Ejected JR Reyes claims he was just protecting the ball

 

LUCENA CITY - JR Reyes was having his best performance of the conference during Game Three of the PBA Smart-Bro Philippine Cup when his stint was cut short here Friday night.

 

San Miguel Beer's backup bigman was whistled with a flagrant foul penalty two after his elbow hit Alaska forward Vic Manuel in a rebound play early in the fourth quarter.

 

Reyes was ejected from the match after scoring 13 points on a 5-of-6 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds in less than 24 minutes of action.

 

"Siyempre rebound 'yun, prinotektahan ko lang 'yung bola. Tapos hindi ko naman siya nakita na nasa kaliwa ko," he said about the play. "Hindi ko nga siya tinamaan e. Nagtaka ako bakit tumawag ng F2."

 

Manuel, who was later named Player of the Game as Alaska won 82-75, said he was prepared to absorb Reyes' elbow during the play.

 

"Talagang in-anticipate ko 'yung siko niya. Inartehan ko na rin," said the 6'4 bruiser called "The Muscleman".

 

Reyes played significant minutes for first time in the series with the absence of June Mar Fajardo, only to be thrown out with 9:32 left in the payoff period.

 

"Sobrang na-frustrate ako kasi bihira ako maglaro nang medyo matagal sa loob so 'yung opportunity sayang e," he said.

 

As Alaska went up 3-0 with the victory, San Miguel has to battle for survival on Game Four at the PhilSports Arena on Sunday. — APG, GMA News