Contributed by reader
Controversial refereeing marred a recent basketball match where Anglican High School (AHS) edged out Raffles Girls’ School (RGS) 49-48. A lot was at stake in the game with both teams in contention for a spot in the quarter-finals of the National B Division Basketball Championship.
This recalls another refereeing controversy going back to a match held last year in the National C Division, where a last second shot by a Woodgrove Secondary player was counted despite errors in time keeping.
A few incidents in the last two quarters of the game made RGS coach Guangyi furious as he felt that AHS were handed a great advantage in the final moments. These calls came on top of other dubious calls throughout the game.
Incident 1: (3rd quarter 4m32s)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4x8AJ72FD0
While RGS was defending, AHS #5 set up a screen for PG #10. The screen was not established and it happened that RGS defensive player #7 crashed into the screen. The AHS #5 fell to the ground in a dramatic way. A foul was called on the RGS #7 instead of the AHS #5.
It was clearly a badly executed screen with the screener at the wrong position and still moving while setting up the screen.
Incident 2: (4th Quarter, 4m23s)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmHrqnwNWag
Hannah Ng went for a breakaway lay-up, and the AHS #6 made contact with her. A call from the tailing referee was clearly heard, while the front leading referee stopped and looked at the trailing referee. Although the foul was obvious, and the referee had even blown her whistle to make a call, she changed her mind.
Incident 3: (4th Quarter, 16.9secs)
With 16.9secs on the clock, in the crucial moments of the game, RGS called a time-out and set up a play. Hannah Ng managed to find a place under basket for a lay-in.
However, it was clearly seen that the AHS #5 slapped her shoulder while Hannah was making the shot. The basket tied the game and if the foul had been called and the free throw awarded, there would be a chance for RGS to take the lead, which would have made a the difference in the game.
Incident 4: (4th Quarter, 6.2s)
[Violation of FIBA Official Rules, ART 18.2.4 & ART 18.2.5]
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6DzDx7uQmc
Cross-referencing to the FIBA Official Rules, as quoted below:
[Art 18.2.4: A time-out opportunity ends when the ball is at the disposal of a player for a throw-in or a first or only free throw]
[Art 18.2.5: Two (2) time-outs may be granted to each team at any time during the first half; three (3) time-outs at any time during the second half and one (1) during each extra period.]
After RGS #9 Hannah Ng made the basket to tie the game, AHS started the ball quickly. AHS managed to bring the ball up to half court and suddenly a 3rd time-out was awarded to AHS. It was obvious that AHS called for a time-out after the throw in yet the time-out was given.
Refer to the following videos:
AHS first time-out in 3rd Quarter, 4min38sec left on the clock.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ONCUWA2Zsk
AHS second time-out at the 5min39secs mark of 4th Quarter.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s8Gmo7dZ2A
RGS first time-out in 4th Quarter 7min36sec
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nkjMdGqeBc
RGS second Time-out in 4th Quarter 36.7sec httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNdlZEQq5N4
RGS third time-out in 4th Quarter 16.9sec
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkCoUiEtuQM
Incident 5: (4th Quarter, 6.2s)
After AHS called for a 3rd time-out, AHS attempted a throw-in at mid court. RGS #9 Hannah Ng managed to slap the in-bound pass out. The game clock did not move at all although the ball had already come into contact with the player on court. It could have wound down 0.5s, to 1s on the clock and mount extra pressure on AHS.
Incident 6: (4th Quarter, 6.2s)
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCJiRwZ5COM
[Violation of FIBA Official Rules, ART 18.2.4 & ART 18.2.5]
[Art 18.2.4: A time-out opportunity ends when the ball is at the disposal of a player for a throw-in or a first or only free throw]
[Art 18.2.5: Two (2) time-outs may be granted to each team at any time during the first half; three (3) time-outs at any time during the second half and one (1) during each extra period.]
After the first attempted throw-in, the AHS #6 received the ball from the referee again. With the tall Hannah blocking her view, she had difficulty in finding a teammate to pass to for the throw-in. With the 5-second violation winding down to only 1 second, the 4TH TIME-OUT was awarded.
Although the RGS coach made a protest at the official table, the senior referee choose to stand near the game clock and did not clarify with the table officials.
Incident 7:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWj_5KoXtdI
AHS managed to throw in successfully, and the ball reached the hands of the AHS #5. She drove in and two RGS players were guarding her. With the slightest contact, a foul was called on the RGS #5. If they were to be consistent, the same type of foul should be already been called while Hannah was making the last under basket.
