coming squad through their physical play.

One Joe Dumars did not participate in the walkout though. He did not understand the concept behind it, and did not allow himself to be sucked into such childish display of unsportsmanlike conduct.

Dumars stayed on the bench as his teammates followed Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer walk past the Chicago Bulls bench without offering any congratulations or acknowledgment while the game was still being played.

One word:

CLASSLESS.

So when the PBA's Talk-N-Text Tropang Texters walked-out in game 4 of the quarter finals of the All-Filipino conference last week against Ginebra, the only emotion that overcame me was disgust. I have only recently started following the PBA again after moving to the US eight years ago and I can't help but feel disappointed at how little progress the league seems to have achieved. Yes, you still have a lot of great talents, but I'm afraid the coaching, science and intellect behind it are still lightyears away and have also been left behind by a lot of countries that used to just look up to the second oldest pro basketball league in the world.

And how can you convince me not to think that way when you see a team walk out in the first quarter of a game? I repeat, THE FIRST QUARTER! As in most cases, the topic of the complaint was geared toward the game's officiating. TNT head coach Chot Reyes felt that the referees weren't calling enough fouls for his team and took offense when his player was hit with a "flagrant 2" foul after hitting a driving opponent with an elbow to his face. Under PBA rules, any contact above the shoulder warrants a "flagrant 2" call.

Regardless whether the call was justifiable or not, referees are human beings and have the task of making an arbitrary decision on the spot as action takes place.

Am I saying referees are not biased? No. Like I said, they are human beings as well and if an NBA ref like Phil Donaghy manipulated games for the mob,then anything is possible.

Am I saying PBA refs cheat? No. All I'm saying is that it's possible. Without proof however, your guess is as good as mine and the subject here is sportsmanship. You did not see any NBA team walkout on those Donaghy officiated games now did you?

Here's video of the Talk-N-Text walkout:

Honestly that call could've gone either way. I don't think that was a blatant enough foul to accuse the defender of maliciously hurting the driving Ginebra player but at the end of the day, the call was within the rules as well.

Did Talk-N-Text really have to walk out? Do babies really have to cry when they want to be breastfed?

There are a thousand ways to protest and voice out your displeasure against officiating or anything in general. Injustices are prevalent in the world, but let me ask you this: What about those fans who paid to see that game? What about that father who took out a couple of hundred pesos from his hard-earned money to take his son or his family to watch a game of exciting, spirited basketball? Did they deserve to be jiffed like that?

Take for example Manny Pacquiao. What if Pacquiao walked-out during his first fight against Barrera at San Antonio (Barrera's homecourt) wherein the referee called his first round slip a knockdown? Pacquiao could've quit like Talk-N-Text did and cry about the officiating favoring Barrera in his home turf. If he did, then we would never have had the greatest sports icon in our history.

Pacquiao loves basketball (AP Photo)

Pacquiao was also being hit with cheap shots left and right by Agapito Sanchez in San Francisco back in 2001. The referee did a poor job in stopping the low blows and the head butts Sanchez was administering on Pacquiao, but did Pacquiao quit? No.

I'll tell you what, personally I felt like I was done wrong last November when I wasn't credentialed for Pacquiao-Cotto while two other writers here at the Examiner did. I said a couple of things about it on my personal Facebook account because I was extremely disappointed by it but it did not stop me from covering the fight. Yea, I complained about it and I had my reasons. After all, I've been the number one page views getter on sports in this website and I felt that with my coverage of Pacquiao, that I deserved those credentials more than someone who was getting less than half of the page views I was getting. I wasn't mad at my peers who got the gig, but yea, every single thing ran through my mind like the color of my skin, favoritism, politics etc. etc. but one thing that didn't was quitting.

I was able to cover the event with the help of other friends in the media and in boxing. Needless to say, I was in there looking all official despite not being given a whistle. And that's all I'm trying to say. Yea, we all feel like we're being screwed at times and that there's people sabotaging us. That may be true, but that's life. You don't quit.

That's why it's hard to be on top. It's all part of the obstacles. Quitters never win man, and haters will hate because that's all that they know and people will conspire against you everywhere you go. That's why you have to be bigger, stronger and better than that. But if you can't stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen. Well... I guess that's why Talk-N-Text walked-out in the first place.

You quit; you lose!

Ginebra coach Jong Uichico on Talk-N-Text's walkout (source:Gmanews.tv):

"Am I happy with the win? Of course I am. Para kang pumunta sa giyera na hindi na kailangan bumaril dahil surrender agad yung kalaban mo, (It's like going to war without having to shoot your gun because your opponent already surrendered) " said Uichico.

Dennis "D Source" Guillermo is a freelance sportswriter. You can contact him through e-mail at hoodartz@yahoo.com. 
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