Have you heard the word ‘shoe-palpal’ before? This word was accidentally conceived during one of the games in Philippine Basketball Association between Barako Bull Energy and San Miguel Beermen last Wednesday night.
Rico Maierhofer of Barako Bull Energy lost his right shoe after a layup, and had to pick it up as the game continued and his team rushed back to the other side of the court for the defense. Gabby Espinas, from the San Miguel Beermen, got the ball and managed to slipped past through SMB’s import Liam McMorrow. Espinas was surprised when Maierhofer quickly jumped in front of him with a shoe in his hand. With a split-second decision on his part, Maierhofer successfully stopped Espinas, but using his shoe.
Thus, the word ‘shoe-palpal’ is coined. It is a combination of an English word ‘shoe’ and the Tagalog (street) word ‘supalpal’ which means ‘blocked’, or shoeblocked meaning blocking the opponent with a shoe.
The game was expected to be hotly contested but turned out to be comical in the end. Even the referees were surprised and did not make a call on the incident, but SMB coach Leo Austria believes that the play is illegal as a foreign object was used in stopping a shot.
Moreover, the officials believe that referees could have called Maierhofer a technical foul because he used his right shoe, which he lost on the previous play, to reject Espinas’ shot.
According to the Inquirer.net issued today, the unique exchange has exposed a flaw in the PBA rule book as there are no existing provisions that cover the use of a foreign object, in this case, a shoe.
As a result of this incident Maierhofer was summoned by PBA to explain his side. His “shoe-palpal” antic has definitely caught the world’s attention, PBA commissioner Chito Salud included. But, unfortunately he hadn’t stopped San Miguel Beermen from winning the night’s game.
Video: Sports5