PBA suspends referee after non-call late in ROS-Ginebra tiff

PBA Commissioner Chito Salud on Saturday suspended a referee for the remainder of the conference after missing a crucial call in the final seconds of a quarterfinals game between Rain or Shine and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.

In a statement released on Sunday, Salud said upon review, a 24-second shot clock violation should have been called with 8.7 seconds left on the game clock.

PBA Commissioner Atty. Angelico T. Salud PBA IMAGE / Nuki Sabio

Had the whistle was blown it would’ve prevented a breakaway layup by the Elasto Painters’ Jeff Chan with 4.6 ticks left that proved to be the game-winning basket.

“A closer look at the play shows that Jeff Chan tapped the ball from Michael Dunigan with .2 second left on the shot clock. When the ball was tapped away from the hands of Dunnigan, this in itself did not constitute a loss of possession on the part of the offensive team and therefore did not stop the shot clock from counting down,” the statement read.

“A closer look at the slow motion replay reveals that Jeff Chan did not have clear and immediate control of the ball after the tap at which time a 24-second violation should have been called by the referees.”

The league also said it took the initiative of reviewing the play “despite the absence of a formal protest.”

“The referee on the ball missed that play and is thus suspended by this Office for the rest of the conference. While this incident demonstrates the difficulty in making judgement calls in real time and did not involve an error in technicality that is a ground f or protest, disciplinary measures have been taken on the erring game official for a lapse in judgement which involved a call that was not reviewable and correctible under the rules during the game.”