‘Westbrook dunk’dooms Beermen

The dunk that cost San Miguel Beer the victory in Game 1 of their Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup best-of-seven finals series against TNT draws a striking similarity to what Russell Westbrook had done in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

San Miguel Corporation sports director Alfrancis Chua questioned the offensive interference call that was whistled against Moala Tautuaa in the crucial stretch of Game 1, pointing out that it was the same dunk that Russell Westbrook had done during his time with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Footage of Westbrook turning a missed dunk into a “lucky bounce” flooded social media shortly after the Beermen suffered a painful 99-96 loss in the series opener late Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Westbrook would dunk so hard that the ball would bounce off the back of the rim before falling into the cylinder. The NBA, the most prestigious league in the world with topnotch officiating, never ruled it as an offensive interference violation.

On the contrary, when the 6-foot-8 Tautuaa made a similar dunk that gave the Beermen the lead in the final 56 seconds, 98-97, the officials waited for the next deadball situation before ruling it as an offensive interference. They nullified the basket, giving TNT a 97-96 lead with only six seconds left, much to the disgust of Chua and the San Miguel coaches led by Leo Austria.

“Whoever saw it would agree. Westbrook is doing the same,” Chua, the league’s vice chairman, said following the gritty battle that put the Tropang Giga three wins away from completing a rare grand slam.

“Everybody (agreed). In fact, nobody complained from the other side (TNT).”

To clear the air, PBA deputy commissioner Eric Castro presided over a news briefing a few moments after the game, citing a rule that “interference occurs during a shot when an offensive player causes the backboard to vibrate or grasp the basket in such a way that, in the judgement of the official, the ball has been caused to enter the basket.”

“As you’ve seen in the replay, when Mo dunked in the last 56 seconds, he pulled out the rim on his way down. But the contention of the coaching staff, of course, was that the ball was straight and entered the rim,” said Castro, who appeared before sportswriters with technical director Bong Pascual.

“Regardless of whether the ball hit something that is part of the ring, the part that he pulled down the ring is already a violation and is considered a basket interference.”

Chua, however, ripped Castro’s decision to hold a press briefing.

“It’s like preempting us. They know that we will file a protest, so they called a press conference,” the outspoken basketball executive said.

“Do you think it’s right? They are preempting our action. They already know that we will protest then they will hold a press conference?”