When is "Time Out!" a request?

[jas4yf]

Technically (someone correct me if I'm wrong) but the words 'time out' are not implicitly necessary for requesting a timeout.

Situations come to mind when coaches have gotten my attention by saying 'ref' and signaling timeout when I look at them.

With that in mind, I would say the timeout should be awarded when you as an official recognize they want one and the team has player control or the ball is at a player's disposal.

In your situation, you could get away with giving Team A the time out - I would suggest verbally making it clear when granting the time out that it was called before the ball was lost.