MANILA, Philippines – Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia said he feels the shot-clock-beating triple sank by Magnolia forward Rome dela Rosa in Game 7 of their 2019 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals clash should not have counted.

Garcia contested that Dela Rosa released the ball after the shot clock ran out late in regulation of the Hotshots’ hard-fought 63-60 overtime win on Sunday, April 28. 

The shot put the Elasto Painters behind 50-53 with 3:30 minutes left in the 4th quarter before Rey Nambatac drilled in a three-pointer of his own to knot the score at 55-all and force an extra period. 

Replays showed Dela Rosa, who shot a perfect 2-of-2 from long range for 6 points, released the ball after the shot clock expired. 

“When he made it, of course it was disappointing because we were playing good defense. I felt that it shouldn’t have been counted,” Garcia told reporters in a mix of Filipino and English. 

“If it happened under the last two minutes, they can review it. It happened in the last 3 minutes. Basically that was the biggest shot for me in the game,” he added. 

“If they didn’t count it, we would’ve won, but we don’t know that. That’s just how it is.”

Despite what he believes was a missed call, Garcia lamented the fact that they failed to protect a 17-point lead built in the 3rd period. 

After mounting a 39-22 cushion, Rain or Shine was limited to just 7 points in the next 12 minutes as Magnolia finally leveled the score at 46-all. 

“It’s disappointing losing a game like this. We had a chance, we went up by 17, but we lost composure,” he said. 

Still, Garcia was mighty proud of his wards as the Elasto Painters head into the Commissioner’s Cup looking to make a splash. 

“[O]verall, we had a good conference, but we just have to look for the next one and hope we get a good import.” – Rappler.com