[BktBallRef]

Just goes to show how much you really know about it.

The Soviet coach was attempting to call a timeout using an electronic device that coaches used to activate a light at the table before DougCollins shot his second FT. When the device wouldn't work, he frantically signalled TO. The table officials hit the horn, trying to alert the game officials, just s Collins released his second shot. The Bulgarian official on the floor didn't realize that the Soviet coach wanted TO until the ball had been inbounded.

It was at that time that R. William Jones, then the head of FIBA, left his seat and instructed the table officials to reset the clock to 3 seconds. According to your executive director of FIBA, Borislav Stankovic, "The intervetnion of Mr. Jones at that time was absolutley legal because he was president of the technical commission, and the table made mistakes. His intervetion is to correct the mistakes of the table." That's from your executive director, Duane, not mine.

After the TO, the officials allowed the Soviets to inbounded the ball, even though the table officials were trying to alert them that the clock was set to 50 seconds.

So, the ball was inbounded a third time, and this time...well, we all know what happened.

It's true, a series of blunders marred the end of the game. But the mistakes were made by human beings in a pressure cooker, not by officials who were attempting to deliberately throw the game.

BTW, the source of the REFEREE article was an Australian videtape entitled: The Story of the Game: The Official History of Basketball. Perhaps you should see it.