That call was very very wrong.

Phil Haines had it as a charge and let the rookie over rule him.

Paora had great position and was set well in advance, got hit in the middle of the chest and still got called for a block.

+1 to kent, but senior umpire should have over ruled the rookie and not leave the rookie to the wolves (posters)

It was a bad game refereeing all round, and the call 4 mins in set the tone for the night.

Being too critical - yeah probably a bit critical on a rookie, but he didn't say anything wrong (for a change)

Blaming the refs for the loss - you obviously missed the other article, he wasnt blaming the refs for the way the 36ers play

Umpiring so far this season has been quite good imo

Boti does obiously not agree and he has the pen and paper so to speak

Boti is on fire the last couple of days! Well written and opinionated stuff

Maybe Boti telling the truth might be a good wake up that while you can be a top ref in SA district and treated like a god, there is still work for everyone to do. Nice hint to pull your head in as that is the only way to improve.

He singled out a few calls - Winitana getting knocked down, a shot-clock violation that was missed and a lack of call against Henry for delay of game when he slammed his water bottle into the ground - and I agree with his verdict on each of those.

Fans on OzHoops representing other teams have been critical of the refs too. The Breakers, I think I read on there, got sick of their local referees and were looking at flying in Australian refs to do their games.

There were some crap decisions on the weekend and it wasn't enough to blame the 36ers for there loss.

However the points that Boti has pointed out, I agree with.

Winitana was clearly set to take the charge and it should have been the call.

I'm still gob smacked @ how the thrown water bottle didn't cause 'delay of game' from the ref.

I only saw the bottle roll onto the floor. I didn't see it being slammed. If that was the case, nothing short of a Tech would have been appropriate. The no call was disgusting. Yes its true the 36ers played badly and are to blame for their loss, but accurate calling by the refs is a must and cannot be allowed to compromise the game.

Definitely was a charge but I thought the game wasn't umpired badly. They missed a few calls but in the context of the game they weren't of huge impact. The charge call stood out because it was early in the game and all spectators were involved in the game at that point.
I also noticed one play that it took the sixers about 9 seconds to bring the ball up but nothing was called.

Agreed panther. Their performance had no bearing on the result and I have seen far worse that that display. If the sixers had made the same number of mistakes, then they would have won!

Panther, was that the one where Bruce was bringing up the ball and crossed half-way opposite the scorebench (in front of the Flourentzou boys)? Clock appeared to get to 15 to me and I thought we were lucky to escape.

Connor Henry definitely threw the water bottle in frustration (at a clear foul on Schench mind you). However, the refs were watching the game and missed Henry's outburst. Should have got a delay of game warning, and if they had seen it, a bench tech.

The charge was a charge, no doubt. Bad call. Should have been overruled.

I also thought it was a shot clock violation, but it was close. Lucky it wasn't a last second game winner (I am looking at you Dusty).

However, I agree that these calls, whilst bad, in the circumstances of the game were mainly irrelevant. I have seen much worse officiating before.