SALUD UPHOLDS QUILINGUEN CALL

THE call made by referee Manolito Quilingen that gave Mac Baracael the decidi g free throws in the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel-Rain or Shine game was the correct one.

“(The call) was spot-on. It was the correct call,” said PBA Commissioner Chito Salud Sunday, referring to Quilingen’s ruling which slapped Elasto Painter Beau Belga a foul on the three-point shooting Mark Baracael inside the last two seconds of the game.

Baracael calmly sank the three charities, enabling the Kings to escape with a 101-100 victory.

Immediately after the game, Rain or Shine co-owner Raymund Yu said they will be filing a protest.

The three-page document pertaining to the protest did arrive at Salud’s office Sunday, but 10 minutes past the prescribed deadline of noon.

“Any kind of protest must comply with procedural requirements and per league rules must be filed by 12 noon the day after the game along with the P20,000 protest fee,” related Salud.

“It was filed out of time, beyond the 12 noon deadline so our office has no recourse but to rule such protest as invalid. As such, there’s no protest for our office to rule on,” stated Salud.

“Any party asserting its rights must be vigilant and dilligent since the other team’s rights must also be protected,” he added.

“The result of the Ginebra and Rain or Shine game stands, Ginebra won that game.”

Salud’s ruling has already been relayed to the E-Painters management.

Salud also said that even without the protest it has been the PBA’s practice to conduct a review of such a controversy and the league did just that.

“We realize there is a greater and higher interest involved,” explained Salud. “So without giving due course to the protest, we took it upon ourselves, moto propio, to review the game, particularly the dying seconds of that game.”

Such a review bore out the veteran game official’s call.

“The contact by Belga on shooter Baracael was spot-on. It was the correct call, there was contact and league rules state that any contact on a squared-up shooter that affected his ability to make the shot must be called. Quilingen made the correct call,” stressed Salud.

There were also allegations that Rain or Shine should have been given more than the three-tenths of a second it was left with to salvage the game as television replays showed there were at least still 1.3 seconds on the clock when contact was made. Salud also dismissed that.

“Our rules are simple and straightforward,” he said. “The time will be stopped only when the whistle is blown, not during the point of contact. Upon review, there was around 1.3 seconds, but that is not the reckoning point. It is when the whistle was blown, which was two-tenths of a second remaining. Again, as per league rules, the time was moved back to .3 of a second so there was no technical error committed.”

Source: PBA.Inquirer.net