The ACB appointed 12 referees for the seven matches of the Copa del Rey held this weekend in Badalona, conquering Unicaja after beating the greats, Barça in the quarterfinals and Madrid in the semifinals, also Lenovo Tenerife in the final . Precisely, in the last stake, the organization allowed Emilio Pérez Pizarro to place a microphone, the main braid along with Benjamín Jiménez and Fernando Calatrava, and has extracted an audio document on social networks about what happened during the game. A fragment that expresses the good communication that the referee had with the players and benches, always wanting to talk but without losing composure or authority, also on occasion sharp due to the persistence of complaints from two nervous teams because they were risking their laurel .
“How is your family?” Pérez Pizarro asked Darío Brizuela before starting, while they embraced each other and showed that people come first. “He’s better, the boy is improving,” replied the Unicaja guard, who went to the Cup with the baby in the UCI, capable in any case of damaging Barcelona 27 points to unstitch him in the quarterfinals, also emotional his moment of raising the trophy together with his friend Alberto Díaz, captain of Unicaja. “Because of gestures like this, he is one of my best friends,” he acknowledged. Moments later, the adrenaline discharged and the match resolved, the coaches also remembered the referees. “They have shown an excellent level,” they both resolved. What did not mean that there was no tension in the parquet.
🎙️ In a FINAL with the 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒆𝒍, intensity is breathed in each of the actions… and in each of the decisions.
We relive (and listen) through Emilio Pérez Pizarro the FINAL of the #ACB Cup 𝙘𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤́𝙛𝙤𝙣𝙤. pic.twitter.com/s3sNxQzSNX
— #ACB Cup (@ACBCOM) February 20, 2023
Vidorreta protested a free kick and Ibon Navarro accused Salin and Jaime Fernández of acting, arguments that Pérez Pizarro patiently refuted. Like the one he showed with all the players, especially with Jaime Fernández, a Tenerife shooting guard who was not ready when it came to entering the court after a change. “Isn’t that 30 seconds for a change? Have I made it up?” Asked the player. “That’s when you have five fouls,” he replied didactically, referring to the expulsion of a player for accumulation of fouls. And, plays later, again after protests, he responded more acid: “Okay Jaime, then you tell me when you referee for me.” Another with which he was blunt was with Marcelinho Huertas, base of Lenovo Tenerife, who understood that there was no equality of criteria in the two paintings. “But it is that not one, not one!”, Indicated the base. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Marce, you have to calm down now”, replied the referee.
After the duel, in addition to the recognition of the coaches and that it will be evident in a conversation that they tried to apply the same criteria in both parts of the field, the president of the ACB, Antonio Martín, went down to the parquet to congratulate the referees . “Good job, Emilio,” he said. “Thank you, Antonio,” replied Pérez Pizarro, already released for a job well done.
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