That ‘own goal’ fiasco

One of the things that Gilas will forever regret doing is scoring for Kazakhstan with 11.4 seconds left in the quarterfinal round of the recent Asian Games in Incheon. It was a macabre version of football’s “own goal” but in this case, the basket was deliberate not accidental. Under basketball rules, an “own goal” is counted if made accidentally but it’s a different story when made deliberately. Imagine the havoc in legitimate sports betting if ever the rules will allow counting a deliberate “own goal” – the speculation of a fix will be horrendously widespread.

What seemed like a good idea at the time has generated dismay, scorn and disappointment from basketball quarters here and abroad.

Here’s what happened. The Philippines had to beat Kazakhstan by at least 11 points to make it to the semifinals via the quotient system. A win by the Philippines would create a three-way logjam for second place in Group H with the top two teams advancing to the semifinals. But for the Philippines to claim second place, it had to beat Kazakhstan by 11. Anything less would eliminate Gilas. The other team in contention was Qatar which beat the Philippines, 77-68, but lost to Kazakhstan, 65-57. Safely on top of the ladder was unbeaten host South Korea.

The Philippines appeared on the way to the semis with a 14-point lead, 65-51. But Kazakhstan detonated a 9-2 bomb to trim the deficit to seven and later cut the gap to just two. The only way the Philippines could try to win by 11 is if the game went into overtime. Since Kazakhstan was down by two and the Philippines had possession with time running out, Gilas’ hopes ironically hinged on the Kazakhs scoring a field goal to tie the count.

Gilas guard Jimmy Alapag and naturalized player Marcus Douthit thought of an out-of-the-box remedy to the situation during a timeout. They suggested for the Philippines to score a basket for Kazakhstan to knot the count and force an extra five minutes where Gilas could try to win by 11. Alapag was instructed by coach Chot Reyes to check with the referees if they would count the basket if the Philippines scored for Kazakhstan. Two referees said yes. The third referee, however, wasn’t consulted. Someone in the Gilas coaching staff wondered, “Do we have the balls to do it?” As it turned out, Gilas inbounded and Douthit went to the Kazakhstan basket and put the ball inside the goal. The third referee who wasn’t consulted nullified the basket as it really should be.

On the turnover, Kazakhstan deliberately missed free throws, throwing air balls, because the Kazakhs didn’t want to send it into overtime. In effect, they wanted to lose by just that margin of two points. The intention was no longer to win. The intention was to lose, something like tanking. It was unlike what Gilas had in mind. That desperate attempt to survive by scoring an “own goal” was for a chance to win, not for a chance to lose.

What made the situation even more ludicrous was the Kazakhs didn’t hide their intention to lose. They were laughing as the free throws were taken and the ball didn’t even hit the rim. In basketball, there are instances where free throws are deliberately missed but with the intention to win. Take for instance, when a team is down by three and has two free throws to shoot with time down to two seconds. The shooter will make the first free throw and deliberately miss the second for the chance to score a field goal from an offensive rebound. Or if a team is up by one and has two free throws to make with two seconds to go. The shooter will make the first free throw and deliberately miss the second for time to run out on the other team to make a decent attempt. In both cases, the intention is to win, not to lose.

At the Asian Games, nobody could be sure what rules would be followed. Uniforms were supposed to be tagged with FIBA and Asian Games logos but not all jerseys had the same emblems. Video replays weren’t checked to determine whether a shooter converted a three-pointer or a two-pointer unlike in FIBA tournaments. FIBA’s official Molten basketball wasn’t used. Even eligibility rules were unclear. Andray Blatche was prohibited from playing because he hadn’t established the three-year residency required for a naturalized citizen. In fact, even the passports of Gabe Norwood and Jared Dillinger were scrutinized to determine if they’d lived in the Philippines the last three years. Yet there were allegedly cases of naturalized athletes from other countries allowed to compete in different sports with freshly issued travel documents.

The confusion in the enforcement of rules gave Gilas that slight window of opportunity to inquire whether an “own goal” would be counted. That window of opportunity, however, disappeared as soon as Douthit scored for Kazakhstan.

The provision for a three-year residency is non-existent in FIBA rules. And no less than FIBA secretary-general Patrick Baumann wrote to the Asian Games Organizing Committee expressing concern over Blatche’s disqualification. It didn’t make sense that Blatche could represent the Philippines in a sanctioned world competition but not in Asia.

To avoid confusion in the future, there must be identical rules governing all FIBA-supervised tournaments anywhere in the world. The Asian Games shouldn’t be allowed to apply basketball rules, including eligibility rules, that contradict FIBA rules. That provision should also cover the Olympics, Pan American Games, Commonwealth Games, Southeast Asian Games and any other international tournament. FIBA, as the international federation for basketball, must make consistent the conduct of competitions on a global scale. Allowing a different set of rules for the Asian Games or any other international competition will only lead to chaos and nightmarish memories like the “own goal” fiasco in Incheon.