Referees can be taken for granted ... until one isn't there.

With 2:42 left in the first half of Sunday's winner's bracket final of the 14th Martin Luther King Invitational Basketball Tournament, veteran referee John Zivic suffered an on-court heart attack.

He remained in critical condition Wednesday at Urasoe General Hospital.

Immediately after Zivic collapsed, One Time forward and corpsman Kwan Cochrane, Navy hospitalman Erik Campos, Army medic Jacqueline Kershaw of Camp Red Cloud, Pfc. LaShawna Ervin of Camp Humphreys and Air Force Tech Sgt. Issomi Garnigan dashed to his side and performed CPR; doctors credited that for saving John's life.

One Time led Camp Humphreys of Korea 29-25 when play was halted. The game resumed Monday at 10 a.m.; Humphreys went on to win 74-72..

Zivic, 71, an Ohioan and a retired Air Force master sergeant, has called basketball games in the Pacific as long ago as 1966. For nearly 10 years in the 1990s, he served as Korea Sports Officials Association basketball commissioner; he moved to Okinawa in 2000 and has officiated games for the Okinawa Athletic Officials Association since.

Few know the game as does John. Many times have I sat beside him, as he breaks down tendencies of particular players and provides information and interpretation on rules that I'd never considered. And no more of a gentleman will you ever find. A throwback to the generation that produced him.

Please ... SportsBlog Nation ... a prayer for John. Here's hoping for a full and speedy recovery.