‘Mo-tending’ incident triggers rule change

The controversy over Mo Tautuaa’s nullified dunk in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals has triggered significant rule changes ahead of the league’s 50th season.

Starting on Sunday, goaltending or basket interference calls will only be reviewable if a referee makes a call in real-time. The league is doing away with retroactive reviews like the one in Game 1 of last July’s finals between San Miguel and TNT, when Tautuaa’s go-ahead dunk was overturned by the technical committee after no whistle was initially blown.

“If the referees do not make any call, the decision is final. The referees will be held accountable after the game,” PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial said during Wednesday’s press conference at Shangri-La The Fort.

Tautuaa’s dunk, which came off a bounce from the rim, gave San Miguel a 97-96 lead with under a minute left. With no infraction called on the play, the basket stood—until the technical committee reviewed it during a dead ball with five seconds remaining. The play was ruled basket interference, shifting the lead back to TNT and drawing heavy criticism from the Beermen’s camp.

Though San Miguel eventually won the series and the championship, the fallout led to changes, including Eric Castro’s move from the technical committee to head of operations.

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Among the other rule changes:

• Corrections to two-, three-, or four-point shots cannot be made after the game.
• Teams will no longer retain possession after a technical foul for excessive timeouts.
• Penalty situations now apply after two fouls in the final two minutes of any period, not just the fourth.
• Teams can huddle during challenges.
• Players can recover their own airballs without being called for a violation.
• Offensive fouls now count toward team fouls, but no free throws will be awarded if the team is already in penalty.
• Technical fouls will be called for excessive elbows and for throwing the ball in plain sight of an official.

“These rules were finalized by the competition committee composed of coaches,” Marcial said, citing members like Rain or Shine’s Yeng Guiao, Meralco’s Luigi Trillo, and Converge’s Franco Atienza.