PBA referee Edward Aquino got hospitalized after sustaining injuries and is now being observed for swollen spine tissues and possible slipped disc after being inadvertently hit during a freak accident by Alaska Aces’ super rookie Calvin Abueva during the heated match of Alaska and Barako Bull last Sunday night.
The incident happened during the 2:48 marker of the 4th quarter when Calvin Abueva went after a loose ball following a broken fastbreak play. “The Beast” subsequently rushed out of bounds hoping to save the ball for Alaska but just accidentally crashed into referee Eduard Aquino instead. Aquino, to his surprise, was then held sandwiched between a raging Abueva and the hard steel end-line railing under the basket. A lot were surprised when a frustrated Abueva, not knowing that he hit the referee hard, plainly walked away and resumed play.
Aquino, on the other hand, not yet knowing the seriousness of his injury, simply smiled and continued his refereeing duties until the end of the match, the Alaska Aces winning over the Barako Bulls 85-81. He later complained of pains and was immediately brought to the hospital where he was found to have sustained swollen tissues on his spine and a possible slipped disc.
Calvin Abueva accidentally hits referee
On an interview with Spin.ph, Aquino shared on what he remembers during the incident, “Ang bilis ng pangyayari, kaya nung humampas ako dun sa bakal, hindi ko agad naramdaman `yung sakit kaya naka-ngiti pa ko,” recalled Aquino to Spin.ph in his hospital room.
“Hindi ko masabi kasi sa intense ng game, masasabi pa bang sinadya niya yun o gusto niyang gawin? Part ng trabaho yun eh.”
Aquino also said that he was quite surprised when the former San Sebastian standout and shoo-in Rookie of the Year winner simply walked away as if nothing happened, and did not even bother to check him out or just plainly apologize.
“Ang tagal ko nang nagre-referee pero ngayon lang ako nabangga nang iniwan ako nung player,” said the lanky game official. “Kadalasan kasi pag nabangga kami, o worse nadaganan, yung mga players magsasabi ng sorry o kaya tatapikin kami,” said Aquino.
However, after finding out the seriousness of the incident, Abueva immediately reached out to Aquino and apologized about the incident. He said that he really had no idea that the referee got hurt because he was so focused on the game.
“Wala akong kaalam-alam na nasaktan si referee Aquino,” said Abueva in a statement posted on Alaska Aces’ official website. “Hindi ko akalain talaga na nasaktan siya. Kaya inuulit ko ang paghingi ng pasensya sa akin. Masyado talaga ako focused sa laro Kay hindi agad ako nakahingi ng paumanhin.”
“Ang alam ko na-out–of–balance lang siya kaya natumba. Hindi ako nakahingi ng patawad dahil focused ako masyado sa game at dahil nga akala ko walang ano man ang nangyari. Kaya muli akong humihingi ng dispensa sa nangyari,” Abueva continued.
Abueva also tried to reach out personally to Aquino through PBA official Rhose Montreal via a text message.
