Jao upholds Ateneo win

MANILA, Philippines — UAAP commissioner Andy Jao dismissed Far Eastern University’s protest Tuesday, noting that no technical rule was violated in the Tamaraws’ overtime loss to Ateneo, 64-68, in the men’s basketball tournament.

“We never deviated from the rules of the game or even from the UAAP rules,” said Jao.

Thus, the game result stays and the Blue Eagles will head into the Final Four as the No. 1 seed versus the winner of the playoff between University of the East and National University.

The Tamaraws, meanwhile, will have to go through a playoff for the No. 2 spot against La Salle, before the two teams square off again in the semifinals.

FEU coach Nash Racela filed a protest on Monday questioning the timing of the correction of Von Pessumal’s shot.

The basket, deemed as a two-pointer at the 3:20 mark, was later corrected to a three-pointer with 27 seconds left in regulation.

Racela said the correction “should have been done in the first dead-ball opportunity” and that it determined the game’s outcome.
But Jao reasoned that game officials have three instances to make a correction.

“The premise that it should be corrected on the first dead-ball opportunity is not the only instance when an error can be corrected,” said Jao, noting that corrections can also be made during a timeout or before the quarter ends.

Jao said the referee indicated that Pessumal’s shot was a triple, but unfortunately, the “scorer missed making the proper score.”