PBA suspends ref over missed call

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Office took immediate action after one of its game officials missed a crucial call late in the TNT and Meralco Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals Game 5 on Wednesday.

Referee Jeff Tantay was meted with a yet to be determined length of suspension for failing to call a foul on Tropang 5G forward Calvin Oftana off a block attempt against a driving CJ Cansino with 8.4 seconds remaining in TNT’s 99-96 victory to close out the best-of-seven series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

PBA commissioner Willie Marcial admitted to the game official’s lapses as Tantay was along the baseline when an apparent foul was committed by Oftana.

The Bolts were trailing, 96-97, when Cansino, who was having a career night and fueling his team’s comeback from 17 points down, attacked the basket for the go-ahead basket and was clipped in the forearm by Oftana upon deflecting his shot.

No call was whistled and Meralco was forced to commit a foul on Rey Nambatac, who sank two charities with 6.4 ticks left.

A review by the technical committee saw an infraction that should’ve been called thus prompting the league to slap Tantay’s suspension.

Meralco had been raising officiating issues throughout the series.

In the Bolts’ series-opening loss after squandering a 21-point advantage, head coach Luigi Trillo called out the huge discrepancy in free throws after the Tropang 5G were given 47 attempts compared to only 19 by Meralco.

The Commissioner’s Office has yet to decide if Tantay will be barred from officiating for the rest of the conference or for a much shorter period.