Two basketball teams in Ireland face the unusual prospect of having to go through their pre-match rituals and warm-ups in order to replay just 0.3 seconds of a playoff match that ended in controversial circumstances last month.

Portlaoise Panthers were beaten 80-78 by Limerick Sport Eagles at their home venue of St Mary’s Hall on 23 March. However, the conclusion of the second-tier men’s playoff match sparked fury among the home faithful, with Jason Killeen, a former Ireland captain and US college player for Winthrop and Augusta State, adjudged to have been fouled while attempting to shoot as the buzzer sounded.

The scores had been tied but Killeen was allowed to take his free throws, both of which he converted, to give his side the win.

Cue pandemonium, with Portlaoise complaining that free throws should not have been awarded as the clock had expired and therefore the match had ended. This spilled over behind the scenes into a formal appeal for a replay of the match, which was initially upheld by the National Appeals Committee (NAC), who said: “Given that both referees and the commissioner erred, it would be a serious injustice to the appellant not to grant a replay of the game. The NAC directs a full replay of the game at the same venue. The decision of the NAC is final.”

That decision proved to be anything but final, with Limerick furious that proper procedures had not been followed, and that they had not been invited to participate in the appeal hearing. Portlaoise also said in a club statement: “We received three phone calls from a senior member of the Basketball Ireland executive requesting us to withdraw our appeal. We find this tactic and approach most worrying.”

On Tuesday, Basketball Ireland issued a fresh statement saying: “The National Appeals Committee ruled that the game should be replayed in its entirety. Basketball Ireland and the National League Committee [NLC] acknowledge this decision by the NAC, however this option to appeal to the NAC was granted in error by the National League Committee, because on-court refereeing decisions cannot be overturned.

“The NLC has ruled that the fixture will not be replayed in full, however the remaining 0.3 seconds of the quarter-final is to be played this week and Basketball Ireland will be in liaison with the clubs to determine when.”

The 0.3sec relates to the minimum amount of time that a team is allowed to take a shot following a free throw. Known as the Trent Tucker rule, following a contentious late score in a 1990 NBA game, it reads: “The game clock or the shot clock must show 0.3 (3 tenths of a second) or more for a player to gain control of the ball on a throw-in or on a rebound after the last free throw in order to attempt a shot for a goal.”

Following the brief encounter between the sides, the date for which is yet to be agreed upon, the winners will face Tolka Rovers in the semi-finals.