Caelan Tiongson just put the PBA on blast.
A visibly frustrated Tiongson leveled some very serious accusations at the referees after the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters lost Game 5 of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup semis showdown with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. Ginebra team governor and PBA vice chairman Alfrancis Chua even caught some strays.
Officials Have an Agenda, Says Caelan Tiongson
The crux of Caelan Tiongson’s postgame tirade on Friday night is what he perceives as the referees’ agenda to take him out of the game early with “ticky‑tack fouls.” And it snowballed from there, to say the least.
“It’s super obvious that the refs are trying to take me out of the game early,” Tiongson told Rebanse in an exclusive ambush interview in the aftermath of Ginebra’s 111-104 victory at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Caelan Tiongson didn’t stop there. In fact, out of frustration, he might have just leveled a grave accusation at Chua, who infamously got into a verbal altercation with Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao in Game 4.
“Like we saw last game, Boss Al is the governor of this team. Of course. I mean, he writes the paychecks for these refs, so it’s super obvious that they’re trying to take me out of the game,” Tiongson further said. “If I get a ticky‑tacky call early in the game, it’s always two fouls early for me. And then I play the same way—the same way—the whole game, and I don’t get any more of those cheap fouls. It’s always super obvious that they come early, and it’s an agenda.”
That’s certainly a lot to unpack.
Is Caelan Tiongson Justified in His Tirade?
Caelan Tiongson, indeed, was whistled for two early fouls—the first at the 10:31 mark and the second at the 8:19 mark of the opening frame. Tiongson was subbed out immediately and was fielded back in at the 4:29 mark of the second canto. From that point forward, he was called for only one more foul.
Below are the fouls in question. You be the judge.
Curiously, the refs whistled Tiongson for only one foul in the first quarter in each of Games 3 and 4. In Game 3, he finished the first half with just one foul, and in Game 4, he was called for his second foul with only 30 seconds left in the second quarter. In all three games Tiongson has played this series, he’s never had more than three fouls.
The play‑by‑play in the stat sheets doesn’t necessarily support the agenda Caelan Tiongson is alluding to. If they do, it doesn’t appear to be super obvious.
The Paycheck Thing
Now, for the other—ehem—more interesting part of that tirade: Boss Al and his supposedly writing the paychecks.
As far as Rebanse’s research goes, Chua has no direct hand in processing referees’ payments—and neither do the other team governors, for that matter. That responsibility falls on the PBA, similar to a company compensating its employees.
This claim, therefore, is open to scrutiny as it seemingly insinuates something underhanded. More specifically, Tiongson saying Chua “writes the paychecks for these refs” implies collusion and corruption—and this is a serious allegation, to say the least.
What to Make of This
Crucially, it must be noted that Rebanse’s interview with Caelan Tiongson happened just an hour or so after a tough, physical, and highly emotional Game 5—one that Tiongson’s squad lost. Meaning, it is entirely possible that what he said was entirely out of frustration.
So, what does this all mean? Everyone, including Caelan Tiongson, will have their opinion.
Rebanse just played messenger.
