"We will leave it to the better judgment of the Com-missioner’s Office but we really felt with the time left and the kind of shot Cantrell took, the time was not enough," Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio told The STAR.
"It’s really up to the PBA kung anong action ang gagawin nila but we just have to do it for the players and the fans of Purefoods," Gregorio added.
Thoroughly reviewing the game tape right after the contest, the Purefoods coaching staff felt the timekeeper went a little late in restarting the clock, allowing Cantrell to make the deciding basket with eight-tenths of a second left to play.
"No question Cantrell made the basket in time. Kaya lang ang tingin namin the timer didn’t press the button on time. Mga two-tenths of a second late. Naka-pivot then fade away pa si Cantrell before taking the shot. The time was not enough to make that kind of shot," said Gregorio.
PBA commissioner Noli Eala said he’ll take a look at Purefoods’ protest.
With Cantrell’s buzzer-beating shot, the Phone Pals seized solo second place in Group B with a 4-1 win-loss card. The Hotdogs slid to 1-4 in Group A.