By ANGELO CAPARAS
San Miguel Beer’s Mo Tautuaa expressed his utter disgust over the decision of the PBA Technical Committee to nullify his late-game dunk that paved the way for TNT’s victory in Game 1 of the Philippine Cup Finals on Sunday, July 13, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After coming back from a 24-point deficit, the Beermen briefly took the lead, 98–97, after Tautuaa’s dunk attempt bounced off the rim before going in with 56 seconds left.
The SMB big man stressed his disagreement with the officials’ decision to overturn his dunk and rule it as offensive basket interference, which shifted the lead back to the Tropang 5G.
“I’m starting by saying I’m mad, but I don’t want to get fired. So I’m not going to say much on it,” said Tautuaa.
“We all saw the play. I’ve seen that a lot of times. I don’t agree with the call.”
The 36-year-old veteran also emphasized that during a dunk, the ball naturally makes contact with the ring — responding to the PBA’s ruling on offensive interference.
“It’s just a missed shot. People touch the rim all the time, especially on a dunk. That’s what happens when you dunk the ball, you touch the rim,” Tautuaa said.
“I mean by the time it went in, I was already on the floor, everything was done. I feel like that was — that sucks,” he added.
As tensions rose, SMB head coach Leo Austria revealed that the team is considering filing a protest, but will first review the incident thoroughly before making a decision.
“If there’s a technicality, I think we will file a protest siguro,” said Austria.
With emotions still running high, the multi-titled coach sees the controversial call as fuel to keep his team focused and motivated heading into Game 2.
“It’s beyond our control. Let us focus and move forward. Let us be motivated by this incident,” said Austria.
