Controversy surrounds Buducnost ABA League game, the league responds / News - Basketnews.com

A controversial non-call was made during the last second of the fourth quarter, which Mornar called injustice. ABA League responded with a statement, saying that the no-call was correct, but claiming a previous decision by the refs was wrong.

Credit: Buducnost VOLI/Filip Roganovic Credit Buducnost VOLI/Filip Roganovic

On the day when Real Madrid and Anadolu Efes Istanbul played four overtimes in the EuroLeague, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica defeated Mornar Barsko zlato in the ABA League after an overtime. The game was mired with controversy after a questionable no-call.

Points this season

47%78,0Points made:78,0Accuracy:46,8%Place in standings:18Record max:103Record min:63Best scorer:McKinley WrightTeamEuroCupStatisticsSchedule

Namely, Buducnost's Vladimir Mihailovic shot two free throws with just four seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter. With Mornar up by one (86-85), he made the first attempt but missed the second one. When Mornar's Marcus Weathers got the rebound, that's when the controversial episode occurred.

Weathers dribbled the ball down the court to around the half-court line and attempted a shot over Mihailovic, but it was no good, and the teams were headed to overtime. Immediately after the shot, Mornar's bench went crazy, asking for a foul, but it wasn't given.

Mornar went on to lose the match in overtime, 100-103. After the game, the club from Bar, Montenegro, published an alternative angle of the shot to its Instagram profile. It shows that one of the referees wanted to call a foul but ultimately didn't.

To be exact, one of the referees could be seen running on the sideline and showing the three-finger gesture, signaling a three-pointer attempt, but then changing the gesture to a foul a short moment later but not whistling a foul. Almost immediately thereafter, the referee shows the time stoppage sign and ultimately doesn't call a foul.

After the club stated that injustice was done to them, the ABA League responded with an official statement about the last minute of the game.

The league pointed out that Buducnost's Nikola Tanaskovic should've been given an unsportsmanlike foul with 32 seconds left in the fourth quarter instead of a regular foul after elbowing Mornar's Uros Lukovic in the face while attempting to block his shot. The referees didn't award an unsportsmanlike foul even though the episode was reviewed.

Additionally, the league stated that the non-call during the Weathers' three-point attempt was correct, as Mihailovic remained in his defensive cylinder contesting the shot.

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