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| PBA deputy commissioner Eric Castro clarified that they would have let Mo Tautuaa's controversial dunk pass if they weren't able to review the play until the end. Joseph Sanvictores (file photo) |
MANILA--PBA deputy commissioner Eric Castro clarified on Monday night what he told the media the evening before regarding the review on Mo Tautuaa's dunk late into Game 1 of the Philippine Cup Finals between San Miguel and TNT.
In an interview with Boom Gonzalez on Starting Lineup, Castro said that he made a mistake when he said in a press conference on Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City that they would have still put the now controversial slam under review even if the game ended without any deadball situation that happened within the final 56.1 seconds.
"I just want to correct myself that we can no longer correct the goaltending and basket interference once the game clock has expired," Castro said.
The clarification implied that if there was no deadball situation that took place after the dunk and the scoreline remained at 98-97 until the end, the Beermen could have won Game 1 since the referees on the floor that time, Nardy Montoya, Rommel Gruta, and Jerry Narandan, failed to notice that Tautuaa committed an offensive basket interference at first.
The officiating crew only got to acknowledge their missed call when a jumpball situation with 6.2 seconds left, a deadball situation, gave them the opportunity to review the Tautuaa dunk.
Tautuaa tried to slam the ball after getting past Brandon Rosser with only Kelly Williams to beat, but the ball first bounced off the rim before going back in.
Montoya, Gruta, and Narandan initially let that play go out of confusion, but after they confirmed Tautuaa's error during the deadball, they overturned the basket, drawing the ire from SMB and its fans.
Castro also clarified that the technical committee had been reviewing Tautuaa's dunk even when there was no deadball situation for the next 49.9 seconds, and they eventually told the referees about the missed call during the jumpball situation.
The endgame is one of two situations wherein referees cannot anymore review a possible goaltending call according to Castro, the other is if the same team retains ball possession after the questionable play.
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