A surreal end to the game: the last-ditch own basket is called off

The B1 promotion playoff between Reggio Calabria and Siena had a surreal ending, which ultimately went in favor of the Tuscan team. With two seconds left on the clock and Reggio leading 64-62, a paradoxical situation arose.

On one side was Siena, which would secure promotion either by winning the game or by losing by no more than 7 points. On the other side was Reggio Calabria, which needed to win by at least an 8-point margin to move up a division: their only chance was to force overtime, because a victory by the narrowest of margins would have been useless.

And so the scandal unfolded: To avoid overtime, Siena intentionally missed both free throws, knowing that a loss by the narrowest margin would be more than enough to celebrate. But on the defensive rebound, a Reggio Calabria player scored a deliberate own basket in an attempt to tie the game and force overtime.

The attempt, however, was in vain: after a quick consultation, the referees disallowed the basket. According to the rules, in fact, a basket scored in one’s own hoop is only valid if accidental, not if committed intentionally. The decision definitively ended the game and secured Basket Siena’s promotion to B1.