Although there are qualified FIBA referees refereeing the game, questionable calls are affecting the outcome of the match.
REFEREE’S BIAS-NESS KILLS THE COACH AND STUDENTS HARDWORK.THE REFEREE’S BIAS-NESS WILL CAUSE THE HARDWORK OF THE COACH AND STUDENT TO GO DOWN THE DRAIN.AND I DISLIKE IT AND I THINK THIS IS HAPPENING TO AHS DURING THE MATCH
the referee destroyed basketballers’ efforts and hardwork. they never think of how it is to feel like losing for this kind of bias-ness . actually , we can get into top 4. just because of these referees ? screening without moving is a foul ? impossible . i can’t believe this unfriendly games . i’m sure the winning teams are feeling the same . they would not want to win a game by the referee’s bais-ness on judging
Come on, don’t be a whiner. Show us the whole game.
I don’t believe Anglican High got all the calls.
okay..im sure AHS played really well so they deserved to win. however, if the refree was really being unfair..werent there any other refrees to point out his mistake? it just goes to show that everyones agreed with the refree. refrees are also human..they’re also prone to biasness and error so try to understand too.
this may come as absurd to some people, but was the RGS team given any explanations regarding the issues brought up here? cos its really weird for referees to be making such a basic mistake. biased? lol.
i mean Cristiano Ronaldo…….
well,i do agree that there’s some referee mistakes in that game….i know that they are still human,but glaring mistakes like the 4th time out thingy is unacceptable…..seriously… regarding the falling incident,or i would say “dive”,i do agree that the AHS player fall over too easily…..well,if there’s contact,her fall was a bit too fake,so that might raised suspisicion…..but hey’even the players do dive……in soccer,Cristiabo Ronaldo is the world’s best player,he also dived….so this things cant be avoided….but trust me,AHS won’t feel good about this victory cus if is achieved becus of referee’s decision error….it will affect them in the next match….trust me……it’s how the mind works….psycology de…..
Score more baskets and make th points difference larger. play with skills and not just talk behind screen.
pls come to CAT HIGH
C div matches more often THX!
AND TAKE more pictures (:
Pls refer to what 41.NoPointWhinning Says:
Can you fund out who is Jimmy Ng (Ref) Old or Young! b 4 you put up your comment. otherwise not fair to both of them.
I have skimmed through all comments and would like to make some clarifications.
Firstly, directed to NoPointWhinning (April 10th, 2009 at 11:00 pm), the one who’s in charge of West Zone is not Jimmy Ng. From what I know of, Jimmy Ng is an elder referee who’s in-charge of East Zone. Do get the surname right prior to naming names. Thanks.
Secondly, I would like to point out that this article was written unprofessionally with utmost biasness. Evidence for RGS were filtered out for the purpose of writing this article; and it’s clearly to the disadvantages of both referees and AHS. Moreover, personal comments were included in this article which could manipulate readers’ minds.
Thirdly, with regard to the whole issue on the accusations made on poor refereeing, several incidents were brought up and I shall clarify those which I feel the writer had made wrong accusations at referees’ judgements.
Incident 1: In my opinion, that was a correct call made by the referee. In the eyes of the supporter of RGS, it may seem disadvantageous as you may argue that she was unaware. But this was indeed a dangerous act. Take for example, a foul will still be called on you if you were to accidentally trip a player but you may think that you weren’t at fault since it was an accident.
Incident 3: The video clip was unclear to judge whether AHS #5 had actually slapped RGS (Hannah) shoulder. Moreover, who’s nearer to the game to get a better view of a foul? Was it the spectator or the referee? What I’m trying to say is, what a spectator see from the stand could only be the action of fouling but not actually fouling itself.
Incident 4: To whoever wrote this article, you were right to quote the articles from the FIBA rules. However, it was right to award the time-out nonetheless. As quoted from your words “…AHS started the ball quickly”, and this lag time in sounding the bell to award a time-out was only due to human reaction time. It would only be wrong if the referees fail to award the time-out as requested by the coaches. Hence, there doesn’t seem to be any problem with that incident. The complaint was made just because it seem to be a disadvantage to RGS. However, I would like all readers to think in another way. If you were the one attacking right now from the defence line and no time-out was awarded to your team just because the ball had be disposed off even though it had been requested. Would you be complaining?
