The WNBL is set to come under fire for letting a grand final game-winning basket stand when the clock had expired with the ball seemingly still on the shooter's fingertips.
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Canberra Capitals coach Paul Goriss says "everyone will see the truth" when they replay the footage of the controversial shot that sent the WNBL grand final series to a deciding game three.
Nicole Seekamp was still touching the ball when the backboard lit up but the basket stood to give the Adelaide Lightning a 74-73 win over the Capitals at the Adelaide Arena on Wednesday night.
To make matters worse for Canberra, whose firm grip on an eighth WNBL championship has now loosened, Adelaide's Lauren Nicholson travelled before offloading the ball to Seekamp on a potentially championship-defining play.
Not even a superhuman effort from Kelsey Griffin (24 points, 23 rebounds) could help the Capitals orchestrate a clean sweep. They were at times their own worst enemy, but that will do little to appease frustrations directed towards the league.
"If everybody has a look at the last five seconds and the last one second, everyone will see the truth," Goriss said.
"Everybody just go back and watch film, everybody go back and watch the light light up and what was on the scoreboard. Everybody go back and watch that.
"We can play better than what we did. The game was taken out of our control in some situations. I’m just disappointed with the end result but we can hold our heads high that we came down here and under some trying circumstances lost the game.
"We’ll shoot better than we did, we’ll definitely finish better than we did. There were some things totally out of our control that changed the game."
Goriss has clashed with league officials over inconsistencies throughout the season with the club being slugged with a fine after he became the first to speak out about issues plaguing the competition.
Goriss would not be pressed on the other matters that left him standing courtside with his arms outstretched, although it seems one clear example is a controversial unsportsmanlike conduct call on Capitals point guard Leilani Mitchell.
While debate will rage over the game-winning play, one thing is very clear in Goriss' eyes - the Capitals will go back to Canberra and "finish this at home".
"I’m proud of the girls, they continue to fight," Goriss said.
"On the road, being able to put in this performance under trying circumstances. I’m at a loss to know some of the calls and some of the situations people were put under.
"I’m flabbergasted in a way with how the game was, especially in that second half. I’m proud of the girls’ effort, they play hard together, they don’t give up.
"We just didn't finish plays well and some of that was taken out of our control."
For so long an air of inevitability had hovered over the hardwood - it seemed as though the Capitals were destined to cut the net behind enemy lines.
But the Lightning took the lead heading into the final minute as Canberra’s shooting radar went awry.
It leaves Canberra’s pursuit of an eighth title in jeopardy while Adelaide’s hunt for a sixth title - and the chance to potentially save the club’s future - is alive and well.
The Lightning are facing an uncertain future after the club boss stated they need a $500,000 cash injection and more bums on seats at home games or risk going under.
The roar of the crowd when Seekamp's shot fell through the net was almost enough to lift the roof off Adelaide Arena as the Lightning pulled off a stunning fightback.
"We’re disappointed, we really thought we had that game. Credit to Adelaide, they came out and they made adjustments, we didn’t finish well or necessarily play as well as we could," Griffin said.
Just like that, we are on the way back to Canberra.
