It added tension to what was already an intense game.
The San Miguel Beermen and import Ivan Aska seemed to be a good fit. Together, they amassed a 5-3 card, good for fourth place in the standings of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
But SMB has decided to part ways with Aska, with original import Bennie Boatwright now ready to suit up.
Aska though made sure to leave a lasting impression, leading the Beermen over the TNT Tropang Giga on Sunday with 25 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
His strong showing, however, was also marred by a little incident.
With less than eight minutes left in the game, with the score tied at 78, the 6-foot-8 tweener appeared to be out of sync with guard Terrence Romeo. Looking to drive from the left wing, Aska took a hard dribble, TR7 then cut in front of him for a supposed hand-off. Instead, they turned the ball over, resulting to an easy Richard Holis-Jefferson layup on the other end.
The blunder had Romeo and Aska barking at each other. Still, cooler heads prevailed and the Beermen were able to hack out the 98-93 victory.
After the game, the dynamic guard and the reliable import explained what went wrong and how they were able to quickly patch it up.
“Nakita ko, four seconds sa shot clock, papunta ko sa kanya and then, pinakita niya sa’kin ‘yung bola. So, akala ko handoff sa’kin,” Romeo told reporters. “Pagkuha ko, hindi niya binigay, fake handoff pala so, nagka-misunderstanding kami.”
As for their intense exchange, the three-time PBA scoring champ attributed it to their competitiveness.
“It’s the heat of the game. Pareho kaming gustong maka-score. Pero all good kami, walang problema. Sabi ko kay Ivan pagkatapos ng huddle namin, ‘Ivan, thank you for helping us,’” Romeo revealed.
Consider his gesture as a genuine farewell to Aska.
For the humble reinforcement, it was all love between him and Romeo.
“We were just saying how we love each other, how we both made a mistake. I just told them at the end of the day, let’s just go and finish this game,” Aska said.
“It’s just the heat of the game. Even off the court, I give him a hug, I love him like a brother,” he added.
The Beermen will look to move on and win another one as they face the surging Phoenix Fuel Masters on Christmas Day.