Incident 5: This is similar to Incident 4. The human reaction time applies here as well. The clock should only be started when touched by any of the player on court. Only a split second had passed when the defensive player tapped the ball out. If the table official were to start the time, it is very likely that more than a split second will be deducted on the clock. So, wouldn’t everyone be complaining then?
Incident 6: (This is just a comment.) There’s no video evidence showing a 3rd time-out being called in this article. Hence, this accusation is not conclusive based on the words of this writer alone. This will probably require further investigation.
Incident 7: Again, this is similar to Incident 3. The camera (& reader) was situated at the other end of the court when this foul was called. Distance-wise, it is even further than Incident 3 to even give one the right to complain about the referee making a wrong call.
To conclude, the purpose of making these clarifications is so that readers will not be biased against either the referees/AHS after reading this (obviously) biased article. The reader had probably made certain accusations to the disadvantage of both referees and AHS team based on his/her shallow knowledge of the game rules.
Moreover, the writer seems to suggest that basketball should be a rule-based game where referees follow rules strictly. However, I beg to differ. Rules should only serve as a guide and referees should be flexible in executing them as and when necessary in order to be fair to both teams.
Thanks.
Player #5 falls down in a dramatic way.
Who defines dramatic, you? Were you the one knocked? So you’re just ruling out the possibility that she did get hit so hard she had a fall like that, right?
Your argument doesn’t even stand firm. It’s just full of your assumptions. As much as everyone is entitled to their opinion, you shouldn’t slander the referee and the AHS girls just because you see the match in that manner.
Either way the match has ended. Get over it.
Anyway, I think this post is super unfair. It makes readers think that the fault lies in AHS and not the referees. And, i suppose this post is directing at the referees. So why are all the evidence are pointing at AHS? And > passing : I seriously think that you should get a life. What do you mean by “they benefited from the umpire ruling” ? You are obviously saying that we won because of the umpire’s help. If you have good sportsmanship, you wont say that.
I suggest that in all competitions like e.g badminton;basketball;wushu;table-tennis; all matches should be videoed down by PROFESSIONALS. So if there should be any clarifications, refer to the video and everything will be settled. I think this is the best way to solve all the problems. Thanks for reading.
yeah all of you are so right man. no point whining if referees are lousy. because no matter how you whine, they’re still lousy. and if some schools like to benefit from circumstances like these, it’s not something we can control too. it’s just a way i wouldn’t want to win by.
And for the records. Please respect the referees as they are humans and they are not perfect. They may not make the right call at times but just accept it and hope that they will make the right call in future. It is through such games that the referees gain experience to be better. So please respect the referees and if ur team is the better team it will be most probable that team will win.
Goodluck to the remaining teams in the national competition.
Btw does anyone know rules on lose ball possesions?
For the “fake foul” segment. The player has set both feet on the ground already. She has acquired her place on the court known as the “cylinder space”. The cylinder space principle protects her space on the court which she occupies. In this case (RGS#7) was running and hit the AHS player which makes (RGS#7) at fault. This foul can be found under the section of screening. The person who made contact with the person who has set the screen is responsible for the contact. The AHS player is entitled to fall to avoid injury.
did anyone notice that AHS sports was in the news again? they benefited from the umpire ruling. regarding badminton.
did anyone read New Paper
uhh,all of your english sucks.
i guess there’s a reason why they are refs but you are not. respect their job. you want consistent refs who make no wrong decisions against your team, find a robot. your not playing anyway. accept it and shut up
Well the Qtr final games are already schedule to play next week so no point to fight over whether its fair or unfair. There was a match in the Nat last year when the clock already ZERO SECOND then the player shoots in a 3 pointer to win the game. WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME???? they still win lor nothing can be done to over turn referee decision. Come on LETS SEE WHO WILL QUALIFY TO THE TOP 4 from DSS/CCHM/USS/AHS. Well Jimmybias has a good point in suggesting referees who umpire the zone area SHOULD NOT UMPIRE a game if their zone is playing..i.e if AHS play DSS NO EAST ZONE REFEREE TO UMPIRE USE JIMMY NG west zone umpire to do so. when AHS play USS JIMMY NG not allowed to umpire the game. He is a regular referee from West Zone. If i am not wrong Referee also have own zone.. AHS will SURE QUALIFY for top 4.. jyjyjy